Happiness looks good on Patton Oswalt in the charming and wry I Love Everything – The A.V. Club
Photo: Kent Smith (Netflix)TV ReviewsAll of our TV reviews in one convenient place.
Patton Oswalt looks happy. Traversing the stage at the Knight Theater in Charlotte, North Carolina, for his latest Netflix special, I Love Everything, the comedian cant help but burst into a giant grin repeatedly over the course of his set. Even during his complaints about the horrific nature of the healthy breakfast cereals he now makes himself consume in his 50s (Im eating cereal that tastes like an unpopular teenagers poetry), Oswalt is all smiles. It may seem surprising to longtime fans who still recall the royally pissed-off nerd who launched salvo after whip-smart salvo in the culture wars during his early comedy albums like Feelin Kinda Patton or Werewolves And Lollipops. But the man who once raged against the appalling nature of 80s hair metal seems to have made peace with thingswell, except maybe Dennys.
B
B
Patton Oswalt
May 19 on Netflix
Actually, this newfound joy might sound even stranger to those who remember Oswalts fiercely cathartic set addressing the 2016 death of his wife, writer and journalist Michelle McNamara, as detailed in his most recent stand-up special, 2017s Annihilation. Since then, he has remarried, and rediscovered the joy of everyday living. After acknowledging that he had initially assumed he would just exist after McNamaras death, he urges the audiencein the most earnest and emotional moment of I Love Everythingto seek out the best reason for living: If you find love, run toward it. And all of the jokes that surround that exhortation are suffused with that sense of uplift. Does it sap some of the vicious bite from his wit? Undeniably so. But it also makes it awfully hard not to like spending an hour with the comic; hes gone from being the antisocial malcontent holding hilarious court at the end of the bar to the funny friend who makes you feel better just by being around. Its a fair trade.
I Love Everything, for all its easygoing charm, is still instantly recognizable as the work of Oswalts free-associative comedic persona. Whether riffing on how the blandly organic makers of his aforementioned breakfast must have begun (Sorghum Farms was born outside a Phish concert in 1990) or inventing lengthy backstories for the tragic-looking characters on the kids menu at Dennys, his penchant for following narrative curlicues down absurdist rabbit holes remains undimmed. But where the punchlines used to live in the outrage that seemed to continually simmer below the surface of every acid observation he made, now Oswalts humor is laced with a relatable world-weariness that comes from having been through the wringer, coming out the other side, and being confronted the fact that maybe its not worth getting so pissed off about the little things, no matter how irritating. This is comedy borne of fascination, not rage.
Thats not to say some things dont still make him mad. But Oswalt largely passes by the Trump-shaped elephant in every room, pointing out the nigh-futility of joking about this administration by comparing it to an eighteen-wheeler full of monkeys and PCP that crashed into a train full of diarrhea. And everybodys watching it, like, Holy shit, look at this! And then you as a comedian walk up and say, Hey, wanna hear a joke I wrote about this? Instead, he saves his ire for things like having to miss the Hollywood premiere of Solo: A Star Wars Story, complete with a life-size recreation of the Millennium Falcon you could wander around in, because he had to attend his daughters second grade art show. Though even this gets shrugged off with the subsequent realization that his younger self would be fine with this trade-off, given it means he will have sex at some point in the future.
G/O Media may get a commission
Oswalt ends it all with an epic thought experiment about the time he took his daughter to Dennys as part of a Daddy-Daughter Day, a closing bit that demonstrates the comedian fusing together all the things he does bestunexpected wordplay, imaginative flights of referential fancy, and cutting assessments of humdrum corporate actions that might just be far more sinister than they appear. Its funny, smart, and imaginative in all the right ways, with a generosity of spirit underlying the cutting nature of the humor. (That generosity extends to his fellow comedian Bob Rubin: Oswalt has attached the stand-ups set to play right after his.) Patton Oswalt is changing into a different, more empathetic type of comedian, but for those willing to follow along on his new path, there are ample rewards.
