John Mulaney’s “Funeral Planning” on Netflix: No Real Plan

John Mulaney giving his opening monologue for Episode 3 of “Everybody’s Live.”
Photo Credit: Youtube.com

On his Netflix show, “Everybody’s Live with John Mulaney,” the popular comedian lends his trademark deadpan delivery and observational humor to the late-night talk show format in episodes such as “Lending People Money” and “Squatters.”

Considering the theme of Episode 3, “Funeral Planning,” with Pete Davidson, Luenell, Henry Winkler and funeral director Raymundo Perez-Plascencia, viewers might have thought that the focus of the show would be end-of-life preparations — somewhat avant garde for the entertainment industry. 

But disappointingly, the theme du jour was only briefly touched on, and many opportunities to address even the comedic aspects of funeral arrangements were squandered. 

On-Topic Moments of “Everybody’s Live with John Mulaney”

The show opened with two quotes written in white on a plain black screen: a line from Ernest Hemingway’s The Snows of Kilimanjaro (a short story about a dying man confronting his regrets): “There, ahead, all he could see, as wide as all the world, great, high, and unbelievably white in the sun, was the square top of Kilimanjaro. And then he knew that there was where he was going”; followed by lyrics from “Birthday Song,” by 2 Chainz: “When I die, bury me inside the booty club.” 

The juxtaposition of these two references perfectly sets up the level of confusion Mulaney created throughout the evening — a puzzling mixture of highbrow intentions and muddled Hollywood references.

Mulaney started his opening monologue with this: “Tonight we are talking about funeral planning.” 

That might lead viewers to believe that we might actually see some popular comedians addressing the serious topic of funeral planning. He went on:

“Some people here at the show thought that this topic would be too morbid. And I get that. But listen: We’re not talking about death. Death is a mystery. There are a million ways to die, and none of us knows what happens to us after we die, but we do know generally speaking, what happens to our remains. They get tossed in roughly one of two ways: burning them up till they’re dirt, or putting them in a box. 

“Another version of ‘box.'”
Photo Credit: Canva.com

“Yes, there’s new types of burials where they put you in a potato sack and you become a mushroom, but that’s just another version of ‘box.’ That’s just paper, not plastic. I think this is an important topic, and I wanna spend the hour on it because it’s important to get ahead of funeral planning.”

If Mulaney wanted to spend the hour discussing funeral planning, he didn’t succeed. Despite a few brief statements about what the guests expected from mourners when their time came (Luenell wants people falling all over themselves in grief), more time was dedicated to fruitless gags than the theme of the night. 

Missed Opportunities

It’s hard to say whether “Everybody’s Live” just veered off topic, if the guests weren’t prepared to address something with emotional heft or if this was what Mulaney and his writers had planned all along. (Mulaney does love to keep his audience guessing. Exhibit A: the entire segment with a mystery “celebrity sibling” discussing longevity, who is — frustratingly — never identified.)

Whatever the cause, “Funeral Planning” had more planned non sequiturs (like a running gag about men and their height) than actual discussion about funerals. 

Licensed mortician and funeral director Perez-Plascencia barely got a word in edgewise, having to compete with Davidson’s giggles, Luenell’s scene-stealing charisma and Mulaney’s tendency to miss the mark with follow-up questions. As an example, when Perez-Plascencia started talking about how he typically prepares a body for burial, Luenell interjected, “Where does the hose go in?” Davidson and Mulaney seem taken aback at her bluntness, and when Perez-Plascencia starts to answer — which could have resulted in some fascinating conversation — Mulaney quickly redirected. 

Luenell
Photo Credit: Angela George via Wikimedia

An awkwardness-induced-tension pervaded, such as when sidekick Richard Kind in one bit hawks a card-based party game, which landed like a lead balloon. That said, Kind was a highlight of the episode, contributing a surprising anecdote about the “Golden Girls’” Rue McClanahan’s ashes being mailed to six different people after her death, as well as having the one joke that managed to land a punchline: 

Mulaney: “Rich … cremation?”
Kind: “No, I’m fine.” 

Mixed Intentions

A more experienced interviewer might have found a way to get into the nitty-gritty without losing the opportunity for humor. Other missed opportunities included  the absolute gems the call screeners were feeding into the show. There were stories about putting a husband’s ashes into shotgun shells and a mortician who discovered an extra foot with a body she was preparing for cremation, and somehow the show still managed to feel … blah.

The problem might be that Mulaney, “the peerless practitioner of comedy that’s also anti-comedy,” as reviewer Dennis Perkins of LateNighter describes him, is an odd choice to helm a talk show, at least one that apparently wants to take on a substantive topic like this. 

Is “Funeral Planning” Worth Watching?

Unfortunately, it was Mulaney’s commitment to staying offbeat (and perhaps poor judgment on behalf of production) that derailed the show’s ability to stick to the theme. It seemed like whenever a guest was in danger of expressing anything sincere there would be some kind of interruption: either an odd response from Mulaney, an ill-timed break to air a prerecorded vignette or, twice, a robot entering the stage to deliver drinks to the guests. 

Those who tune in hoping to find any actual insight or advice about funeral planning will leave sorely disappointed, and fans of Mulaney’s who want more of his brand of humor might end up feeling the same way.