Comedian Tig Notaro had the worst few months of her life in 2012 when she was experienced a life-threatening infection, the death of her mother, and a break-up, all before being diagnosed with bilateral breast cancer. Notaro decided to turn her situation into material for a stand-up set on August 3, 2012, at the Largo club in Los Angeles, which began with the greeting “Hello, I have cancer.” The set became a viral hit and catapults Notaro to unprecedented levels of fame. Tig follows the comedian over the course of a year, as she tries to cope with this fame and return to a level of normalcy in her life. It has always been said that laughter is the best medicine and this was indeed the case for Tig Notaro, who took the worst four months of her life and turned it into a stand-up set that brought her the biggest success of her career. However, this newfound attention turns out to be incredibly stressful for Notaro, who struggles to return her life and career to relative normalcy, following her cancer fight. One of Tig Notaro’s biggest desires is to have children, however this is now much more difficult for her, since the cancer has made her unable to carry a child and there’s the risk that required hormone treatments will cause the cancer to come back. Tig builds to the climax of Notaro returning to the Largo for a one year anniversary show. The film depicts her trying to develop new material for the show, with the same joke being shown multiple times throughout the doc, before the final version at the end. The jokes in the film are funny, but Tig is also a very touching doc about Tig Notaro moving on from the worst period in her life. ★ ★ ★ ★ | LIKED IT Screenings:
- Thu Apr 23, 9:30 PM – Bloor Hot Docs Cinema (Opening Night Screening)
- Fri Apr 24, 6:00 PM – Bloor Hot Docs Cinema (Scotiabank Big Ideas)
- Sun May 3, 7:00 PM – TIFF Bell Lightbox 1