I became aware of John Early from a Seth Meyers interview which got me to dive into the massively underrated show Search Party. His comedic presence is so intelligent and unique, it's really hard to describe to people but I truly believe Early is one of the funniest performers working right now. In Now More Than Ever, I learned he's also a phenomenal musician. I mean it. I would buy tickets just to see him sing - it's incredible. He performs four well-chosen cover songs with a live band whose members are also featured in sketch comedy bits mainly in the first half-hour.
The trouble with this hour-long special is it's edited from a performance that was clearly much longer than one hour and the short sketches use up time and affect the flow of the live portion. I'm always impressed by how stand-ups keep an audience laughing for a full hour or more. This special takes the viewer at home out of that experience. At times it feels like a few YouTube clips strung together. If Early is trying to showcase his many talents he certainly succeeds but if you're making an HBO Special, you've already "made it" as a performer; no one needs a demo reel.
I give this an 8/10. I highly recommend Search Party and John Early's sketch special Would It Kill You To Laugh? With Kate Berlant over on Paramount+.
