Jerrod Carmichael: Rothaniel (2022 TV Special) User Reviews

Another Level Great

[chiltonsjillfreeport · 9/10 · 3 April 2022]

Can a performer be quietly electric?

I believe so. Jerrod Carmichael is so real and raw here I was tempted, towards the end, to lace my fingers over my eyes and hold my breath in suspense.

In 'Rothaniel,' director Bo Burnham perfectly sets the mood with a long opening shot of Carmichael gradually coming into focus walking along the street under a light snow before entering a dim, hushed Blue Note.

The opening, the stage set, Carmichael's demeanor-all spoke of what was to come even before he opened with, "I want to talk about secrets."

For 57 minutes that felt like a lightning strike eternity, Carmichael spilled, interwoven with jokes, very funny commentary, amidst a two-way conversation with the crowd that made his bare intimacy much warmer than just stand-up meat. Long-held family secrets, personal secrets, real fear.

The fact that he may've fought tears toward the end (I cried briefly), to me, only burnishes the fact that Carmichael is funny as hell here. If you have ever been estranged from a parent, or hit with family secrets so deep they made you question who you are, you may just laugh even harder. I did.

More therapy than comedy

[ivannano · 9/10 · 4 April 2022]

But I don't see that as a bad thing.

It's been awhile since I've seen a new comedian who didn't think 'funny' was to tear others down.

Jerrod's humour comes from the pain/truth of his life. That's both funny and sad.

The throw away line that he could never bring someone home to meet his Mom, will stick with you. For you hope that it's not true; but feel for him because he believes it.

By the end, you will cheer for him to find happiness and acceptance.

It's a rare performance well worth your time.

The toxicity of secrets

[estathena2 · 8/10 · 29 April 2022]

A therapy session where the viewer/audience is the therapist & Jerrod is the incredibly vulnerable patient attempting to come to grips with his truth amid the myriad of lies he grew up in. It is moving in its honesty, humor, & questions it dares ask.

Complicit Secrets With A Therapeutic Atmosphere

[zac-68274 · 10/10 · 3 April 2022]

Carmichael is edifying and empathetic supplying comedic relief while offering himself unconditionally. Melancholy at times due to life sensitivities but an essential show shedding light on millions more Carmichael's across the world.

The best special I've seen in years

[mhedricklca · 10/10 · 3 April 2022]

Transcendent, honest, and modern. A conversation about the secrets we keep, and I mean conversation. It's open, and breezy. With talk with the audience scattered throughout. But that doesn't take away from the structure, it is beautifully structured.

I won't spoil anything, despite news outlets talking about parts of the special already.

JUST WATCH IT, you won't regret it.

Incredible. Simply incredible.

His Best Standup

[yespat · 9/10 · 3 April 2022]

I have watched all of his specials and was never impressed by any of them. It seemed to me his POV always had a mean streak in them, one that was unpleasant to watch. I decided to watch this one because of all the hype and was glad I did. His usual mean persona.was gone, replaced by an exposed and vulnerable person who was also funny and smart. I think all that meanness was the result of him hiding who he was. I'm glad he took the plunge and decided to finally tell the truth about himself. That is where his true funny will emerge. I expect great things from him now.

I don't watch standup

[akplongmeadow · 10/10 · 3 April 2022]

But after seeing Jerrod on SNL as host ~ he had such a refreshing voice and way about him I thought I'd check out his new program on HBO.

Boy, am I glad I did! He is new, modern, and talks in conversation that is unlike some comedians today.

I would love to know more about him. Well, his secrets were many and prolific.

Makes sense it's in a jazz club

[hughjman · 6/10 · 3 April 2022]

I liked him a lot on Saturday night live. He was great.

I guess it makes sense that this special is in a jazz club, because it's not really standup. It's more like sitting in on someone's therapy session, and in that sense it kind of winds around like a jazz song and keeps hitting certain themes repeatedly.

There are some funny lines here and there as he tells the story of his family, the kind you use to joke away pain. It's not a hahahaha hilarious standup special, it's more like a one-man show.

Okay, But Sir This Is A Wendy's.

[helenahandbasket-93734 · 8/10 · 18 April 2022]

He kind-of, sort-of 'came out' with his last standup, (and seriously, were there people who didn't really know?) but this spiral descended quickly into a complex and even torturous journey into his maternal relationship, and how he feels about her apathy/disregard for his lifestyle proclamation.

