John Mulaney & The Sack Lunch Bunch
John Mulaney has proven time and time again that he is a unique comedian whose style is defined by a sharp observational wit, a profound sense of empathy for others and a perfect balance between parody and reverence for his various old-school inspirations. He is both old-fashioned in his more traditionally wholesome subject matter and distinctly modern in his approach to critiquing and embodying it.
In John Mulaney & The Sack Lunch Bunch, Mulaney carries his wit, empathy and wholesomeness forward into an experimental children’s musical comedy special, with the caveat that he neither has nor wants children of his own. What results is a joyful, heartwarming, hilarious and quite an empathetic look into the multi-faceted and tumultuous time of childhood, including all the laughter and tears that come with it.
Joining Mulaney is an ensemble cast of highly talented and thought provoking young kids as the titular Sack Lunch Bunch along side an impressive roster of guest stars, including Andre De Shields, Richard Kind, David Byrne, Natasha Lyonne, Annaleigh Ashford, Annamarie Tendler, and Jake Gyllenhaal. Each kid is given some sort of segment to feature their comedic, theatrical or musical abilities and many of them are paired with one of the aforementioned guest stars.
The unique places emphasizes on variety in both art form and thematic material, focusing on commonly known but often unaddressed facets of childhood. The belittlement of children, the suppression of their voices and the various misconceptions that adults have about children are all ideas that are expressed in a whimsical, colourful, and musical style. Mulaney fully utilizes the talents of these children to illustrate further that kids are capable of more than they are given credit. Throughout the special, each actor is allowed to tell the audience their deepest fears and trace the root cause of these fears to tangible aspects of their daily life. In this way, The Sack Lunch Bunch treats its children with a great deal of maturity and explores the darkness of childhood without sacrificing its wonderfully silly sense of humour.
Mulaney is in peak comedic form here and works well with the children as the faux-Mr Rogers figure. His role here is to let the children shine and the children prove that they are more than ready to steal the show. Songs such as “Grandma’s Boyfriend Paul”, “Plain Plate of Noodles” and “I Saw a White Lady Standing on the Street Just Sobbing (and I Think About It Once a Week)” showcase the impressive range of the kids’ artistic ability and display a complex array of emotions and a highly expressive soul. Songs such as “Algebra Song!” and “Music, Music Everywhere!” allow the guest artists to interact and play off of the intuitive comedic and musical instincts of the children, contrasting zany adult characters with perceptive and endearingly intelligent kids.
What The Sack Lunch Bunch does best is take its kids seriously and treat them like thinking and feeling human beings. Mulaney and his ensemble are a delight to watch from start to finish and this unique special finds something that few other children’s specials strive for: sincerity. John Mulaney & The Sack Lunch Bunch is a beautifully rendered look into the eyes, minds and voices of modern children and an exceptional comedic and musical experience.
John Mulaney & The Sack Lunch Bunch is streaming exclusively on NETFLIX December 24th 2019
