Mae Martin: SAP

The punchlines aren’t in your face, but instead, they kind of slide in through the back door of your mind, making you laugh raucously but also think more intensely about the points that Martin is trying to make.

Sometimes, Martin’s self-effacing looseness muffles the impact of promising material; more often, though, it has the unaffected pleasure of hearing a friend share a good story they’ve heard.

Martin combines the blunt confessional style of Mike Birbiglia and casual storytelling of Tig Notaro with the eccentricities and excited energy of Maria Bamford.

Martin acknowledges at one point they’re perhaps preaching to the choir in the theater, but perhaps more than a few viewers unfamiliar with Martin will happen upon their special and learn a thing or two, too. At least that’s my sappy hope.

Mae Martin’s style isn’t going to be for everyone. Their delivery is slightly dry sometimes, and the storytelling might be off-putting to some.