Film Review: Drew Michael
© John P Johnson
By Erik Nielsen
If David Lynch were asked to direct a comedy special it would be something like Drew Michael, the comedians new HBO special. Surreal, sad, tragic and hilarious. In a wild and rewarding experiment, Jerrod Carmichael and Drew Michael have collaborated to create a project that could change the landscape of stand-up comedy.
Carmichael, the first time director, has always made comedy out of conflict, so Michael’s stream-of-consciousness beat poet style monologues are the perfect musings for his array of visuals in what feels more like a 3-Act play than a typical stand up special. We occupy two spaces with the comedian, his mind, an empty black space he floats through, sometimes disappearing from the screen completely and that of his girlfriend, played by Suki Waterhouse.
Michael’s dialogue is endless as his jokes are honest and confrontational. He thoroughly investigates each one of his thoughts and his unmitigated, primal reactions. He even questions the essence of attraction. “Why do I wanna sleep with you because I like your eyes? I don’t even know you.” But, there’s no audience to receive his tragedies or to escalate his wit. He’s left in an empty space as he rambles and wanders through his thoughts as he slowly reveals his flaws.
The pairing with Carmichael elevates the material as he captures Drew’s vulnerabilities with ease, enclosing us in a space where Michael is the only one we’re allowed to hear. The visuals add a a visceral layer to already raw material. There’ll be shots where the entire screen is his mouth. One of the best bits is when Michael talks about his partial deafness and the audio becomes muffled while his ear is the only thing visible. We become engulfed in his experience and Carmichael achieves something spectacular: the true promise of cinema never present in stand-up. He moves his camera where and when he pleases, like a virtuoso director, he picks his spots with precision. We never jump to the audience for reactions, we’re left like Michael is, by ourselves, dealing with his truth.
Even then, when we feel his honesty the camera will suddenly bounce to his girlfriend, moving in and out of static audio. She checks in on Michael and becomes a new vessel for his self-examination. Beginning to question Michael’s “truth” the monologue stops in these interludes and becomes more of a conversation piece. Michael wants us to question what he says and provides a counterpoint never present in other comedians stand up. This will eventually lead to a face to face confrontation where Drew thought he was safe and the watch is heart wrenching.
Comedy is an art you’ll hear many comedians say, takes years of embarrassment to perfect. The risks they are taking never match the visuals. What Carmichael and Michael have done is invent a new take on stand up comedy, one that deserves our attention.
