I'm not even sure I found this comedy special's material inherently original completely. Bamford's deliver is what makes it - she is not what you usually expect from most stand up comedians, who by nature of their profession have to COMMAND the stage (even Seinfeld, who seems fairly low-key compared to a Lewis Black or Chris Rock, has a way to get people's attention and hold it). With Bamford, her voice is that of someone who is shy and nervous, but it's not out of being a poor public speaker or actually those things... you can tell in this case because her audience are her parents(!) (And some of the other crew in her presence). Or, maybe it takes the most guts and courage of all, which makes her performance here nothing short of miraculous.
I wonder if this would've got made or released if it hadn't been for Netflix; they take chances on a lot of people, but they also put out specials by known quantities. Bamford has been around for decades, but this is different: an entire "special" that is just her literally in her living room with a camera crew and her parents sitting on a couch. Oh, certain things break up her bits, like, say, the pizza delivery man who comes by with pizzas for the parents and crew. But it's all just Maria, with those big eyes of hers, and her bits are often very funny (and, just occasionally, a joke may fall flat, but that's only me).
I don't know if this will appeal to everyone; I can picture a few people turning it on and being uncomfortable by the approach, like it's an even odder take on something Andy Kaufman would do back in the day. It's nothing short of a unique approach, and it does work as an experiment and simply a lot of wonderful observations about relationships and other quirks out in the world. It's a particular mind to come up with this and not only get it together but to think it was funny... and it is!
