Lawrence Mooney : ...Like Literally (MICF)

No one could accuse Lawrence Mooney of not caring about his comedy - you need only google "deadshit review tweet" to see how passionately this veteran stand-up defends his material. However, despite this apparent commitment to his trade, this latest show, ...Like Literally, explores fairly benign territory, especially when compared to the profound philosophising explored in some of this year's best MICF shows.

That's not to say this isn't a funny gig, in fact, it's often hilarious. Mooney's craft is undeniable, showing seasoned skill at both writing a joke and delivering it for maximum effect. But it seems telling that many of ...Like Literally's gags barely required Mooney to exit his own front door as he riffs and muses on the everyday mundanity of his middle-class lifestyle.

It's endearing and relatable stuff and Mooney is a consummate enough showman to easily win his audience over; his punchlines elicit laughs thick and fast, and his sense of pace is as well honed as you might expect from such a veteran of the stand-up scene. But it's not the kind of comedy that lingers in the mind for long or asks very much of its audience. The most impressive sections feature Mooney's legendary Malcolm Turnbull impression. Such is his confidence with this shtick, he even invites the audience to grill him in a Q&A as he channels the 'PM'. Mooney's comebacks as old mate Mal are forensically uncanny, powered by a nimble comic wit, and yet despite these flashes of brilliance, overall there's a loose, somewhat unfocused quality to the structure of ...Like Literally. 

There's also a lack of depth to this show; given Mooney's demonstrable intelligence, it's frustrating that this latest hour of comedy skirts lightly around anything of significant substance. Mooney's patter revels in throwaway zingers and unexpected shock value - for example, a story about the quintessential middle-aged bedroom routine, suddenly shattered by some sexually aggressive smack talk with vandalising street artists - and it serves this comedian well enough. But the domestic scenarios at the centre of this show pale in comparison to Mooney's moment in the spotlight in 2016. It seems a misfire that the pyrotechnics of last year's brush with infamy, a goldmine of comic potential (not to mention a fine opportunity to exorcise any lingering demons), are conveniently sidestepped.

...Like Literally is a perfectly well made and easily entertaining evening, but there's a workmanlike quality to this comedy; there's nothing especially original or innovative on offer here. During a Festival of such an international and prestigious calibre as MICF, comparisons between shows are inevitable, and Mooney's stand-up feels very old hat when shoulder to shoulder with the likes of Aunty Donna and Abandoman, or even more conventional comics like Wil Anderson and DeAnne Smith — artists who use their platform to push boundaries, make statements and tear up the comedy rulebook.

Mooney experienced something difficult yet powerful when hot-tempered tweets made him an internet pariah in 2016, but he could do well to take a leaf out of the book of some of his colleagues — Richard Gadd, Hannah Gadsby and Urzila Carlson to name a few cases in point — by confronting that turmoil on stage. Being funny doesn't have to be flippant, and as has been showcased several times during this year's Comedy Festival circuit, dark experiences can infuse comedy with an extraordinary potency.

There's certainly a place and a demand for Mooney's sure-but-safe stand-up among Australia's comedy consumers, but ultimately it's just too meat-and-potatoes to compare favourably when in the company of such dynamic and courageous comic risk-takers.

Lawrence Mooney presents ...Like Literally till 23 Apr at the Athenaeum Theatre Two, part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.