I Like You... Maria Bamford

"I like you..." is a recurring section of "Where the Wild Things Were Last Thursday Around 8" which highlights the best of the best, the cream of the crop, the people, places and things that make each and every day a little more bearable just because they happen to exist.

I can't believe it took me this long to get around to electing a stand-up comedian to the "I Like You..." hall of fame, and I really can't believe it took me this long to elect a woman. So, I'm pleased to announce that the newest member of the "I Like You..." hall of fame is none other than the mistress of a million voices and the funniest f_cking female comedian I've ever seen, Maria Bamford.

You're welcome, World.

There's a good chance you've never heard of Maria Bamford, or Morgan Murphy or any number of super talented, super funny female comics working right now, because being a female stand-up comedian is incredibly difficult. I don't know why, because the funniest person I ever knew (my mother) was a woman, and no one makes me laugh harder or more often than my girlfriend, so why is it that female comedians are treated like second class citizens in the comedy world? Are we really still stuck in a "men only" vortex of comedy that gave us such talented individuals as Dane Cook or Larry the Cable Guy? No, that can't be right. Sarah Silverman is almost a bonafide celebrity these days, so what gives? Do you have to be a potty mouthed brunette with a fetish for making people feel awkward to succeed in comedy as a woman? Or would the general public rather watch a dumpy, balding middle aged man rant about politics and his barren sex life for 20 minutes at a time? Honestly, I'm asking you, my reader to tell me what the f_ck is going on, because this just can't stand. I truly believe that some of the funniest comedians of all time have been women. Lucille Ball, Phyllis Diller, Rita Rudner, Ellen Degeneres, Roseanne and any number of the other women who made a name for themselves in what was largely a boys club. (Full disclosure: I hate Whoopi Goldberg with a passion, but it has nothing to do with her being a woman, and everything to do with the lack of comedy that takes place in her "act") So why isn't Maria breathtakingly famous right now? Why isn't she hosting her own day time talk show battling Oprah and Ellen for ratings? I don't know if there will ever be an answer to that question that actually makes sense.

I don't want to get into an overly long discussion about sexism in the comedy world, because this is not the time or the place. This is when I'm honoring Maria Bamford for her contributions to the world of comedy. So, without going into too much detail, I'd just like to point out that Ms. Bamford is more than a slew of silly voices, warped characters and odd songs. She's a stellar performer and an incredibly intelligent and subversive writer. Why not take a look for yourself?

She's awesome right? I mean, look how seemlessly she slips from one voice to the next. You've got to be quick to keep up with Maria's quirk, because if you blink you might miss something beautiful. Her transitions are, in my opinion, the best in the business. They are not quite non-sequiturs, but they're definitely disjointed, and somehow everything flows so naturally it makes me wonder what special kind of mental disorder Maria has that allows her to control the voices in her head with such effortless grace. I know when I'm on stage I say "uhm" more than I should and my go to line when I'm stuck between bits is "what else," and let me tell you, when you're an audience member and a guy like me is sputtering out a bunch of poorly written jokes that are even more poorly performed, its infuriating at worst and annoying as hell at best. Guys like me, the hacks of the comedy world, are peanuts compared to the brilliant mind of Maria Bamford.

I'm positive that if you put me in a room with my current comedy heroes (Patton Oswalt, Zach Galifianakis, David Cross, Eugene Mirman, Brian Posehn, Dana Gould etc.) not only would I be awed by their presence, but the only one I would be nervous about talking to would be Maria Bamford. I don't know that I could keep up with her. I don't know whether or not I would try to make some zany comment that would derail the conversation and set it into a sh_t spiral of awkward pauses and disgrunteld sighs, because I'd most likely try to recite her act back to her and explain why it is so damn good. With that I'm going to make the election of Maria Bamford in the "I Like You..." hall of fame officail.

As usual, Ms. Bamford, you can expect a complimentary "I like you..." hall of fame t-shirt* within the next 6-8 weeks. Thank you for everything you've done for comedy in general and for the countless times you've made me laugh. Mark my words, madame, your time will come and the entire world will know your name.

*there will be no t-shirt