Read this article:
Happiness looks good on Patton Oswalt in the charming and wry I Love Everything - The A.V. Club
- Culture comes first in cybersecurity. That puts cybersecurity on the front line in the culture wars - theregister.com - May 8th, 2025 [May 8th, 2025]
- While His Admin Delights In The Culture Wars, Trump Tiptoes Around Abortion. At Least For Now. - Talking Points Memo - May 8th, 2025 [May 8th, 2025]
- Australians have soundly rejected Trump-style culture wars. Now Albanese must act with courage and vision - The Guardian - May 8th, 2025 [May 8th, 2025]
- Culture wars, political polarization and deepening inequality: the roots of Trumpism - The Conversation - May 8th, 2025 [May 8th, 2025]
- THE OCEANSIDER: An Aside About the School Board Elections Culture Wars Trickle Down to Tillamook - Tillamook County Pioneer - May 8th, 2025 [May 8th, 2025]
- OPINION: Book bans draw libraries into damaging culture wars that undermine their purpose - The Hechinger Report - May 8th, 2025 [May 8th, 2025]
- PG Tips enters the tea culture wars with NCA - More About Advertising - May 8th, 2025 [May 8th, 2025]
- Debate over partisanship, culture wars in Mansfield ISD at center of school board race - Fort Worth Report - May 3rd, 2025 [May 3rd, 2025]
- Oklahoma Watch: The Supreme Court had classroom culture wars on top of mind in oral arguments - Duncan Banner - May 3rd, 2025 [May 3rd, 2025]
- The Supreme Court Had Classroom Culture Wars on Top of Mind in Oral Arguments - notus.org - May 3rd, 2025 [May 3rd, 2025]
- Culture wars and costings: election special podcast with Michelle Grattan and Amanda Dunn - The Conversation - May 3rd, 2025 [May 3rd, 2025]
- Online pile-ons and culture wars: how did we get here? - The Sydney Morning Herald - May 3rd, 2025 [May 3rd, 2025]
- Opinion | Can the Catholic Church Quit the Culture Wars? - The New York Times - April 30th, 2025 [April 30th, 2025]
- Morning Mail: Dutton switches to culture wars in last debate; Canada heartbroken after car ramming; Liverpool win league - The Guardian - April 30th, 2025 [April 30th, 2025]
- How your showerhead and fridge got roped into the culture wars - Grist.org - April 30th, 2025 [April 30th, 2025]
- Libraries have been in the crosshairs of culture wars throughout history - Houston Public Media - April 30th, 2025 [April 30th, 2025]
- Symbol of Injustice and the culture wars: Volleyball trans athlete and her teammates are caught in the middle - Genetic Literacy Project - April 30th, 2025 [April 30th, 2025]
- Fundamentalists in the Public Square: Evolution, Alcohol, and Culture Wars after the Scopes Trial - The Gospel Coalition - April 30th, 2025 [April 30th, 2025]
- Culture Wars talk New Single Typical Ways, And New Upcoming Album - Soundsphere magazine - April 30th, 2025 [April 30th, 2025]
- Can culture wars win elections? - Australian Broadcasting Corporation - April 30th, 2025 [April 30th, 2025]
- Peter Dutton flicks switch to culture wars as cost of living proves tough egg to crack - The Guardian - April 30th, 2025 [April 30th, 2025]
- VIDEO: Costings and culture wars as last week begins - Australian Broadcasting Corporation - April 30th, 2025 [April 30th, 2025]
- Justices Consider the Culture Wars During LGTBQ Storybook Hearing - Law.com - April 30th, 2025 [April 30th, 2025]
- Laura Tingle's Election: polls and culture wars in the final week - Australian Broadcasting Corporation - April 30th, 2025 [April 30th, 2025]
- Capitol Update: Rep. Brandon Woodard says GOP put culture wars over real solutions this session - Johnson County Post - April 21st, 2025 [April 21st, 2025]
- How Emerging Adults Have Historically Responded To Culture Wars - Forbes - April 21st, 2025 [April 21st, 2025]
