Maria Bamford has never been quiet about her struggle with mental illness. The comedian has bravely opened up to audience after audience about what it’s like to exist in a mind fraught with depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts and mania, and to pretend like everything is fine. Maybe you know Bamford from her myriad of standup specials, or her criminally underrated Netflix show Lady Dynamite, a fever dream of over-the-top acting and a million jokes a minute that I mourn the loss of everyday.
In her newest project, What’s Your Ailment?!, Bamford is taking a less theatrical approach to discussing the effects of mental illness. She opts for a couch rather than a stage (though it’s not the first time, go check out her special, The Special Special Special!, that she recorded at home in front of her parents). In the first installment in her new series, she sits down with Rachel Bloom (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) and the two interview each other in a low stakes, talk show-style conversation.
Nothing’s Off Limits
What will strike viewers first about this show is the candid honesty. This kind of unapologetic truth is vital to the show’s thesis. Mental illness, the show maintains, shouldn’t be taboo. It should be talked about, openly and honestly. And Bamford wonderfully welcomes her audience in by uttering those three simple words we all need to hear every now and again; “You’re not alone”. With these three words, Bamford breaks down the walls that separate us and fashions them into more floor space, so that we can all sit and have this conversation together.
When Bloom proudly tells Bamford that she’s on Prozac, the two comics high-five. It’s a moment that might come off as corny or forced if hosted by another comic, but with Maria, it feels genuine. This show is a positive space that’s unafraid to talk about the things that frighten us. It has a Mr. Rogersian quality to it, and I say that with the highest praise.
The two go off on controlled tangents; talking about the worst mental health advice they’ve received, the act of “putting it on” and pretending like nothing’s wrong and how dealing with mental illness has affected their lives. The conversation remains casual because that’s what Bamford wants: a world in which mental health can be talked about as normally as the weather. But that doesn’t mean they shy away from any subjects. Even the topic of using masturbation as a coping mechanism works its way into the conversation (and in the distance, I can almost hear Billie Joe Armstrong whining the lyrics to Longview, one of the great testaments to depressive episodes, “When masturbation’s lost its fun/You’re f*cking lazy”).
A Self-Aware Show
The episode (which runs just shy of 25 mins) makes an important point about halfway through the episode. Bamford continues to break down the barrier between her and the viewer by acknowledging her privilege. She recognizes that as a performer in L.A., where there are psychiatrists all over, she has an accessible way to receive treatment for her mental illnesses. She makes it very clear that she understands that and is grateful for that.
What’s Your Ailment?! feels like a response to the world in its current state. It’s conversational, and sometimes it’s therapeutic to hear two people talk. It feels like twitter is made up of people yelling at each other. Whether it’s about Star Wars or politics, What’s Your Ailment?! is an escape from that, and one that’s quietly revolutionary. Maria Bamford has been making it her mission to normalize mental illness for years, and this is just another successful attempt on her part.
What’s Your Ailment?! has three episodes under its belt, will you tune in? Are you a fan of Maria Bamford’s standup? Do you ALSO miss Lady Dynamite? Let me know in the comments below!
What’s YourAilment?! is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.
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