Norm Macdonald Was Never Just Joking

Netflix’s new documentary “Norm: The Tale of Norm Macdonald” feels like a philosophical guide from the late, great comedian. Narrated primarily by the legendary comic himself, the documentary shows why Macdonald’s sharp-tongued, deadpan humor still hits home today. Directed by his close friend Judd Apatow, it uses clips from talk shows, old “Saturday Night Live” sketches, and portions of Macdonald’s self-narrated memoir. While it is hilariously funny, it is also deeply sentimental and at times shockingly serious. 

As the documentary unfolds, viewers come to realize that Macdonald isn’t simply trying to make them laugh; he’s also trying to teach them a very conservative maxim. Through humor, he was trying to show people what it meant to live a good life.

“The Tale of Norm Macdonald” tells the story of a man who held no pretenses about his fame despite being wildly successful. Macdonald describes himself as a “shabby guy telling shabby jokes.” Amid his self-deprecating humor, there is an earnest humility we rarely see in Hollywood. At one point, he offers a word of advice to young comedians, telling them to “play the dumb guy because nobody likes a guy who’s smarter than them.” 

Macdonald’s modesty squares with his Christian faith. In a tweet, he once wrote, “The Enlightenment turned us away from truth and toward a darkling weakening horizon, sad and grey to see. The afterglow of Christianity is near gone now, and a stygian silence lurks in wait.” He was a frequent defender of Christians, lamenting that Bible jokes weren’t “brave” and telling The Hollywood Reporter that it wasn’t courageous to attack Christians in the modern cultural landscape. In an interview with his longtime friend Larry King, he bluntly stated, “I am a Christian, which is not stylish to say.” 

While the documentary largely overlooks this aspect of his life, his Christian morality frequently surfaces in subtle ways. In his early 20s, while working as a stand-up in the bustling Canadian comedy circuit, Macdonald was battling stomach cancer. He hid the diagnosis from his friends, just like he did at the end of his life, when battling the leukemia that would eventually kill him.

“I have a theory that people are in deep denial of death — and I’m not,” he said, alluding to a kind of peace with mortality that our culture rarely exhibits. 

The documentary shows Macdonald for who he was, a self-described “old soul” who loved Russian literature, revered his family, and respected the comedy greats who had gone before him, like Johnny Carson. Even in the age of TikTok brain rot, Macdonald held his own by managing to be clipped, precise, and unwaveringly witty. He held close to his conviction that comedians should never pander to their audience. 

In the 1990s, Macdonald became a national sensation through his ruthless coverage of the O.J. Simpson trial. The Saturday after the jury acquitted Simpson, Macdonald declared from his Weekend Update desk, “Well, it is finally official: Murder is legal in the state of California.” His honesty about the highly sensitive, racially divisive case cost Macdonald his job at “SNL.” Perhaps we could call him the first victim of cancel culture, facing backlash from former NBC executive Don Ohlmeyer, who was good friends with Simpson. Ohlmeyer also refused to promote Macdonald’s film, “Dirty Work,” on NBC, which the documentary implies damaged its box-office potential. Macdonald’s honesty cost him his job and his hopes of mainstream success, something that conservatives know all too well.

Conan O’Brien, a fellow writer and close friend of Macdonald’s, explains it best: “[Macdonald] paid dearly for his refusal to compromise.” 

Macdonald has another claim to conservative fame, as one clip in the documentary shows him proudly declaring, “Do you know who coined the term ‘fake news’ to begin with? It was me! And now it’s a real thing.” 

The best art doesn’t strive to be political. Instead, it strives to point toward some larger, universal truth. Macdonald’s comedic instincts were obsessed with truth. The Left has placed itself and its art in opposition to truth; it denies biological, economic, and social realities. As a result, the Left has separated itself from Norm Macdonald. His straightforward, sharply candid humor doesn’t fit in with liberal proclivities. Rather, the Right has adopted Macdonald as a champion of truth.

Time and time again, “The Tale of Norm Macdonald” highlights his sincerity. At one point, his friends note that he could’ve been a world-class journalist if he hadn’t been so committed to making people laugh. Macdonald understood that he, just like all of humanity, was deeply flawed. His reflections on death, fame, and even his gambling addiction prove he possessed a wisdom conservatives can still learn from today. 

“As long as the dice are in the air,” Macdonald said, “the gambler has hope, and hope is a wonderful thing to be addicted to.”

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Brooke Brandtjen is a writer and journalist from Wisconsin who focuses primarily on culture, politics, and religion. She is a senior contributor at New Guard Press, a publication she joined while attending Hillsdale College.

This article is part of Upstream, The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.

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