Michelle Buteau: A Buteau-ful Mind at Radio City Music Hall (2024) – Review | Buteau Brings Fun Aunt Energy To Her Latest Special

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Time Length	1 hour 4 minutes
Directed By	Page Hurwitz, Sandra Restrepo
Written By	Michelle Buteau
Released	December 31, 2024
Network	Netflix
Genre(s)	Stand Up Comedy
Character Name	Actor
Herself	Michelle Buteau

Plot Summary

From going viral with her “Savory Sweet Potato Bake,” raising twins, getting high with her husband, LGBT+ friends, and aging, Michelle Buteau brings that fun aunt energy to Radio City in what is advertised as the first comedy special filmed by a woman at Radio City Music Hall.

Collected Quote(s)

They don’t understand your power because they’re not in their power.

Review

Our Rating (81/100): Positive (Watch This)

While I wouldn’t say what is presented pushes you to think you’d need to spend the money required to see Michelle Buteau live, it does make for a quality comedy special which can make you laugh and lose track of an hour as you are reminded why Buteau’s star power is growing.

Audience

Buteau’s comedy is for those who live life as she presents herself: Those who like to have fun, maybe drink a little, get high sometimes, and who aren’t trying to hurt anyone in pursuit of a good time.

Highlights

Good Storytelling

Buteau is the type of comedian whose stories are very much in the vein of “Girl, you wouldn’t believe what happened!” without going to the blackout-drunk places some of her peers would speak about, especially in the late 2010s. For Buteau, even though she isn’t above a sex joke or one about drugs, rarely could you ever say she is the type of comic who leans on the excuse, “But men have been telling jokes like this forever.”

Just as she isn’t lazy when it comes to jokes regarding LGBT+ people in her life, which we’ll go into more below, her jokes about being high at a Knicks game or during a day date with her husband, don’t seek to be slapstick and ridiculous to still be funny. Also, while she talks about sex, it is more so in the form of how she enjoys the act, especially as an expression of love towards her husband; it is rarely treated as a punch line or even veering towards self-deprecating humor.

If anything, Buteau, while knowing she is a bigger woman, and that comes with certain assumptions, like she is nice all the time, never allows you to see her as some minstrel act trying to appeal to, from what it looked like, her largely White audience. Instead, she takes advantage of that assumption of being personable and approachable to bring you in and make it seem like you are in the circle (no pun intended) and get in on the funny things of her personal life.

Example Of How To Do LGBT+ Jokes As A Straight (?) Person

To some surprise, Buteau outright calls out Dave Chappelle, and in some ways, the host of her own special, Netflix, in creating and paying people to tell disparaging jokes about the LGBT+ community. She even makes a point to talk about a lesbian friend, in a rather nonchalant way, to prove you can make a joke, a sex joke at that, without having to “punch down” as is often said about Chappelle’s jokes and commentary about the LGBT+ community.

You Don’t Have To Relate To Find Something Funny

As of this special, Buteau is a 47-year-old woman with twins and a husband from Europe who likes to get high, drink, is body positive, lives in New York City, and is very LGBT+ friendly. With this comes a lot to draw on, which some may not understand, and she acknowledges it. A few times in her set, she notes some people in the audience relate, catch her comparisons, and others simply judge her.

Yet, even if you don’t understand her comparing her daughter to a middle-aged, Black DMV worker, she rolls out the reasons why she chose that imagery. Even if you’ve never got high on edibles, even though Buteau doesn’t go over the top with her stories, you still get a sense of what she says happened, you can imagine it, and find yourself either chuckling as she does throughout, if not simply laugh without force.

On The Fence

Doesn’t Necessarily End On A High Note

Like most comedy specials, you’ll find yourself having a good time, not checking how much is left before this is over, and then the brakes are hit hard, and that’s it. The same thing happens with “A Buteau-ful Mind” in that you think there is more after Buteau has the story of a bearded dragon and dealings with a bigot, only to learn that is the end – full stop.

It is a tad bit jarring and certainly not the smoothest finish, but there aren’t too many comedians who, unless they announce things are coming to an end, know how to end their set without it feeling abrupt.

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