There's moments of silence that are painful and feel heavy in the ether- you expect him to have tears flowing the next time he looks up. While my heart physically hurts for their relationship and his desperate need to feel loved and accepted by her, part of my has to wonder what it was he expected would be the outcome? Knowing his whole life what her disposition is and her close relationship to religion, I wouldn't think it would be a healthy imagination to believe she'd toss all that aside and embrace a lifestyle that puts her in direct conflict with what she's held so deeply her entire life.

I feel like his friends need to encircle him and help him with the machinations of this relationship, get him into counseling to help him see she may never come around, and how to accept her as she is or leave it lay and move forward from there.

For better or worse, she is who she is and is likely old enough that the ridicule she's like receiving because of this very public airing of grievances is nothing compared to what she views as her son being eternally damned to the hereafter in fire. It serves as a cautionary tale to all the heretics in our society that think public shaming/ostracism/doxxing/etc is somehow going to turn the enemy into a convert, when it very likely has the opposite effect- all the toxicity and vitriol you launch convinces those you somehow believe are going to be converts into even bigger enemies.

I believe the male audience member who spoke up had it 100% correct (to paraphrase)- 'you had all this time to consider your sexuality, why not allow her the same accommodation?' All you can do is let her ruminate and come to her conclusion- she'll come around but pushing, poking and prodding will not give you the desired outcome.

Parts were uproariously funny- which I've come to expect from Rothaniel, but much was a painful deep dive into something that feels intrusive and awkward- all we can do is hope he's able to come to terms with the relationship, whatever that may be.

Best of luck, and hopefully other parents with children coming out to them can watch this and feel their child's anguish in Jarrod's retelling- how betrayed and utterly remote he feels in her resounding rejection. Even if that's only his interpretation (we aren't given the opportunity to hear from his mom, so we're speculating) his interpretation is crushing and hurts the soul. No good comes from rejecting your child based solely on something they're completely unable to change, and any religion that tells you to walk away from family based on that would be roundly rejected by Jesus.

Powerful for the right people just not very funny

[Jblum5 · 6/10 · 19 April 2022]

I am slightly late to the Carmichael game - I saw "On the Count Three" at Sundance and it is one of my all time favorites. Absolutely nailed issues of mental health while being funny and shocking ... great film (still unreleased as of the writing of this review. I've gone back and really enjoyed some of his career and hope he makes more movies - the man is so naturally charming and introspective.

This special is ultimately not very funny . It has the look and feel of an intimate, behind the scenes Q+A more akin to a TED talk than comedy. The last 10 minutes is serious conversations that should be had with a mental health professional - just kind of laid out there for the audience to comment on. I think it's important for artists to be able to do shows like this , but i overall I didn't find it enjoyable . The jokes aren't there , It's more of a onstage documentary look at Jarrod's life than anything funny or rewatchable. Not terrible and I think it bares watching - but ultimately doesn't hit enough comedy notes to recommend.

Honest. Vulnerable

[stsepangk · 9/10 · 3 April 2022]

I enjoyed this special, it was intimate and humorous. I loved Mr. Carmichael's honesty and openness as well as his vulnerability. He had me laughing and crying and there were times my heart just went out to him. I am not sure this is a spoiler but I have marked it as such just in case.

I think we can relate to the hold Mothers have over us, we crave it and resent it at the same time. I wish with all my heart he gets the acceptance he desperately wants from her and the unconditional love he so clearly needs to truly be okay and breathe.

Tale of two halves...

[krupocin-1 · 6/10 · 13 April 2022]

No idea how someone can rate this a 10 or a 2 with all the content that exists, it comes off as disingenuous when all the reviews are one or the other.

The first half of this special was actually excellent, If it stayed on par with that I would've given it an 8.5/10. Funny but with more of a well paced serious one man show with humor mixed in to hide the pain.

The last half (after the big reveal, there's still 5-10 more minutes of great story telling before it devolves into a therapy session gone wrong) was painful to watch. I don't understand the people calling it amazing. It's not funny nor interesting, it's just watching a man grapple with family issues saying about 5 words in between minute long pauses. That will sound like hyperbole to anyone who hasn't watched it but I'm being serious. It's like 20 min of mostly silence or the audience talking to him through the issues. If he was talking more or had thought about this more beforehand it still wouldn't have been as good as the first part but it could've been very compelling. It just came off as watching someone when they lose their place in a presentation or don't know what to say at a job interview - uncomfortable and boring all at once.

