Comedians love Maria Bamford's work. Maria Bamford, for her part, is grateful for the praise. She knows it's not the kind of kudos that will guarantee you'll sell out a big stadium, but it allows her to tour and live in a nice enough place.
But as cool as it is to hear comics like Marc Maron and Conan O'Brien talk about how great you are, she says that it's not all praise. People on the internet can be mean, and no matter who is giving it, it's hard to credit the good feedback without also taking in the inevitable stray social media insult or bad review. And for that reason, being told that you are a comic's favorite comic can be kind of hard.
That is, in part, the thesis of Paralyzed By Hope, A documentary about Maria Bamford. The film is co-directed by Judd Apatow and Neil Berkeley. You can watch it on Netflix starting October 23.