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The Irrepressible Malkie Knopfler
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By Malky lowinger
Many of us are familiar with the influencers, the bloggers, the recipe developers, the Instagram “stars,” and the many characters who populate the world that lives in our phones. These are the people who we may never have met but who we are very familiar with. In that bizarre world we call social media, they’ve become our friends.
Among all of these celebrities, Malkie Knopfler, aka the Comic Cook, stands out. She is both irrepressible and irresistible. With her spot-on observations on the life of the Jewish woman, her willingness to share her struggles, and her sharp but funny satire, she has weaved her way into the hearts of thousands of followers. In a community that is reluctant to expose its vulnerabilities, Malkie’s comedy is a welcome relief. She’s not perfect – and neither are we. Clearly, she must be doing something right. Malkie has performed in countless women-only productions. She has 32,000 followers on her Instagram account as the_comic_cook. She is the marketing genius behind many successful brands. And her most recent endeavor, “The Malkie Show,” is a historic first. It’s a talk show for women, by women, and about women, with an outstanding lineup of talented and fascinating guests. With her trademark good humor, Malkie keeps the episodes engaging, intriguing, and entertaining. It’s a super ambitious project that Malkie says is totally a full-time job. Why is it that Malkie makes us smile even before she starts to say anything? What is it about her work that is so endearing? How does she make even the jaded among us laugh?
Malkie grew up in Boro Park, a Bais Yaakov girl through and through. She had the typical heimish childhood. But inside that little girl with the trademark ponytail and the pleated uniform skirt, the girl who wore all the right headbands and had the proper family background, there was a free spirit waiting to bloom.
“I was not the best student,” admits Malkie in that way that you know she wasn’t the second-best either. “I was more into comedy and drama, all the extracurriculars.” Today, she would have been the star of her school’s productions, but back then, she wasn’t able to participate in the extracurriculars her Bais Yaakov offered. So, as Malkie puts it, “I spent a lot of time with my friends in the hallways where we made up our own extracurriculars.” Aha. OK, got it.
Clearly, those years were challenging for Malkie, and she speaks about them with passion.
“I wish I would have known then what I know now,” she says. “That if we don’t do well in school, we are still valuable, and we will one day find ourselves.”
Years later, Malkie wrote a poem which she has since recorded as a music video called “Dear Young Me.” The song, set to music by Tehila Ehrlich, is dedicated to all the girls and women out there who may struggle academically or even socially but are really superstars in their own way. The video, which was posted just a few weeks ago, can be seen on YouTube and has already been viewed close to five thousand times.
“I can’t tell you how that song resonates with both kids and adults,” said Malkie. “The feedback is incredible.”
Malkie’s serious side is certainly intriguing. But her career as a comic performer highlights her keen sense of humor and her irrepressible giggle. She makes it look easy, but Malkie says that comedy is an art that requires lots of focused energy and insight, especially when performing for a community where the subject matter is restricted and sensitivity is paramount.
“I do good, old-fashioned Jewish humor,” she points out. “I make fun of bloggers but it’s tongue in cheek because I’m a blogger myself. I make sure my act is totally good-natured and not mean-spirited in any way.”
It’s not easy to walk that fine line between being appropriate yet unpredictable, funny yet also inspiring, quirky and comical but never disrespectful. Malkie manages to keep it consistently clean, kosher, and still entertaining.
“People like to ask me if I’m funny all the time,” she says. “I tell them that being funny is an amazing talent which I am grateful to have. Hashem gave me this gift, but I’m really just
a regular person with a family just like you. Like everybody else, I have my struggles.”
Through Malkie, we can laugh at the gossipy women in the bungalow colony, the overwhelmed moms, the harried housewives, and even the social media bloggers. She helps us to recognize our own flaws and our failings.
“My comedy is real life,” she notes. “Mothering, childbirth, shidduchim. Yes, people may be struggling with these issues. But on the other hand, there’s so much to laugh about. I try to find the humor in our everyday life and help people find a new perspective. They can laugh at themselves, and I think they’re really grateful for that.”
One of Malkie’s running themes is the challenge she faces in juggling her career with her family life. She calls it her “juggle struggle.”
“It’s a struggle I constantly face,” she says. “I’m not gonna lie. I make a cheshbon hanefesh every day.”
It’s not easy to lavish attention on your own children when you are stopped in the street by followers on a regular basis. “I appreciate it when people come over to tell me they enjoy my show,” she says. “But when I’m with my kids I try to focus on them. There’s a time and a place for everything.”
That struggle, she adds, is shared by all career-minded women.
“Our heads are full of so many things,” she observes, “but we need to be there for our kids not just physically but emotionally as well. It’s definitely a challenge.” That said, Malkie’s family is super proud of what she is achieving.
“The Malkie Show” is probably Malkie’s crowning achievement, an opportunity for her to showcase talent while offering kosher inspiring entertainment for women. It was a daunting endeavor to be sure, but early feedback indicates that she has stumbled onto something huge.
“I actually had this idea in my head about ten years ago,” she says. “I pitched the concept to several people, but the world wasn’t ready for it yet.” Now the world is.
“The Malkie Show” is a showcase of talent and entertainment for women of all ages and backgrounds. “There’s such a need for it,” Malkie insists. “I get stopped all the time by ladies begging me to produce more episodes. People are constantly reaching out to tell me how much they enjoy the show.”
Malkie says the show provides healthy “Inspir-tainment,” a phrase that she coined.
Over the past few weeks, Malkie has interviewed Raizy Fried (raizyscookin), Tehila Ehrlich, Shaindy Plotzker (shaindyplotzkermusic), ping-pong champion Estee Akerman, and even her own mom. “She was my very first guest,” Malkie says proudly. “It was my way of saying I owe it all to her.”
“The Malkie Show” may seem to flow seamlessly, but it represents a major investment for Malkie, not just in time and talent and energy but also in resources.
“It’s extremely costly,” she declares. “People are always asking me to produce more episodes, but they don’t realize what a major investment it is.”
Malkie works with a producer, Sima of Davidowitz Productions, who is her right-hand (wo)man and manages to attend to all the details so that Malkie can concentrate on what she does best – performing. “Without her,” says Malkie, “I would be overwhelmed.”
Malkie’s career trajectory has largely been a success story, but she remembers one particularly disastrous performance that occurred when she was just starting out.
“I was hired to do stand-up comedy for a group of women who were raised in a different country,” she remembers. “They totally didn’t get my act and sat there staring at me with blank faces. I was devastated.”
Malkie went home that evening convinced that she would never again perform.
“It was my most humiliating evening,” she recalls. “And I wasn’t looking to embarrass myself ever again.”
But instead, she decided to forge ahead.
“I realized the problem wasn’t me. The audience just wasn’t a good fit for me. They simply didn’t appreciate the nuances of our lifestyle that I joke about.”
Instead of quitting, she persevered, endearing herself to audiences who appreciate her humor and are not afraid to laugh at themselves.
Malkie likes to tell people to follow their dreams and develop their talents. Her favorite saying is, “You don’t have to be a someone to be a something,” which, loosely translated, means “Stop sitting on the couch thinking that you’re not good enough.”
“There’s this perception that only special people can do chesed and that only celebrities can visit hospitals. But everyone can find something that they’re good at and some way in which they can help others. And it won’t happen by sitting on the couch.
“Anyone can be a star,” Malkie asserts. “They just have to try.”
