Mae Martin: SAP Review – far from perfect, yet still has some good laughs

We review the Netflix stand-up comedy special Mae Martin: SAP, which was released on March 28th, 2023. 

Mae Martin is a stand-up comedian from Canada that wrote the Netflix series Feel Good that went on to win two Canadian Comedy Awards. They also received a BAFTA TV Award for Best Female Performance on the series. This led to Martin’s first stand-up special with Netflix, Mae Martin: SAP.

Mae Martin: SAP Review

Mae Martin: SAP is about Martin talking about how the world has gone off the rails. Also, they discuss mythical encounters with a mouse and the gender spectrum in the story “Beauty and the Beast.”

The special opens with a little bit of Mae and a man at a campfire who throw their phones into the fire. It leads to this person introducing Mae Martin to the stage, who enters through a bunch of fake trees on the stage.

Martin opens with a bit about how their accent has altered slightly since being in London, leading to them telling a story about her father told the story of how they were conceived. Honestly, it was the perfect little opening bit.

Martin has this hilarious ability to use voices, hand gestures, and specific plot points to make you laugh harder than certain jokes. Also, the jokes about their parents were fantastic.

It wasn’t just how they told the joke, but how they incorporated the voice changing to attempt to sound like them that added this hilarious extra layer to the joke.

One thing that I found and some viewers might not love about the special is the storytelling aspect of Martin’s bits. Now, I love a well-told story that has a great punchline. However, if the story tends to go on far too long, the joke loses steam, and by the time the punchline comes, the joke falls flat.

If this had happened once, I wouldn’t have mentioned it, but it was almost every bit that Martin had that included storytime.

I often preach about how I don’t love when comedians bring their politics or beliefs to the stage in a preachy way. That said, Martin pours their heart out on the stage empathetically, addressing the ideology of people criticizing those who don’t understand the transgender and non-binary aspects of the world.

Of course, they brought up the questions they always got about the Chapelles and Gervais’s of the world and handled it brilliantly. Those who might not understand might want to listen to Martin tell their side of the story and how they feel.

Is Mae Martin: SAP good?

Maybe. I know that isn’t a hard recommendation, but Mae Martin’s style isn’t going to be for everyone. Their delivery is slightly dry sometimes, and the storytelling might be off-putting to some, but I laughed at half the jokes. So, it’s hard to say no, but hard to say yes, but if any of that sounds like your cup of tea, give it a try.

What did you think of the Netflix Stand-Up Comedy Special Mae Martin: SAP? Comment below.