Before comedian Kyle Mooney made the leap to "Saturday Night Live" in 2013, he was a member of the iconic sketch comedy troupe Good Neighbor, along with childhood friends Beck Bennett, Dave McCary and Nick Rutherford. The quartet's off-kilter but earnest brand of comedy was already being noticed in a big way by the time Lorne Michaels came calling.
Four years later and Mooney has started to come into his own on the show, figuring out which of his sensibilities will connect with a more mainstream audience (rather than ending up in the "Cut For Time" section, as his memorably awkward interview with Justin Bieber fans did).
Mooney is nothing short of a comedy genius, but he's not a typical live performer. With this rare tour, which stopped by Thalia Hall on Wednesday night for a sold-out show, he's bringing a number of his original characters from Good Neighbor sketches (including those that have since appeared on "SNL") to the stage in an attempt to bring his longtime Good Neighbor fans — who can be almost cultish in their love for the old videos — together with his newer fans. It mostly works.
And although the tour is titled "Kyle Mooney Live" — and Mooney is indeed the star — it could just as easily have been called "Good Neighbor Minus Beck Bennett," as three of the four members of the group appear throughout the course of the night, with Bennett (a fellow "SNL" cast member) only popping up on screen in one of Mooney's early YouTube clips ("singing while doin chores :P") that plays during a costume change.
McCary, who was hired as an "SNL" segment director the same year Mooney and Bennett were hired as performers, appears in a few sketches and gives a shoutout to their enigmatic but surprisingly touching new film "Brigsby Bear" (which McCary directed and Mooney co-wrote and stars in), while Rutherford serves as the opening act, delivering around 15 minutes of more standard stand-up.
"I'm in a good mood. I just found out that my girlfriend is pregnant," he said early on, pausing for cheers. "Also I just broke up with my girlfriend."
Rutherford spent a good deal of his set discussing what he would do if he were a woman, a choice that came back to bite the trio — though Mooney and McCary were not involved — during the lengthy after-show Q&A, when an audience member asked for an explanation of the rise of "ironic sexism" in alternative comedy and demanded that Rutherford explain his rationale for the jokes he made.
The question left Rutherford stumbling and turned awkward when he jokingly insisted on "only questions from guys now."
But back to the show.
Mooney first hit the stage in character as the cocksure but incapable veteran road comic Bruce Chandling, a smarmy, forcefully unfunny amalgam of Andrew Dice Clay, Jay Leno and Neil Hamburger who strutted to the mic in a leather jacket with "USA" written down the sides. "You guys got this deep-dish pizza," he remarked, commenting on how many different types of pizza there are. "Personally I got only one name for pizza. You know what it is? Mine!"
His 15-minute set ended with a hushed (but miked) confession to an audience member about his heart problems, alcoholism and family troubles, adding a Mooney tinge to a blowhard character by revealing the deep-seated insecurities and vulnerabilities hiding behind the overly confident persona.
Mooney also appeared as a SoCal bro named Todd, a broody teen named Chris Fitzpatrick (a recurring character on "SNL") and one of his most popular YouTube characters — a guy from a video called "sporty" named Kyle who professes an intense love for sports but mangles any references to actual teams, players, actions or any aspect of sports talk. This last bit is where Mooney was able to make the best use of his improvising skills and the endearing cluelessness he can bring to a character.
After complaining to McCary that "my team had the chance to win the ring of gold cup and they blew it," Mooney got the audience to enthusiastically chant "West Beast" for the name of his made-up team.
While the show itself lasted about 85 minutes, the Q&A added an additional 30, with questions ranging from how scripted the live show is ("It's extremely loose but also at the same time incredibly professional," joked Mooney) to whether there is any tension among the Good Neighbor guys because only three of them are on "SNL," a well-known sore spot.
"Yeah!" came the quick reply from Rutherford, who was not hired by "SNL" with his fellow troupe members but was a writer for one season. "It was awkward. It was tough and I really haven't gotten over it. Thanks for bringing it up."
McCary added that all four Good Neighbors worked on "Brigsby Bear" in some capacity, with Rutherford and Bennett appearing in supporting roles. "In a weird way we splintered and now we're coming back together," added Rutherford.
The night ended with a stilted re-enactment of one of Good Neighbor's most famous bits — a lengthy toast (titled simply "toast" on YouTube, if you're interested) — with an audience member volunteering to stand in for the missing Bennett, without knowing all the lines or choreography. If the trio was looking for a way to highlight what was missing in all the Good Neighbor callbacks of "Kyle Mooney Live," they couldn't have found a better way to do it.
Zach Freeman is a freelance writer.
Twitter @ZachRunsChicago
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