What are the odds of a Jewish-American housewife in the 1950s becoming a successful stand-up comedian?

Very low even by today’s standards.

Midge Maisel is the hero in her own journey. 

Things don’t go as she expects – her husband leaves her and their children, she does not have 3 children before the age of 30, she takes up a job (which is unheard of in her time) and best yet, she does stand up comedy on the side despite it not being a money maker. 

Midge’s character is truly an optimist and also one that leaps first before thinking through the steps to progress. She relies on blind faith, impulsive decisions and her ability to make things up as she goes along.

There is an innocent sense of naivety that rolls along and becomes bravery in her very entertaining road to stardom. 

Like any good hero, Midge starts off with a call to adventure. One that was totally random and fueled by a night of intoxication. She meets a benefactor / mentor in the form of an ambitious and hardy Susie who takes her on and becomes her manager.

Susie has cut her teeth managing clubs and seeing a wide variety of comics. She has a good sense of what works and what doesn’t. To her, Midge is a diamond in the rough that could do with some unearthing. At this point, Midge’s liquid courage evaporates and she throws herself into self-doubt, recanting her initial enthusiasm to give stand up comedy a try. 

What Midge went through in this phase is so common amongst us. How often do we start out with joy and optimism and then the more we give ourselves time to think about it, we often talk ourselves out of it, not even giving the opportunity a fair shot?

Thankfully, Midge has Susie in her corner and she crossed the threshold.

Midge was essentially a one-hit wonder who thought that she was able to replicate her drunken successful night on stage to adoring audiences. As expected, she bombed a couple of times and her ego took a beating, so beaten that she flirts between quitting and thinking that this was the worst idea she could possibly think of.

As a viewer, it is with a sense of knowing that Midge’s ego was in the way of her connecting with her varied audience night after night. Does Midge humbly acknowledge that her comedy might not be for everyone? Does Midge humbly acknowledge that she is trying to shove her same act night after night to a different audience? Does Midge humbly acknowledge that she might need more practice and to grow in her ability to read and connect with the audience?

We’re not going to bury the lede here: Midge does not. In fact, she short-cuts her way to comfort, by thinking she should just quit. 

This is where it’s important to surround yourself with people who care for you for they can hold up a mirror when the obvious is not obvious to you. 

It may be discouraging to receive less than ideal news, but it’s all about how one reacts to it and makes out of it. 

With the experience Susie has, she tells Midge that all this is part and parcel of the process in honing the craft and that Midge has potential but she has to work hard for it.

This leads me to my favourite part of any Hero’s Journey – the growth of skills, the dedication, the focus, the discipline and the consistency of doing what you want to do and being better and eventually great at it.

When I hear Eye of the Tiger, I think of Rocky training. When I hear Irene Cara’s What a Feeling, I think of Alex’s hours of practice culminating in performing for the dance school admissions panel. When I hear Hey Baby, I think of Baby and Johnny practising their dance moves in the woods. 

Midge and Susie go on the stand up comedy tour of Manhattan to watch live comics in action for research and to learn. Midge gets so comfortable in this routine of researching and learning that she is almost a bit too reluctant to perform. 

Who hasn’t gotten into the rut of comfort – doing work that is technically work but not the actual work that is going to move the needle for you? My hand is up. I’m guilty of that. It seems as though my subconscious knows how high the stakes are (or that I’ve built it up way high in my mind) that it becomes intimidating to just do the work you set out to do.

With Susie’s prodding that Midge has to start before she is ready, Midge gets anxious and relies on external assistance to get an edge. She hires a comic writer to write jokes for her and as expected, bombs as the comic writer turned out to be a hack who sold recycled jokes. 

So many things are to be gleaned from this. How often do we lack self-belief that we turn to quick-fixes and “sure-win” solutions to ensure we succeed? How much harder would that path be if we had only stayed true to course and gave it a good try?

When Midge bombs again, she throws in the towel again, citing that the audience is the problem. 

Midge is many things and amongst that, she has low self-accountability. At the beginning of her hero’s journey, she blames most things for her lack of success but never herself. 

What she doesn’t understand is that when you take ownership and accountability for your failings, life gets more empowering for you. You’ll instinctively know what to do to turn things around. 

Midge gets back on the horse, practises and gets better. Her candour is what makes her comedy so good. At the same time, her candour lacks filter or socialisation. 

Despite getting the opportunity to open for a famous comic, Midge screws her magic ticket by choosing to make fun of the comic for the sake of comedy. At this point, one does wonder if Midge has any socialization and if she understands the stakes at stake. How does one go from enjoying afternoon tea at a famous comedian’s house and receiving a mink coat for free to thrashing the said comedian that very night?

You can argue that Midge is just being authentic and truthful, but did she have to do it at the expense of the famous comedian?

Due to her actions, Midge gets black-balled and barred from performing at most venues, leading to a death and eventual rebirth. 

It can be said that the barriers and resistance placed in Midge’s way may have fortified her being and her persistence to become a better comic. 

Taking her good attitude with her and making lemonade from lemons, Midge makes the best use of a sleeper time slot. 

A silver of a break is all you need to catch a break and that was another golden ticket that led to her opening for a musician on tour. 

The only aspect in life that proceeds in a linear fashion is aging. Other than that, you never know what to expect despite your best planning. 

Thinking Midge is on a positive trajectory is a very plausible one, except Midge still hasn’t cured her naivety.

She unwittingly throws her benefactor under the bus in an act, resulting in her being thrown off the lucrative tour. 

The hero’s journey for Midge involves going back to the trough after attempting to summit another peak. 

This is extremely enlightening to see as one can never assume that you’ve made it until you truly know yourself. 

The rest of Midge’s journey is frustratingly entertaining and you’ll never stop rooting for Midge and Susie.