Someone compared this to a podcast and I think that was a great comparison. The only problem is that if the second part were a podcast on its own, it would've been turned off an unsubscribed.

I love Jerrod I think he's one of the most original, smartest, funniest stand ups working. His observations are truly unique and I love his point of view. All that being said though I'm not even sure this was worth a free watch on HBO Max, and that should tell you a lot from a huge fan of his.

Stand-Up Special or Live Podcast?

[tubosun97 · 5/10 · 4 April 2022]

A good friend of mine (who is also a pretty pig Carmichael fan as well) likened this stand-up as a podcast and I feel thats an apt description. Sure, it was funny at times but for the most-part its main draw was hearing such a raw and complex situation(coming out to your family!!!). Carmichael's story is engaging, and I felt I kept listening to hear his story resolve, but in the end we as an audience are the ones who resolve Carmichael's family's future in our imaginations.

As far as "stand-up comedy" specials go this wouldn't even crack my top 15. Its not funny.

In terms of "live A-list celebrity conversations with crowds" this is a 10/10.

If you want to hear Carmichael at his best, go watch '8'.

the evolution of comedy

[josepaulo-72710 · 10/10 · 10 December 2022]

Intimate, personal and challenges the heights and lenghts of your regular comedy special. Very emotionally raw, deeply funny and beautifully shot and edited. Carmichael shows a lot of vulnerability and does somethig I've never seen before - creates a rope between comedy and seriousness and constantly jumps from side to side.

This is a perfect display of the steps forward comedy is taking and how artists are loosing the fear of exposing their true human nature. Loved how caring the audience was, how they interacted with Jerrod and how open everyone seemed to be. Truly one of the best comedy shows I've watched and helped me regaining a little faith in humanity.

Jerrod Carmichael deserves all the love in the world and Bo Burnham proved again the value of his art and his craft.

Amazing Special, The Next Step In An Impressive Lineup Of Specials

[reinitzjacob · 9/10 · 5 April 2022]

Ive seen people give this special bad ratings saying stuff like "hes not making the jokes the whole time and instead talks about serious stuff, if you wanna be laughing the whole time watch 8." And yeah, thats technically true, but if thats your barometer for what a good special is then ligma ballllz and read a review before watching something. I think the special was moving, being funny when he wanted to and personal on his own terms. It worked well for me. Less go!

Felt like I was constantly at the edge of Devastation

[wilburhinojosa · 10/10 · 4 April 2022]

I believe Jerrod is truly a master of his craft. His special is vulnerable, charming, and depicts a quiet introspective experience that wraps around the heart in a bruising fist. He's able to break the tension easily but doesn't try to shy away from acknowledging his own incomplete journey and complicated emotions of what coming out to his family has been like.

I didn't know what to expect from this special, bc tbh I didn't even know he's a comedian. As soon as he began his special on the topic of family secrets I sucked in a breath and kept on holding it, bc I know what its like to keep secrets of and from your family.

When he came out to his audience you could cut the silence with a knife but he didn't falter, even poking lightly at the reaction and what the audience might be feeling. And this is why I think he's absolutely brilliant bc by maintaining this easy camaraderie he seemingly completely draws his audience further into his space. The venue truly becomes the definition of "a safe space"

I can't wait to see more of his work. And I wish him nothing but success for his future.

Incredible

[draculard · 10/10 · 11 April 2022]

Truly wonderful standup special, it manages to have humour, a consistent structure, and at the same time feel like a real dialogue with the audience. This is an incredible feat from an amazing performer.

Not stand up comedy

[Snarky-McSnark · 6/10 · 10 April 2022]

I really enjoyed his last special. With the long drawn out pauses and the moments of faux contemplation it came short of profound. Being gay isn't a big deal. It seems like some comedians need to be boxed into their niche more and more. Just tell jokes..