- Campfire and culture wars: the history of the American summer camp - MSN - April 21st, 2025 [April 21st, 2025]
- The charts that show youngsters are rejecting the Lefts culture wars - The Telegraph - April 3rd, 2025 [April 3rd, 2025]
- Beyond the culture wars: How mysticism can get us beyond polarisation - Catholic Outlook - April 3rd, 2025 [April 3rd, 2025]
- Work and money worry young people more than culture wars or climate, UK poll finds - The Guardian - April 1st, 2025 [April 1st, 2025]
- Ag Secretary Uses Purse Strings to Press Culture Wars in States - DTN Progressive Farmer - April 1st, 2025 [April 1st, 2025]
- Lionel Shriver: Trump has ended US culture wars but UK is lagging - The Times - April 1st, 2025 [April 1st, 2025]
- No 10 happy to dip its toe into culture wars in row with Sentencing Council - The Guardian - April 1st, 2025 [April 1st, 2025]
- Canada ditches divisive culture wars for focused hyper-nationalism thanks to Donald Trump - Daily Maverick - April 1st, 2025 [April 1st, 2025]
- Disneys New Snow White Film Fights Culture Wars and Wins - Bloomberg - March 22nd, 2025 [March 22nd, 2025]
- Culture wars reach the classroom: What is the best way to teach children about gender and identity? - The Irish Times - March 22nd, 2025 [March 22nd, 2025]
- 'I thought we were done with the culture wars': Democrats push back on measure clarifying what makes school books 'harmful to minors' - Creative... - March 22nd, 2025 [March 22nd, 2025]
- Letter: Culture wars drove me away from the GOP - Bangor Daily News - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- Beth Ann Rosica: Pennsylvania culture wars to be waged in the courtroom - Broad + Liberty - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]
- I have a pathological need to be right: Ash Sarkar on culture wars, controversy and Corbyns lost legacy - The Guardian - March 7th, 2025 [March 7th, 2025]
- Alex Gibney to Exec Produce Doc About College Culture Wars and Freedom of Speech (EXCLUSIVE) - Variety - March 7th, 2025 [March 7th, 2025]
- Embrace of authoritarianism in US fueled by culture wars more than economy, study finds - The University of Kansas - March 7th, 2025 [March 7th, 2025]
- Memo to Hollywood: Theres No Running or Hiding From the Culture Wars - TheWrap - March 7th, 2025 [March 7th, 2025]
- Culture wars reach warfighters as area military bases ordered to scrub online content - Fredericksburg Free Press - March 7th, 2025 [March 7th, 2025]
- The WA election campaign has been about big promises, but culture wars are inescapable in contemporary politics - The Conversation Indonesia - March 7th, 2025 [March 7th, 2025]
- How the Right Hijacked the Working Class for Culture Wars - Social Europe - March 1st, 2025 [March 1st, 2025]
- Culture wars: Trumps takeover of arts is straight from the dictator playbook - The Guardian - March 1st, 2025 [March 1st, 2025]
- A correspondence from the Culture Wars - Carter County Times - March 1st, 2025 [March 1st, 2025]
- Hands on Wisconsin: School children are pawns in the culture wars - The Daily News - March 1st, 2025 [March 1st, 2025]
- Is a Trump backlash on its way? Well, eggs are as expensive as ever and you cant eat the culture wars - The Guardian - March 1st, 2025 [March 1st, 2025]
- How Donald Trump and his MAGA inner circle plan to win the culture wars - New York Post - February 9th, 2025 [February 9th, 2025]
- Gaming Is Becoming More Diverse, Opening a New Front in the Culture Wars - New Lines Magazine - February 9th, 2025 [February 9th, 2025]
- The Creed vs. the culture wars: Hunkered down in the Catholic demilitarized zone - America: The Jesuit Review - February 9th, 2025 [February 9th, 2025]
