Norm Macdonald: Nothing Special
NETFLIXIt goes without saying that Norm Macdonald was, and is, special. His Netflix special, Nothing Special, is more of what audiences love about the former Saturday Night Live star. His wit and humour, enclosed in a private room where Macdonald records some of his last pieces of material. For Macdonald's fans, this is a clear treat – but Nothing Special serves as a celebration of the life of the late comedian, who leaves behind a phenomenal body of work. Here, he talks about everything from cannibalism to casinos in a set that proves comedy does not need an audience or an audible cue of when to laugh. It also proves that there is great skill in one person making many laugh while alone, armed with nothing but a microphone and a camera.
There is an intimacy about the one-take structure Macdonald presents here. To edit and whittle down to the best bits would be an easy route to take but a cop-out for a comedian that was so used to being up on stage and rolling with the punches. Nothing Special is not perfect, and that is exactly the strength Macdonald utilises and learns from here, at a time when homemade broadcasting and frequent edits are the standard, to smudge out the mistakes and cover up the problems. For the few that occur in Nothing Special, they ooze a new life that counters the heavy cuts of many comedy sets, embracing the homemade atmosphere and all the highs and lows that come with it. Nothing Special feels like a Zoom call, in the kindest way possible and in the best.
From waiting for a dog to stop barking to mocking those that believe stand-up comedians are the modern-day philosophers, Macdonald hits out and at for the thrill of it. Therein lies the problem though, because some of the tender moments do linger on in a state of philosophical functionality. David Letterman, Adam Sandler and a slew of famous faces discuss the set after it ends. Macdonald’s arching point for the whole set is the need to make choices. One life, one chance, but spoken far more intimately and wildly by Macdonald, who comes close to unleashing a bit of wisdom throughout the set, but drifts back to the comfort of meanderingly great routines. This is his You Want it Darker. Far more cannibal-oriented than Leonard Cohen’s final piece, but audiences can’t complain.
His previous specials may have been a bit of a stop-and-start piece of Netflix tomfoolery, but here there is genuine, wandering ambition. It feels similar to Norm Macdonald Live in its routine and pacing, but without a guest or co-host to feed the comic lines. Instead, Macdonald makes do in a room of his own making. He invites his audience in, sits them down, and hands them one final helping of his deadpan humour. Macdonald was one of the greats, one of the few that made comedy feel like more than just a spotty hour of entertainment. Nothing Special does what so many have tried to do, and Macdonald does it with ease, consistently. For those just finding his comedy through this latest Netflix release, hopefully, it will push them down the rabbit hole of Macdonald’s hefty backlog of work. It’s well worth the ride.