Maria Bamford’s Old Baby has just dropped on Netflix and, as expected, it is a 64-minute comic delight. Weaving together a series of amusing anecdotes, absurdist stories and seemingly spontaneous riffs, the comedian is the latest to bring her brand of comedy to the streaming giant’s service… and oh, what a unique brand it is.
Bamford begins her latest special reflecting in a mirror (the same way she opened her last), where she acknowledges her niche-style comedy with a hilarious stage-setting comparison to Steven Spielberg’s War Horse. It’s a “14 hour real-time documentary about a gentle horse struggling in vain to escape from barbed wire,” says the comedian with utter sincerity. “This may be your War Horse.” Soon after, she manages to beat her 2012 hour-long’s “tiniest audience record” of two, cutting her crowd in half with the onscreen introduction of her one and only viewer (perhaps a first in stand-up special history) aka her husband Scott Marvel Cassidy.
The ensuing hour of one-of-a-kind comedy sees Bamford performing in a handful of venues including a restaurant patio, a bookstore and a bowling alley among others. Through the power of moving pictures (and with a little help from director Jessica Yu), we watch as her limited audience grows from one to four to a thousand or more, as she and her trusty sculpted pug close things out with an epic crowd-interactive moment, that’s uncomfortable yet magnificent, set inside the traditional confines of a theater.
Old Baby isn’t just unorthodox as far as its audience size and venue choice. On the contrary, the structure behind the special lays the groundwork for Bamford to put her novel approach to comedy on display in a setting that allows it to thrive. Whether seeing her poke fun at relationships for Cassidy in her living room or watching her examine the difficulties of success for a few friends in her front lawn (yes, that was Rhea Butcher), the unusual locations change the dynamic and further the possibilities. Through this, we see a side of the comedian that — in the typical special — normally goes unseen… one that brings an added layer of empathy and understanding to the performer. Likewise, the process is becoming more and more a part of the show itself.
Bamford is warm, welcoming, strong, endearing and, most importantly, funny throughout Old Baby. In it, she explores a range of material including her marriage, family, friends and her career, the lattermost which (during the bowling alley portion) sees her voicing a myriad of high school students as they question her authority at a career day event. “She’s like an old baby,” says one student, who apparently coined the title of her latest special. “Yes! It’s the perfect description of what I am,” mutters Bamford. “Very old and baby-like.”
Bamford is in top form in her latest special, dishing out form-bending comedy with unwavering confidence. Whether sharing her personal experiences with mental illness or pitching whoopie cushions at her merch stand, she consistently pulls laughs from the most unexpected of places. Even if Bamford is correct and Old Baby is your War Horse, watch it for no other reason than to further broaden your own definition of what comedy can be.