- The Guardian view on class politics: it has faded as culture wars have risen | Editorial - The Guardian - February 9th, 2025 [February 9th, 2025]
- US spending suggests that Irish culture wars are indeed imported by the Left - Gript - February 9th, 2025 [February 9th, 2025]
- How Donald Trump and his MAGA inner circle plan to win the culture wars - NewsBreak - February 9th, 2025 [February 9th, 2025]
- Port: Not every issue has to be a part of the culture wars - INFORUM - February 3rd, 2025 [February 3rd, 2025]
- Jaguar May Prove to Be the Latest Casualty in Culture Wars - autoevolution - February 3rd, 2025 [February 3rd, 2025]
- Is language the key to resolving the WFH v back-to-the-office culture wars? | Emma Beddington - The Guardian - January 27th, 2025 [January 27th, 2025]
- Sundance: Tame Stories Reflect an Indie World Battered by Economics, Culture Wars - TheWrap - January 27th, 2025 [January 27th, 2025]
- Trump Pulls the Military Back Into Political and Culture Wars - The Seattle Times - January 27th, 2025 [January 27th, 2025]
- Trump Pulls the Military Back Into the Political and Culture Wars - The New York Times - January 26th, 2025 [January 26th, 2025]
- March for Life in San Francisco Sparks Clashes and Culture Wars - SFist - January 26th, 2025 [January 26th, 2025]
- The worlds most embarrassing inauguration was led by the Culture Wars President - The Independent - January 26th, 2025 [January 26th, 2025]
- 'Culture wars' are costing school districts billions of dollars annually - Audacy - January 26th, 2025 [January 26th, 2025]
- Under The Malign Influence Of Trump, Britains Draining Culture Wars Are About To Get Even More Toxic - British Vogue - January 26th, 2025 [January 26th, 2025]
- Open spot will set future of this metro-east library board embroiled in culture wars - Yahoo! Voices - January 26th, 2025 [January 26th, 2025]
- Culture Wars And DJ Mailbox To Open For Maroon 5 Manila Concert - Billboard Philippines - January 26th, 2025 [January 26th, 2025]
- Trade Wars, Culture Wars, and Anti-Immigration: Trumps Big Promises - Kyiv Post - January 26th, 2025 [January 26th, 2025]
- Trans Georgians and allies brace for another year of culture wars in state Legislature - Decaturish.com - January 9th, 2025 [January 9th, 2025]
- Trans Georgians and allies brace for another year of culture wars in state Legislature - Georgia Recorder - January 9th, 2025 [January 9th, 2025]
- The Forgotten Book Genre That Explains a Lot About Todays Culture Wars - Slate - January 9th, 2025 [January 9th, 2025]
- Simon Schama on the culture wars: There is a faint smell of the 1930s - The Times - January 9th, 2025 [January 9th, 2025]
- The culture wars are coming for children with special needs Labour must tread carefully - The Guardian - January 1st, 2025 [January 1st, 2025]
- AI chip race, antitrust challenges, and culture wars: What lies ahead for Big Tech in 2025 - The Indian Express - January 1st, 2025 [January 1st, 2025]
- How to take climate change out of the culture wars - National Catholic Reporter - January 1st, 2025 [January 1st, 2025]
- Biblical grammar enters the culture wars - The Times of Israel - January 1st, 2025 [January 1st, 2025]
- Battles over books led the way in culture wars over education - Suncoast News - January 1st, 2025 [January 1st, 2025]
- David M. Lantigua: At 88, Pope Francis dances the tango with the global Catholic Church amid its culture wars - TribLIVE - January 1st, 2025 [January 1st, 2025]
- Eggs, coffee, chocolate, and the culture wars: Foodtech in 2024 - AgFunderNews - January 1st, 2025 [January 1st, 2025]