Maria Bamford’s Weakness Is The Brand Is the First Great Comedy Special of 2020
If comedians ever reached a status from which they could be officially considered “national treasures”, such a designation should be bestowed on one Maria Bamford. Her latest hour special, Weakness Is The Brand, is by far her most conventional special (it’s in one location and it’s a traditional theater), but it shows that Bamford’s strangely beautiful comedy wares are something to truly revel in.
Bamford not only is a master of her stand-up comedy craft, but so in tune with her comedic voice that she can make her act work anywhere (as evidenced the previous Special Special Special where Maria performed in front of her parents at her house) or anyhow (whether she’s touching on mental illness or the idea that she’s a mental illness comedian or anything else). On Weakness Is The Brand, there’s an even more freewheeling Maria that, if you can imagine, that’s more delightful as she jumps back and forth around the fourth wall and joyfully leans into her act outs/voices. The self-awareness of her persona, her material, the audience, the viewer, etc. that she expresses throughout the special is remarkable and pretty damn funny as well.
On top of all of that, there’s a touching original song with her husband Scott Marvel Cassidy that leaves us feeling hopeful and elated like we do with every Maria Bamford special that we can remember.
Maria Bamford: Weakness Is The Brand is now available from Comedy Dynamics on almost platform that you stream comedy specials.