Steve Martin and Martin Short Show Off Their Strengths and Weaknesses in Their Netflix Special
Photos courtesy of Netflix
I should be upfront about my reservations regarding An Evening You Will Forget for the Rest of Your Life, Steve Martin and Martin Short’s Netflix special, which, from its title on, is an attempt to recapture the snarky anti-Hollywood showmanship of the 1970s. From far away, this whole thing looks like a perfunctory, half-enthusiastic Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame performance. Nope. Somehow, these two have crafted a show that fully delivers, even if it doesn’t always surprise, just by letting both of them express how much they genuinely still love performing. There is a shocking lack of phoning-in to be seen here, despite an expected duo-roast-to-individual-set-to-reunion-bits format.
It’s most emotional to see Martin find his legs again. He, after all, has the most to live up to, the longest gap in-between these kinds of specials and the most public reluctance towards returning to live comedy. Once Martin’s segment starts up, he actually does get pretty close to recapturing the old magic of his absurd ‘70s stage presence, while still imagining what that man might’ve grown into. It’s like watching an old master lovingly pick up a forgotten instrument for old times’ sake.
Which he does, literally. And as much as Martin takes it on the chin for the sheer nerdiness of his multi-decade banjo obsession, when the jokes melt away and we just experience Martin’s virtuosity with the instrument and his barely concealed excitement at getting to directly share something he’s so passionate about, the show becomes more effortless, and sort of beautiful.
Martin and Short bring out the best in each other most successfully during the light mutual-career-ribbing section that starts off the night, but the special unfortunately starts to lose its way once Short is given free rein. The special on the whole can feel overwritten, but this is especially true with Short, whose sketch comedic rhythms sometimes make the phony showbiz schtick that both men traffic in veer too close to actual phoniness. Still, his impression work is uncanny, and he has an astounding level of energy that Steve Martin can’t match—though, with his cool, confident dad/playwright demeanor, he doesn’t need to.