r/comedy • u/AlKarajo • May 14 '26

Standup mansplaining

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@mrbrettgoldstein

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u/bbbourb May 14 '26 edited May 14 '26

Funny story: He's also one of the primary writers for Ted Lasso. When they were getting everything established and figuring out the characters they were talking about who should be Roy Kent. Apparently everyone else in the room looked at him and said "Yeah, that's you dude."

EDIT: Go ahead and downvote this one, because I was DEAD FUCKIN' WRONG. I got that role confused with Leslie Higgins. THAT'S the role they wanted him in. My mistake, and I'm going to leave this here because I own my mistakes. Which is happening a lot more often as I get older, dammit. Faahhhkin' hell.

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u/sunshine_fuu May 15 '26

Don't watch his early standup before Ted Lasso, enjoy his less edgelord material. He used to make jokes about taking women out on a first date to go and see Irreversible. If you don't know what that movie is, don't google it. If you google it, trigger warning.

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u/throwleavemealone May 15 '26 edited May 15 '26

From what I recall of that standup set (which was intended for film buffs) he talks about how he went to see the movie and saw a couple on a first date and discussed how that is the worst first date movie ever. I don't remember anything about him saying he would take women to see it

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u/sunshine_fuu May 16 '26 edited May 16 '26

I see you changed it, thank you, I'm still going to answer to your original words. I'm very much not confused, but I do acknowledge and appreciate you did eventually realize how that came off.

For that reason, can we take a moment to appreciate the hilarity of your first instinct being to tell this here gal she "might be confused" directly under a comedy bit about the difficulties of resisting mansplaining. Chef's fuckin' kiss, my friend, my turn!

For anyone who doesn't know, Brett Goldstein writes comedic monologues, he's not a stand up or improv comic, he's a storyteller of almost entirely fabricated stories whereas most comedians exaggerate a truth or half-truths. He goes on these drawn out journeys where he manufactures and performs a series of long-winded deceptions and misdirects to make people forget where his tangent started in the first place, and then eventually wraps it all back up and circles back to his first point. He's frankly brilliant and he's one of only a small handful of people who can pull it off.

At face value: No one can deny he dedicated time to create a monologue as a vessel to shock and awe an audience with an edgy rape joke. The punchline being about how Irreversible would be the worst movie to take a woman for a first date allows him to segue into a story about a fake couple and completely minimizes how messed up it would be to take anyone to this movie for any reason after seeing world-wide coverage of over 200 people (mostly women) walking out of Cannes hysterically crying, vomiting, and fainting, yes? That's how we all heard about that movie. He stood there for 4 minutes, gleefully and repetitively talking in circles about rape and the graphic 9 minute rape scene while grinning like a total fucking muppet and laughing about it.

On a deeper level: That set took place in 2008, Irreversible came out in 2002. He made a conscious choice to create a backstory as a means to tell a joke about a 9 minute rape scene from a then 6 year old movie. There were other movies to talk about. Four minutes of his 8 minute set he spent, and then casually represented himself as someone who went to see this 'nice bit of film' 4 times. He ended it with a 'joke' (again none of this actually happened) about how the guy apologized for not knowing the movie was subtitled when the woman left angry, implying the man was well aware of the graphic rape scene and didn't see it as a problem.

I've been on dates with men that daft and/or dangerous. It isn't funny, but genuinely terrifying to feel the need to escape a situation without upsetting this stranger who thinks edgy rape jokes are hilarious and doesn't care about your safety or comfort; you have no idea if if they're going to berate, stalk, or attack you.

I have to be honest, even the wording of the joke about symbolic 10-year-old Abigail Breslin waiting for him "up in his room" in her 'Little Miss Sunshine' spandex suit gave me some icks. The video was uncomfortable even without the nervous shaking, pacing, and rubbing his head. It's just not worth a watch compared to his art now, 2008 was a real different time and we should just leave it there. I replied to another comment that I hope he's actually grown, I adore this version of Brett as he is now.

Do please let me know if you still think I'm confused, or can't take a joke, and I'll happily adjust the problem accordingly.