Some readers have to mull over where exactly they knew Martin Mull from. For millennials, it’s P.I. Gene Parmesan from Arrested Development. For my Gen‑Z demographic, well, I guess the “not a fruit loop” billionaire ghost vampire villain Vlad Plasmius from Danny Phantom. But for X‑ers, he was so much more—and not celebrated enough. The late jack‑of‑all‑trades, whose affinity for thrift furniture and sitting down with a guitar and cigar (or as he called it, “jerk of all trades”), wanted to be known first and foremost as a painter above anyone else. The heartfelt doc Who Is Martin Mull? dissects the late multi‑hyphenate’s life story and tributes the comedic pioneering that continues to be a mainstay today—from guest hosting late nights to the pranky fake interview show, and so much more. Beyond resurrecting and celebrating Mull, who sadly passed away a little over two years ago by the time of this writing, this co‑directed effort between Neil Berkeley and the late Bob Saget stunned me with its turn into a contemplative look at mortality and the reflection of a life with no regrets and acceptance.
A Decades-Spanning Portrait
Chronicling over eight years of never‑before‑seen interviews, Who Is Martin Mull? starts as a solo effort from Saget, who in 2018 sits down with Mull for a one‑on‑one. Saget praises him, revealing he saw him at a comedy show at 17 years old and was mesmerized. Through intimate conversations and archival footage spanning many years, Mull discusses his career—from comedy songwriter to comedy artist (Martin Mull and His Fabulous Furniture, before Spinal Tap and The Lonely Island), then satire late‑night host as Barth Gimble in Fernwood 2 Night and America 2‑Night (walking so The Eric Andre Show could run). The doc consists of interviews with closest family—primarily wife Wendy Haas—and star‑studded fellow comedians including Patton Oswalt, Steve Martin, David Alan Grier, and collaborators Paul Feig, Michael Hurwitz, and the late Fred Willard, of whom played his sidekick announcer Jerry Hubbard in Fernwood.
The Artist Behind the Persona
Who Is Martin Mull?’s most illuminating element stems from his passion for painting. Throughout his career, everything he did was to financially support his art, and not in the way any actor does it (shout out to Kerri Kenney‑Silver for calling Johnny Depp a shitty painter on main). His photorealism, pop art, and collage mix is as illustrious and surreal as his entire persona. That passion also strikes heartfelt sincerity during a segment involving his daughter, showrunner/producer/cartoonist Maggie Mull, discussing how his encouragement of her inner artist and how drawings were their emotional connectivity, paving the way for her to find her artistic voice.
As someone unfamiliar with his work, the doc is a fascinating deep dive into Mull, honest and open as possible, with his blunt, sharp wittiness the prevailing force that gives it weight. Sometimes the inclusion of celebrity talking‑head interviews dilutes the Saget and Mull conversations, as well as the immediate family discussions. Hell, B.B. King and Mull playing opposite each other is friggin’ cool, but we don’t need a Ted Sarandos jump scare, having him nerd out on main about Mull, reminding me I’m watching a Netflix documentary. No Netflix documentary ever needs a Ted Sarandos jump scare.
Heartfelt in all the right areas, Mull enraptures your soul given everyone’s enthused love and admiration for him, starting with the late co‑director, whom we get to see one last time in his posthumous release since his passing in 2022. The assemblage across the various interviews where Saget’s material ends and Berkeley’s begins doesn’t negate the revered, celebratory tone, it’s thorough and honest.
A Contemplative Look at Mortality
And then the film takes a turn that becomes downright devastating. Among celebrity tell‑all biographical profile docs, this is the first comic‑centric one I’ve seen to feature an artist—given the eight‑year production—being seen with his friends for the last time, captured on footage: Saget, Willard, Norman Lear. He then lives on to see them gone, accepting of his own mortality. It gets so morbid in an affirming way, with Mull discussing his intention to be cremated as he comically laments he doesn’t think he has six friends anymore able to carry his casket. The existential, somber maturity Mull has about life itself gives the film something I’ve never seen before in this kind of doc, making it stand out while giving the viewer an existential crisis moment as well. The fact this project arrives after both the co‑director and his subject are gone, yet contains footage of the subject reflecting on outliving that said co‑director and his pals, is completely somber, yet the responses he shares are so life‑affirming. Capturing a moment we all have to reach, and showing how a comedian handles it, made me genuinely tear up.
As someone who never knew Martin Mull, I fell deep in love with Who Is Martin Mull?. It’s the collaboration of two filmmakers—one picking up the pieces after the other—honoring one person who was okay without winning an accolade but happy to live a full life, and the figure who only brought joy across his work and his unsung landmark contributions to comedy, now immortalized in the finest way imaginable. For the novice and the known, it’s a beautiful tribute that will definitely make you laugh till you cry. With the film concluding with him performing an acoustic version of Time of My Life, the song he sang for David Wain’s A Futile and Stupid Gesture, recontextualized to mirror his reflective acceptance of his mortality, Who Is Martin Mull answers itself as a one of a kind artists, who finally gets his flowers— standing among the best profile docs the streamer has put out to date.
