The comic delves into why being in your 20’s is so tough in the digital age
Everyone is familiar with the term “mid-life crisis.” It is usually accompanied by a really bad decision. Middle-aged men buy sportscars or boats or try to dip in to some fresh out of college dating pool. A quarter-age crisis? That’s new and it’s the title of comedian Taylor Tomlinson’s first Netflix standup special.
Who is Taylor Tomlinson?
Having cut her teeth on The Comedy Lineup and Last Comic Standing, Tomlinson has proven that she can turn relatable stories into belly laughs. Quarter-Life Crisis in an hour long special that gives her ample opportunity to entertain, and she delivers.
The basis of this special is that Taylor is now 25 years old and she is firmly caught between the innocence/ignorance of youth, and the responsibilities of being an adult. She crafts plenty of stories out of her upbringing. She has a good relationship with her parents, but even that hasn’t saved her from making bad decisions in extended patterns, like, in her words, “dating a Dj…again.”
Why Taylor Tomlinson is So Damn Funny
Tomlinson isn’t afraid to make plenty of jokes about sexuality, despite not losing her virginity until way later than her friends. She juxtaposes that taboo talk with tales of engagement, weddings and even her friends’ thoughts on parenthood. Some of her best jokes focus on the Internet and how it has changed the lives of generations.
Tomlinson uses two of her gifts that come from being her age. The first is that her generation is right at the bridge between digital natives and digital immigrants. Immigrants were born before the Internet but it has become part of their lives. Her talk of dating apps is a large part of this experience. Digital natives will know the Internet all of their lives. When Taylor predicts what life will be like with a future daughter, the stories are hilarious.
Her second gift is the ability to channel physical humor without being reliant on it. At any point in time, she makes an emotive face or breaks into a dance move or shoulder shimmy. If the joke is a sentence, her physicality is the explanation point.
Conclusion
Netflix has a catalog for everyone and is willing to take a chance in the name of comedy. Veteran Wanda Sykes speaks on behalf of the “be sure to never skip your physical” generation. Iliza Shlesinger is the frustrated voice of women in their 30’s. Tomlinson is early in her career but her raw talent is matched by her willingness to accept the passing of the torch for those women facing their own “quarter-life crisis.”