The Foxy Film Fan

Maria Bamford: The Special Special Special (2014) Comedy specials are commonplace, particularly on streaming sites such as Netflix where it seems as though every current comedian in the business has at least one series or special streaming. Maria Bamford is a fantastic comedian, known for her dark humor which exploits her experiences with mental illness and delves into the surreal life she has led as she grapples with suicidal thoughts and stints in and out of various hospitals while doctors prescribe her with all sorts of different medication. Due to her new Netflix series, which is a fantastic surreal experience that frequently lapses into analyzing the familiar tropes from comedy shows and often breaks the third wall, I decided to watch one of her specials. Naturally, I was drawn to the specialist of specials: Maria Bamford: The Special Special Special . This special is particularly interesting due to the fact that it was filmed at a particularly rough point in Maria's l...

Tony Hinchcliffe: One Shot (2016) Tony Hinchcliffe's new Netflix comedy special is simultaneously a strange sort of experimental art piece which examines the strange artificial nature of other comedy specials. Rather than being shot from an audience perspective with occasional close zooms and frequent cuts to other shots, it is filmed in one long take. However, unlike a video from a comedy club on YouTube, the camera is just as much a part of the show as Hinchcliffe himself. It breathes and acts as a living person, moving fluidly around him at a close and personal perspective, giving you the odd sensation that you're on stage with him, circling him and watching him closely as he performs his show. One can't help but wonder how the audience felt, watching the camera man on stage with Hinchcliffe, circling him at such a close proximity and occasionally stopping directly in front of him. The comedy club which One Shot  was filmed in already appeared to be rather dark...