'John Mulaney and the Sack Lunch Bunch' review: A true Netflix gem
During a recent appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers, John Mulaney shared the motivation behind his newest special John Mulaney & The Sack Lunch Bunch: He’d “always wanted to write for kids.” The result is an hour-long special that showcases “kids talking like [Mulaney],” which -- if you're a die-hard Mulaney fan -- is just as fantastic as it sounds.
John Mulaney & The Sack Lunch Bunch, which is now available to stream on Netflix, centers around Mulaney and the Sack Lunch Bunch, a group of 15 kids ages 8 to 13, The entire crew sings songs, performs sketches, and banters.
Clips of members of the Sack Lunch Bunch speaking about their biggest fears act as a segue between segments, and no one is spared from being interviewed by Mulaney and director Rhys Thomas. Featured special guest stars André De Shields, Jake Gyllenhaal, Richard Kind, Natasha Lyonne, and David Byrne talk about what scares them, too.
In 'Girl Talk with Richard Kind,' some of the female members of the Sack Lunch Bunch ask the actor for career and life advice.Credit: Jeffrey Neira/NetflixJohn Mulaney & The Sack Lunch Bunch is existential, endearing, and absolutely hilarious. The special feels like flipping through an uber-quirky Highlights magazine, and a few of the quick-paced segments bear a resemblance to the late, great short form video application, Vine. It’s a perfect, kooky watch for those five days between Christmas Day and New Years Eve when the world shifts into a strange sort of between-holiday limbo.
In true Mulaney fashion, the writing is sharp, wisecracking, and constantly breaks the fourth wall. The interviews about each actor's greatest fears act as a sort of connective catharsis as 2019 comes to a close, and, as Mulaney remarked on Late Night, it's comforting to hear that kids are still afraid of tarantulas instead of the global atrocities featured on the news.
As an added, heartwarming treat, Mulaney and the Bunch poke fun at the mundane idiosyncrasies of life through songs about preferring to eat exclusively buttered noodles, performing a show of one’s own creation for a group of adults at a party, and the experience of seeing white women crying in public on the streets of New York City.
Annaleigh Ashford as a white woman crying in New York City alongside Alexander Bello, a member of the Sack Lunch Bunch.Credit: Jeffrey Neira/NetflixOut of the handful of special guest stars, Jake Gyllenhaal is certainly the MVP. He plays an exhausted and over-worked version of himself who doesn't come prepared to perform as the special's closing act, Mr. Music. Decked out in Sergeant Pepper-esque garb, Gyllenhaal desperately tries to make music out of objects that, much to his dismay, don't make any sound. In addition to his Saturday Night Live hosting gigs, John Mulaney & The Sack Lunch Bunch serves as an ample reminder that Gyllenhaal is an effervescent and captivating comedic actor.
SEE ALSO:Netflix's 'Don't F**k with Cats' is true crime terror with a vigilante twistJohn Mulaney & The Sack Lunch Bunch will make you laugh -- both at Mulaney and with him -- as he reminds viewers (and himself) about how silly our worldly worries are. When the weather outside is so frightful (literally and metaphorically), this human interest comedy special feels like a warm and understanding hug.
John Mulaney & The Sack Lunch Bunch is now streaming on Netflix.
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