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Kathryn VanArendonk

Tomatometer-approved critic
Biography:

Staff writer at Vulture.

Reviews

Movies TV Shows
Kumail Nanjiani: Night Thoughts (2025) EDIT “By the time it gets there, Night Thoughts has earned that sincerity and Nanjiani has successfully reminded everyone why he’s on the stage at all: Oh right. He was a comedian first.” – New York Magazine/Vulture Dec 19, 2025 Full Review Jerrod Carmichael: Don't Be Gay (2025) EDIT “Still artful — whatever else he chooses, it’s tough to imagine a Carmichael project looking anything other than radiantly gorgeous — but he has turned away from the thick layers of meta-awareness and formal playfulness that have come to define his work.” – New York Magazine/Vulture May 23, 2025 Full Review Joe Rogan: Burn the Boats (2024) 0% EDIT “There’s no need for polish when the goal is outrage fodder past its expiration date.” – New York Magazine/Vulture Aug 7, 2024 Full Review Chris Fleming: HELL (2023) 80% EDIT “Fleming makes Hell an endearing place to visit.” – New York Magazine/Vulture Aug 18, 2023 Full Review John Early: Now More Than Ever (2023) 100% EDIT “Now More Than Ever gives Early a graceful opportunity to blend several types of comedy into one unified hour.” – New York Magazine/Vulture Jul 10, 2023 Full Review John Mulaney: Baby J (2023) 86% EDIT “A comedy special that cannot help but rebuild every single wall it wants to break down.” – New York Magazine/Vulture Apr 25, 2023 Full Review Chris Rock: Selective Outrage (2023) 46% EDIT “On paper, it all seems thrilling and possibly combustible. Which is why it is so disappointing when, in life, Chris Rock’s Selective Outrage cannot rise to the moment.” – New York Magazine/Vulture Mar 6, 2023 Full Review Norm Macdonald: Nothing Special (2022) 100% EDIT “It does not stand well on its own. But in the same way Macdonald leaves space for an audience who isn’t there, the indistinctness of Nothing Special does create an opportunity to remember him.” – New York Magazine/Vulture Jun 1, 2022 Full Review Jerrod Carmichael: Rothaniel (2022) 100% EDIT “He may be cold, as he says, and selfish, and angry, and sad. He’s also masterful, and hilarious, and more thoughtful about what comedy is and what we ask it to be than anyone else working right now.” – New York Magazine/Vulture May 9, 2022 Full Review Tig Notaro: Drawn (2021) 100% EDIT “Notaro's writing works in an animated context in a way that wouldn't be true for every comedian. Drawn is delightful, but this is not an invitation for a new surge of animated comedy specials.” – New York Magazine/Vulture Jul 28, 2021 Full Review Bo Burnham: Inside (2021) 95% EDIT “It is an incredible accomplishment, a testament to Burnham's genius at directing, writing, songwriting, performance.” – New York Magazine/Vulture Jun 1, 2021 Full Review James Acaster: Cold Lasagne Hate Myself 1999 (2021) EDIT “He figures it out, and he sticks the landing, eventually maneuvering himself and the room back into a space where he can give that last wry, self-effacing closing joke.” – New York Magazine/Vulture Mar 17, 2021 Full Review Brian Regan: On The Rocks (2021) EDIT “Escapism is a luxury Regan is clearly hoping to gift his audience. Luxuries have a cost, though. I'm not sure if On the Rocks is worth the price.” – New York Magazine/Vulture Mar 11, 2021 Full Review Death to 2020 (2020) 45% EDIT “Death to 2020 just feels like a failure of imagination.” – New York Magazine/Vulture Dec 28, 2020 Full Review Natalie Palamides: Nate - A One Man Show (2020) 88% EDIT “Nate is a festival of big, stupid jokes that happen right alongside a really rich, open-ended examination of hard, serious questions.” – New York Magazine/Vulture Dec 15, 2020 Full Review Kevin Hart: Zero F**ks Given (2020) EDIT “This is Hart taking those neuroses out one by one and putting them on a stage in his own living room for the world to examine. It's deliberate, painstaking, and masterful.” – New York Magazine/Vulture Nov 20, 2020 Full Review Sarah Cooper: Everything's Fine (2020) 67% EDIT “Everything's Fine is painfully aware, at every moment, that things are terribly, terribly bad. Beyond frantically running in circles and landing on a Twin Peaks reference, though, I'm not sure what it's trying to do.” – New York Magazine/Vulture Nov 4, 2020 Full Review What the Constitution Means to Me (2020) 97% EDIT “I'm still sad that I never saw it on stage, but I'm also so grateful that this filmed version exists! It was lovely! I can see what all the fuss was about!” – New York Magazine/Vulture Oct 19, 2020 Full Review Sam Jay: 3 in the Morning (2020) 86% EDIT “3 in the Morning is so funny and smart and well done, full of bluster, pride, and insight. I would've happily hung around to listen to Jay sneer and smirk and wink and scoff her way through another hour.” – New York Magazine/Vulture Aug 20, 2020 Full Review Yvonne Orji: Momma, I Made It! (2020) EDIT “It is a testament to how well the comedy works and how effective it is at being hilarious while also introducing voices and ideas that will be new to some of Orji's viewers. The documentary footage is unnecessary; Orji can say plenty on her own.” – New York Magazine/Vulture Jun 5, 2020 Full Review Hannah Gadsby: Douglas (2020) 93% EDIT “Douglas, while railing against the patriarchy and expounding on the blinkered social response to neurodivergence, also happens to be pretty fun.” – New York Magazine/Vulture May 28, 2020 Full Review Patton Oswalt: I Love Everything (2020) 100% EDIT “It's a pattern that repeats throughout his material, but it doesn't feel repetitive because each Oswalt-invented weirdo is individual and surprising in their own way.” – New York Magazine/Vulture May 19, 2020 Full Review Jerry Seinfeld: 23 Hours to Kill (2020) 75% EDIT “Half of it sucks; half is great. It's too simple as a way to summarize the special, because both parts are the same comedian using the same techniques, and all of them are some version of Seinfeld.” – New York Magazine/Vulture May 6, 2020 Full Review EDIT “By performing her flaws as well as she does, Bamford's still just proving her own greatness.” – New York Magazine/Vulture Mar 17, 2020 Full Review Marc Maron: End Times Fun (2020) 71% EDIT “It is furious and exhausted and funny and thoughtful, and if the apocalypse is coming, Marc Maron will at least help you crack a wry chuckle before your face catches fire.” – New York Magazine/Vulture Mar 11, 2020 Full Review
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