BelugaJames

Jerrod Carmichael: Rothaniel

Is it a standup special, or a confessional? As of late it seems to be a trend for comics to get serious in their specials, in this case, it feels more like a serious talk with some laughs sprinkled throughout. Jerrod Carmichael has been one of my favorite voices in comedy for many years, from his short lived show, to his other specials, his evolution as a comic and performer has been fantastic. ROTHANIEL is no exception, and it’s simultaneously hard to watch and enthralling, as he bares his soul on stage. A really beautiful film.

nathansnook

Jerrod Carmichael: Rothaniel

"𝘐'𝘮 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶." Trauma dump as performance. The sentimental distance and refrain mixed with Levy's eye for the grain in film and keen eye on New England comfort creates this intimate experience. What an opener. Carmichael is skilled in his performance, his pauses, and knows when to drop left-field lines to rouse a crowd, keep them close as Levy's camera inches closer and closer to what feels like a friend to a friend, a confession, all from the heart. This surprised me. In the delicate way Carmichael unfolds himself. He uses vulnerability to break down toxic masculinity. I'm not surprised that Burnham decided to cut back to the comedy club window, watching snow fall against the outside world, leaving us to go back to reality a bit richer in human experience. "𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 ... 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳. 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦."