The 'Skinny' on Jim Gaffigan's New Special - He Hasn't Lost It

by Aprille Hanson-Spivey

Photo: Hulu

Watching a Jim Gaffigan standup special is like slipping into your favorite pair of jeans that have yet to go out of style — it’s comforting, fashionably funny and you’re shocked how well he still fits perfectly into the comedy cultural landscape. 

​His 11th standup comedy special, “The Skinny,” was recorded earlier this year at the Wilbur Theater in Boston and released on Hulu on Nov. 22. 


Gaffigan continues to make his fans laugh with food, family and religious humor that could quickly become bland at the hands of lesser comedians. But since the ’90s, Gaffigan has perfected his brand and continues to find new humor around the same topics. 


Though his weight has fluctuated throughout the years, he aptly leaned into his new, thin frame by not only naming his special “The Skinny” but addressing his significant weight loss right away. Getting healthy should never be a risk for a comedian, but when you have built your brand around eating and joking about your weight — similar to Gabriel Iglesias — suddenly appearing fit on stage doesn’t allow that comedy to work in the same way anymore.


It’s why kicking the special off with how he lost weight with one of the popular weight loss drugs was perfectly timed. He isn’t about to go on stage and talk about how he’s sneaking pizzas in the middle of the night anymore while looking svelte. He’d lose his audience immediately. 

So instead, he addresses the non-elephant in the room, so to speak: “It is great to be here. I look good. I don’t know if you know, I’m normally a fat guy. But, since I’ve lost all this weight, now I’m just arrogant.” 


But I love that even though he lost weight, he can still joke and make it clear that he doesn’t have the mentality of a naturally skinny person. It was still his lovable food-adjacent humor. 

“All us fat people are gonna become thin. Then, we’re gonna mix in with you thin bastards. And when you’re not looking, we’re gonna eat you,” he joked. 


Gaffigan riffed about how people assumed he was deathly ill — because why would he ever be disciplined enough to be healthy? — or on Ozempic. He joked about how his drug of choice, Mounjaro, sounded more fun, like an Italian restaurant. He scoffed at the people who act like weight-loss medications like his are cheating. 


“I’m not playing Major League baseball. I’m just a fat guy trying to not die.” 


I do think the bit went on slightly too long, but it’s his reality. It didn’t go on way too long like some of his crazier bits in the past — like that one special he kept talking about diarrhea. I’ll gladly take him joking about his healthier road in life over the bathroom humor. 

He definitely cut back on his signature soft voice of what he assumes are offended audience members in this hour-long special, but busted it out in the best ways, including: 


“I need artificial intelligence. I was reading this article, ‘Will AI Take Over?’ I was halfway through before I realized it wasn’t about a guy named Al. ‘Will Al Take Over.’ I thought it was about Al Roker. And his love of A1,” and in his soft voice, “Jim, that’s a dumb joke.”

And that’s exactly what makes Gaffigan so endearing. He knows when something might be a little absurd, but he’ll acknowledge and lean into it. 


Most of his special focused on his teenagers and wife, which was hilarious to someone without children, so I can’t imagine how much more fun it was for people with children. I even had to acknowledge his take on people my age, in their 30s, without kids, who are not real adults. 


“If you’re over the age of 30, and the biggest problem in your life is your Wi-Fi connection, you’re not an adult,” later saying, “There should be a whole other classification. Oh, you’re over 30, no kids? You’re a junior adult. How was brunch?” 

How could I ever be offended by that? Yes, one of my big stressors in life is my stupid Wi-Fi connection, and no, I’ve never been out in public, “discovered a stain and privately prayed that it was chocolate” on my pants. 


It was a delicious dig. 

He continued on with his woe that his children probably can’t handle taking care of him in old age, his disdain for mind-numbing children’s movies and his survival-mode mentality while his children have become teenagers. 


One of my favorite jokes was poking fun at alcohol commercials because it’s just so true: 


“Do you ever notice in commercials for alcohol, people are always laughing and having a good time? I’d just like to see one print ad that shows some expressionless dad sitting alone at a kitchen table with a bottle of booze. The tagline would be like, “Bourbon, ’cause you’re trapped and suicide’s off the table.”

Yes, it’s dark. And yes, I laughed hard. 


Gaffigan, a fellow Catholic, always incorporates Christianity in his comedy. For this special, I loved the way he emphasized Christians and non-Christians have the same reaction when he explains he’s a Christian: “Oh, no.” 

Case in point, this joke: “Jesus was probably walking on water, looked down, saw his reflection, was like, ‘Jesus!’” 
Again, I thought it was hilarious. 

In his standup specials, Gaffigan generally stays away from politics but has occasionally drifted into what shouldn’t be controversial territory, like vaccines, in previous comedy tours. 

His only subtle dig in this special — filmed long before the election results — was about how his father used to pop into the theater with his family during the middle of movies, completely disregarding the start time. Once the film restarted, they’d catch up on the first part they missed and then exit the theater. 

Gaffigan shared, “I do wish we could’ve seen ‘The Sound of Music’ as a family with my father. You know, just halfway through ‘The Sound of Music,’ my father stands up, starts to leave, followed by his six blonde children. Everyone in the theater’s like, ‘Wow, that family didn’t like it when Captain von Trapp tore up that Nazi flag at all.’” And then, the perfect punchline: “That joke was even funnier when everyone hated Nazis.” 


Gaffigan’s “The Skinny” showed the one thing he hasn’t lost is his particular brand of clean comedy. It’s just the next milestone of a career that will keep building well into the future, much to the delight of his fans.