Beautiful, funny, and often heartbreaking. Louie has spawned a whole genre of autobiographical comedian stories, which may not be new in structure or concept, but are certainly new in terms of their brutal honesty and willingness to showcase the mental health issues which seem to define and codify most comedians. One Mississippi is the most subtle version of that new post-Louie comedy we've been given so far, in that Tig rarely goes for deliberate jokes, and instead lets her dry sense of humor act as a kind of shield against the pervasive sense of melancholy that permeates almost every scene of this show; it's a fascinating choice. The result is that Tig is actually training you, her audience, in her sense of humor, forcing you to develop the same defense mechanisms in the same organic way she developed them herself, rather than simply putting her humor on display, as all previous comedies have done since the dawn of time. I'm not sure anyone will even notice that dynamic, or realize just how far it puts this show ahead of its time, but I hope that One Mississippi will find the audience, and the creative respect, that it deserves.

One Mississippi treats us to Tig Notaro's signature dry humor in a semi-autobiographical comedy, as Tig returns to her childhood Mississippi home after her mother's death. Tig is clearly damaged goods - her physical damage (cancer, mastectomy, gastroenterological), quickly becomes obvious. What's revealed more slowly is the psychological damage incurred from a semi-dysfunctional uprearing in a locale not noted for its open acceptance of "different" people. Was this damage inevitable, given her makeup, or was it brought on others? The others primarily include her deceased mother, her rigid stepfather, and her biological father. Everyone's damaged to some extent, so who to blame? Great performance by John Rothman as the compulsive stepfather who struggles mightily to squeeze out every last bit of empathy contained inside him, which isn't much, but proves he's human after all. The humor is very dry, but I found it to be effective. I was surprised at how touching many of the scenes were. Everyone struggles, and sometimes small victories are the only ones that are possible. One Mississippi shows us that need to relish these.