I didn't laugh that much, but I felt a lot

[logbinder · 10/10 · 6 November 2022]

Really honest, transparent and funny yes, but most of the times I was actually sad. And I guess that's why this show was so great, because it's really hard to find something like this. It was so heartfelt, sometimes dark and I actually thought it's not something really funny, but I got that having a laugh at it was a coping mechanism. I was very impressed overall and I have never seen a set up like this and the audience was amazing too. I loved how this felt like a conversation, sometimes even therapy and it did address so many topics including homophobia and racist but in a kind and understanding tone. It is a gem.

Cry for help?

[billsoccer · 7/10 · 3 April 2022]

Jerrod is my favorite comedian. The fact that he is gay doesn't diminish how much I look forward to his next special. The fact that he seems to use this special to work his way through 'coming out' just seemed like he's crying for help. I hope my fellow christians don't hound him.

Much (most?) of the material isn't even meant to be funny, and some was quite dark, hence the relatively low rating for what was billed as a comedy.

A beautifully shot touching, comedic performance piece that will stay with me for a while

[Sasha_Lauren · 10/10 · 16 April 2022]

I recently saw a clip of the opening monologue Jerrod Carmichael did on SNL after the Academy Awards. This was my introduction to Jerrod. I liked it a lot. So when I saw this special Rothaniel on HBO, directed by Bo Burnham, I watched. The show, beautifully shot in a Jazz Club amidst lightly falling snow, is a mix of a comedy show / therapy session as Jerrod comes out as gay to his interactive audience in a personal way. I loved it. At first I thought, "I've never seen anything like this before," but then I recalled some one-person and ensemble theatre performance pieces I saw in the Bay Area way back when I was in theatre school. The difference this one is the audience; they call out words of support and ask really good questions. Carmichael shares other secrets about himself and his family in an observational delivery style that is so touching and relatable that the confessional performance will sit with me for a while. I highly recommend this show.

Funny and Thought Provoking

[tkdlifemagazine · 6/10 · 12 April 2022]

This is a bright and funny young stand up comedian. He is a good storyteller and took on some bold and thought provoking topics. He is funny and interesting with a unique delivery. He definitely appears honest and unconcerned about hour the politically correct world will perceive his humor. I did not love it as a stand up special because it is not as funny as some; however, his storytelling kept me engaged and I did laugh. I do not like Bo Burnham, at all, and maybe it was his direction that left this one not living up to all it could be.

Not a stand up comedy

[baka_land · 1/10 · 24 May 2022]

Story telling time, I'm sorry that I don't care what millionaires go through, the hardship or whatever they are fighting. I don't care. Stand up comedy means, you should have good jokes, he sounds like he can act but I don't think comedy is for him, but it's hollywood, people are too 'woke' and live to just validate anything, literally anything to pretend that they care or they are progressive, civilized people. I guess dave chappelle Now, does that, he just talks and have some jokes so I guess it's the norm and if you don't appreciate that crap, they tell you that you don't get it. Well write a book, I watch this stuff to laugh, without the laughs it's not comedy.

Best Special of All Time

[chetburnett9 · 10/10 · 30 September 2022]

This is one of the funniest and most important comedy specials in the history of the art form and it's probably my personal favorite. I had known of Jerrod from his show and various other things he's been apart of, but I had never watched any of his stand up before. However, by the end of Rothaniel I felt like I knew him better than any other comedian I'd ever watched. Despite this, what makes the special so great is, in addition to being a therapeutic, fluid and confessional hour, which, although unconventional, is certainly not unheard of, the way Jerrod mixes actual laugh out loud comedy so fluidly into raw emotional expression is more profound and simultaneously hilarious than any other comedian I've ever seen. Never before has a special impacted me emotionally the way "Rothaniel" did, but I hope that the impact the special has on the medium is lasting and influences other comedians to find that perfect balance that Jerrod so seemingly effortlessly finds here. The special as a whole feels more like a really good conversation with a really close friend who is just naturally really funny than it does a planned out performance that has been carefully worked out for months in advance. However, at the same time, it all comes full circle in such a beautiful, seamless way that it had to have been intricately thought out, practiced and executed with such careful precision that it is ultimately astonishing when it finally reaches it's unbelievable twist ending. Genius 10/10.

Excellent and brutally honest

[GhostReturns · 10/10 · 10 April 2022]

I have never seen someone be so vulnerable and honest about their personal life. I applaud Rothaniel for having the courage to share his journey with the world. His stand up set is full of witty humor and sincere moments. Great job!!