Mulaney: “In the Name of the Mother, the Son, and the Holy Andre”
(Episode 1.05)

Let this review begin where this (and every) episode of Mulaney begins—with John Mulaney’s standup act. Much like Seinfeld, the show that Mulaney will apparently never escape, Mulaney will begin with a bit of standup that is relevant to the plot. Occasionally, it’s material he’s done before on TV specials, but that’s fine, because it’s just a way to sort of ease into the show, and to score a few laughs independent of the story. John Mulaney, the real one, is a very funny standup, so, if nothing else, the first moments of every episode of Mulaney tend to be funny.
So, why start by mentioning these openings for the first time in my reviews? Well, because there isn’t really a ton to say about this particular episode. “In the Name of the Mother, the Son, and the Holy Andre,” an exceedingly long title that will not be typed out again within these walls, was pretty by-the-books situational comedy. John’s mother (played by Nora Dunn) shows up, and he’s been lying to her about stuff, and now he must face his lies head on. Or, in this case, with prayer, because Catholicism plays a big part in this episode. Meanwhile, Jane is on birth control, and experiences zany side effects.
Now, in the past, Mulaney has done some original stuff within these parameters, but that’s not necessarily the case here. Basically, John has been pretending to go to church, and also that he has a priest friend named Trey. Up against the wall, he prays, a priest named Trey more or less magically shows up, and John is safe. Except that the reason Trey is there is that the regular priest died, and so now John is worried he may have prayed a priest to death.