Grace Mulvey picks her Perfect Playlist

Edinburgh Fringe-bound comedian Grace Mulvey picks her Perfect Playlist of comedy favourites...

Dylan Moran: Monster at Vicar Street

I think every comedian has a stand up special which they re-watched again and again in their teens and consider perfect. Mine is Dylan Moran’s Monster special. I discovered it when I was 16 years old, and it still holds up. 

Dylan Moran manages to cover various topics from national identity to blues music to religion seamlessly. From ‘Everybody is corrupted by hotel rooms’ to ‘Gin isn’t really a drink, it’s a mascara thinner’, it is near perfect.

Through this special, I also discovered Dylan Moran’s brilliant sitcom Black Books. If you haven’t seen it, drop what you are doing and watch it now!

The Birdcage

The Birdcage is a 1996 American comedy film about a gay couple who agree to put up a false straight front so that their son can introduce them to his fiancée’s uber right-wing, conservative parents. 

This film has it all; slapstick comedy, political satire, and fantastic drag acts! On top of that it has a stacked cast including Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, Gene Hackmen and Dianne Wiest to name a few. And the film has was directed by Mike Nichols and written by Elaine May – what more can you ask for?!

I remember watching this with my Dad when I was in my early teens. Most of the jokes went over my head but I still found it so funny. There are always aspects of comedy that age badly but what I like about the film is just how much the family members love each other. Also, there is a great scene in which Robin Williams accidentally falls in the kitchen and laughs for real.

Catastrophe

I remember being absolutely blown away when watching the first episode of Catastrophe. It had the production quality of a drama, was hilarious and was co-created, co-written, and starred an Irish woman, Sharon Horgan. I was obsessed.

The show is about two single people Sharon and Rob who become a couple after Sharon unexpectedly becomes pregnant following a fling while Rob is visiting London on a business trip.

After Sharon informs Rob of the pregnancy, he moves to London, and they marry shortly before she gives birth to their son. The whole show is about two people trying to just make sense of life while raising two children. It’s a catastrophe.

Mrs Doubtfire

Another Robin Williams film on my list! But this one is an absolute classic. If you haven’t seen this film, you must be living under a rock. It follows a recently divorced voice actor who disguises himself as an elderly female housekeeper to be able to interact with his three children.

Not only is this film extremely quotable – ‘It was a run-by fruiting’, ‘It was the drink that killed him/How awful. He was an alcoholic?/No, he was hit by a Guinness truck.’

This movie was an absolute favourite with my friends in school and college. We basically quote is as a shorthand of greeting each other.

At times it can be quite a moving film, I obviously like my comedies to have some depth. The film deals with themes of divorce, separation, and the effect that they have on a family. And the monologue at the end will have even the most hardened viewer tearing up. 

Also, Sally Field! I have nothing else to add but when Sally Field is in a movie you should watch it.

30 Rock

30 Rock was the first sitcom that I became aware of in modern times that was created by a woman. When Tina Fey’s name first appeared on screen, I honestly felt like a career in comedy was a possibility for me. Also, she wore glasses and I wear glasses, so you know basically that’s representation enough for me.

The show follows Liz Lemon, the head writer of the sketch comedy show TGS with Tracy Jordan, as she deals with an arrogant boss and the two crazy, spoilt stars of the show. The plot of each episode is bananas and yet it is one of the funniest TV shows ever. The surreal humour within the corporate environment of NBC works so well. The cast of Alec Baldwin, Tracy Morgan, Jane Krakowski and of course Tina Fey, gives the show it’s zany energy.

It is also insanely quotable – ‘I want to go to there’.

Bob’s Burgers

Bob’s Burgers is so good that it has somehow managed to make this list over the animated series I grew up with (and that, let’s be honest, raised me), The Simpsons.

Much like the The Simpsons, it is centres on an American Family. However in this show the Belchers —parents Bob and Linda and their three children, Tina, Gene, and Louise — are a lower-class family who run a burger restaurant. Like other shows they go on all kinds of crazy adventures but what makes this show stand out is the improv-like humour, character driven plots and that this family not only love each other but like each other too.

 Every character in the family is funny in their own way. Unlike other shows where the dad gets to have all the fun and the wife must be the voice of reason, in this it is actually Bob who is trying to stop the family from being adventurous. Linda and the kids get to be eccentric and cause mayhem.

Episodes typically follow the family's experiences running the restaurant and interacting with the eccentric members of the town, including Teddy the handyman, Mort the mortician and Marshmallow, a transgender sex worker. Also, many episodes contain great musical numbers!

I highly recommend watching the cast of voice actors improvising a scene in a random interview online.  

• Grace Mulvey: Tall Baby is on at Assembly Roxy at 7.05pm.

Published: 29 Jul 2024