Kurt Braunohler started performing comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade in New York City in 1998, and took an experimental filmmaking improv group to the Edinburgh Fringe long before meeting Kristen Schaal — with whom Kurt would start a variety show called Hot Tub, win awards and kudos at festivals from Aspen to Australia, and eventually begin his own solo career as a stand-up comedian and actor. He has hosted a game show on IFC, hired a skywriter to puff out the letters HOW DO I LAND?, jet-skied down the Mississippi River for Comedy Central, and appeared on shows such as The Good Place, Bob’s Burgers, and movies such as The Big Sick and Barbarian. In 2022, he released his second stand-up special, Perfectly Stupid, which premiered on the Moment platform before getting wider distribution. Kurt spoke with me about that decision, as well as the other big decisions in his life and career.
KURT BRAUNOHLER: PERFECTLY STUPID — Directed by Jonah Ray Rodrigues. Premiered October 27 on Moment. Available November 16 On Demand and December 16 on YouTube.
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This transcript has been edited and condensed only slightly for your convenience.
Kurt, congratulations on your second full solo special, Perfectly Stupid. Last thing first: I have one very insignificant question and then one more.
I love it.
Did you know when you decided to open with inflatable tube dancers that you were tapping into the zeitgeist?
No, I did not. And when NOPE came out I was actually pretty bummed — not because the movie’s not good or anything — just that there's inflatable tube dancing in it. And no, I have what I have wanted to do inflatable tube dancers at a show since I started comedy. But in my mind, what I wanted was them all to be behind me. So I would hit a punch line, I could hit a button and have them all come up, like they really loved the joke. But it doesn't work that way because they're very loud. And it would ruin the show. But then another idea I had was, you know those children's toys that are like, it'll be a giraffe or something, but it's made up of all little tiny plastic pieces, so they're held together with string and then you press the button on the bottom and it relaxes the string so it collapses. You know what I'm talking about?
I think I do (NOTE: I did not)
I wanted those. That was my other idea, hit a punch line and then hit a button and then they all pop up behind me, and like shake a little bit, and then I hit another button, they just drop. That’s something I’ve been wanting.
I want to see both of those things now.
I know, right?