The lazy comedy of "Bill Maher: Is Anyone Else Seeing This?" coasts on complaints instead of jokes

It’s been a long time coming, but his latest comedy special confirms the inevitable has finally happened — Bill Maher has completed his metamorphosis into Abraham Simpson. “Bill Maher: Is Anyone Else Seeing This?” may be improved by picturing Bart and Lisa's Grandpa muttering the “Real Time” host’s ramblings to himself while Homer, Marge and the kids go about their business, occasionally interrupting them to loudly blurt stream-of-consciousness laments such as, “Five years ago penises meant something!” That would be a riot. “Real Time with Bill Maher” viewers may recognize most of what Maher smugly blathers about in his new special as a string of plastic wisdom pearls he’s previously belched on his show or his podcast. In addition to its title doubling as a cry for attention, “Is Anyone Else Seeing This?” is Maher’s way of mass platforming the message that Maher is not and will never be a Republican. Although he has a yen for parroting right-wing talking points down to the misinformation, Maher assures his audience that he’s on the same side as Democrats, Independents, and “non-drooling Republicans” who aren’t in denial about climate change and racism, which he generously notices is “still a thing.” As a whole, this hour-plus validates NIMBY moderates who feel they did their part by reading Ta-Nehisi Coates in 2020 and need someone to tell them it’s still OK to refer to where they sleep as the master bedroom.