Expecting Amy

What a lot of reviewers who have posted here don't seem to have grasped is that although this is undoubtedly a raw and real depiction of Amy Schumer's very difficult pregnancy and the birth of her child, moreover it is an allegory for a woman's process as a comedian. The first two episodes of the series focus far more intensely on Amy's creation of a new set of material that leads up to her stand-up special "Growing," and how that material changes, shifts and improves as her real life experience as an expectant mother and new wife to a man with austism influences her writing. In fact the first few acts of "Expecting Amy" are broken down with chapter titles of the phases of pregnancy that are actually referring to the process of writing her comedy show, leading up to "Giving Birth", when the show finally debuts.

The insight into her creative process is quite honestly a master class in stand-up comedy, and as this part of her professional life gives way to the birth of her son, the tone shifts in the third episode. But make no mistake: the series shows that a woman can have a career and a family on her own terms, and it's one of the most moving and brilliant documentaries on the subject.

Superb - experiencing Amy Schumer entering a new phase of the lifespan, bonding with a partner on the spectrum (many wonderful aspects of Asperger's as well as challenges) while gestating with Hyperemesis - the honesty is wonderful.

Amy Schumer has made a career out of oversharing. I mean, duh, isn't that what comedians do? Guys talk about their b*lls, Amy talks about her p*ssy; it's all good. I have to admit I've enjoyed her later stuff more, like the Netflix special that's at the center of this three-part miniseries about Schumer's pregnancy, her hyperemesis, and -- to a lesser extent -- her autistic-spectrum husband, Chris. That special felt more well-rounded than the usual sets about promiscuity. (Funnily enough, Schumer herself comments in one of the episodes that critics never review her single work, but always her body of work. Here I am, internet troll, doing the same thing...)

This miniseries is funny. I was constantly laughing. I love Amy's sense of humor and her sisters, all the comedians who surround her -- what's not to like? And, absolutely, my heart went out to her for enduring such a torturous pregnancy. It's not that the oversharing is a problem -- seeing Amy vomit all the time wasn't gratuitous; she was that sick! And seeing her frequently naked, and frequently looking pale and unwell, and seeing her in the hospital having the baby -- I get why people say it's brave, and I have no quarrel with any of her choices in life. Why would I? It's her life.

But a documentary is a *thing*, it's a piece of media, one might even call it art, and we're allowed to critique it for its mechanics, for what it is, for what it does. Despite its unabashed sharing -- or perhaps, counterintuitively, *because* of it -- the documentary keeps Amy insulated. And it keeps us at a distance. The sharing of her trauma and all the sickness *almost* feels like something to distract us. Is she really cracking jokes the whole time she's puking? Why is her sister always there -- what does she do? Why does Amy suddenly make the choice she does at the end? That part felt rushed and glossed over. I also got the sense that Amy has this entourage around her constantly, and is a bottomless pit of attention-seeking, but that's probably to be expected.

What the doc does well is show how Schumer, and probably most comedians, build a show. The cross-cutting between her daily life and the use of that daily-life-derived material on stage was great. Comedians are amazing, we need them more than ever, and Amy Schumer is one of the really good ones.

A documentary, though, ought to reveal its subjects somewhat objectively, without protecting them. Amy and her husband Chris are both producers here, capture all the footage themselves, and though there's some other dude listed as the director, I know Schumer controlled every aspect of this. That's not what the old greats, like Al Maysles, would call "direct cinema." This is not Grey Gardens. This is like one big long Instagram video that Schumer tightly controlled.

7/10.

This show is amazing. Amy Schumer really puts it all out there, in a frank, sometimes painfully honest story of the very real side of pregnancy and exactly why mom's believe & know THEY OWN YOU! Really is a wonderful, touching show about the not so glamorous side of pregnancy and what it takes.

A vulnerable look into the reality of a difficult pregnancy while being a working woman in the public eye. This mini series was amazing, raw, and funny.