Tig

Tig Notaro does stand-up in Los Angeles. Within four months this happens: she gets a severe intestinal infection, her mother dies in an accident, her relationship ends and she is diagnosed with breast cancer. One night she goes on stage and talks about it. That set is recorded and spreads. The documentary follows what came after: surgery, treatment, attempts to have a child and a new relationship. Tig tries to get back on stage and can no longer do the same material. Kristina Goolsby directs with Ashley York. Tig Notaro, Stephanie Allynne, Zach Galifianakis and Sarah Silverman are in it. It is an American production and went out on streaming. Its starting point is a set performed in 2012; that recording became an often cited example in comedy. The narrative takes the illness not as material for jokes but as the question of what to do on stage. The documentary shows the fertility treatment in detail and records the failures too. The narrative follows Tig's new relationship and that line becomes its emotional centre. The film does not drop the humour; there is a joke even in the heaviest scenes. The documentary stands very close to its subject and builds no critical distance. Its limit is method; the narrative is scattered, the structure loose, and some sections repeat. Who it is for: viewers who like the world of stand-up and portrait documentary. Who it is not for: it is scattered, personal, and the ending open.