'Tiffany Haddish: Black Mitzvah' is all comedy, self-reflection and a whole lot of teaching with a sprinkle of Judaism
Is she ready? Well, she is ready to make you pee your pants laughing and even inspire you to make some longlasting changes in your life, but if you were hoping for a fun, music and dance-filled Bat Mizvah, you would be disappointed, as I was. However, Tiffany Haddish in her 'Black Mitzvah' did what she does best, which is to take you on a tour of her very adventurous life while making you guffaw and yet share some moments that will make you reconsider some of your own life choices.
The show, which starts with Tiffany getting carried on to the stage on a chair while singing Hava Nagila, and that's the most Bat Mizvah-thing about the entire special. The relevance of having this Black Mizvah, however, is not lost on us. Tiffany's father Tsihaye Reda Haddish, was a refugee from Eritrea and was from an Ethiopian Jewish family, and she wanted to honor him and his heritage. From learning Hebrew to learning how to sing the Torah, Tiffany really embraced this part of her identity and we can respect that, but was 'Black Mitzvah' a wrong branding for her special? I think so.
In 'She Ready' and her biography, 'The Last Black Unicorn', we saw Tiffany going into detail about the many hardships in her life and how with an exceptional sense of humor and the desire to make the lives of those around her a little brighter she fought on. Despite being homeless at three different periods in her life, she persevered to achieve her dream of becoming a comedian and did it purely relying on her talents. 'Black Mitzvah', however, slightly different, and in this, we see her primarily focusing on her life after stardom, and the various choices she had made in life and feeling unapologetic about them.
Surprisingly, she also talks about mental health issues, specifically depression, and gives a very fresh take on crying and how it is the first mode of communication we have as human beings. We also get a few of her takes on religions, a variety of them, and most impressively, stripping. I would advise you to keep your eyes peeled for the lazy stripper dance towards the end of the special, which means I advise you to stick around till the end. In the very least, in 'Black Mitzvah', Tiffany makes you chuckle while fulfilling her purpose on earth, which she believes, is to teach.
'Black Mitzvah' premieres on Netflix on Tuesday, December 3.