When Jews Were Funny

While anyone can enjoy this nostalgic look at what it means to be a Jewish comic, the question Zweig keeps returning to is how to get a fix for his Jew Jones. As another babyboomer NYC Jew who grew up watching Jack Carter, Red Buttons, Myron Cohen, London Lee, Jack E. Leonard, Alan King, Joey Bishop, Norm Crosby, Professor Irwin Corey, Sid Caesar, Carl Reiner, Howie Morris, Alan Sherman, Jerry Lewis, The Three Stooges, George Burns, Corbett Monica, Sandy Baron, Stanley Myron Handleman, Buddy Hackett, Shecky Greene, Danny Kaye, Pinky Lee, Eddie Cantor, Groucho Marx...in other words, the funnymen of the late 40s and 50s, it seemed the whole comedy world was Jewish. There's nothing particularly ethnic about any of the above performers, many of whom were cited in the documentary, but that sense of Jewishness in comedy is an historic relic. While the documentary contains many funny lines and examples of Jewish jokes, there's a sadness as an undercurrent that only fellow 60+ Jews can truly understand...the loss of a culture. I'm glad I watched the film, but it left me melancholy.

I grew up watching these comedians and a lot of others not mentioned including My favorite Woody Allen. I never even thought about them being Jewish, I just liked their humor and the way they told their stories and jokes. I couldn't wait for Ed Sullivan each week or Johnny Carson each night to see who would be on. If the majority of the comedians of those times happened to be Jewish, so be it. I could have cared less as long as they made me laugh. I don't find any of today's so called comedians funny. That's why I love these shows about the real comedians of our past. Keep more of these shows coming and I'll keep watching. FUNNY SMUNNY!!!

The film is a series of interviews with old stand-up routines and jokes mixed in. There is a general lack of forward momentum or guidance. We hit our note ten minutes in and sit there for an hour and change more.

You don't inherently need a narrative to drive the documentary but you need highs and lows, to atleast build to something. There isn't even a conversation on display, just a series of single points of views. Repeatedly there is humour from struggling and things have changed but still funny. There is some amusing philosophies but it just doesn't go anywhere and there are no real conflicts out of a few sputters of annoyance.

Also the pacing is always the same and all the shots are still single cameras, nothing is done to raise the interviews.

If you're coming in to this doc without any previous experience with Alan Zweig, there's a good chance you will be disappointed. Many of the interviewees in this film, in fact, seemed disappointed. In a nutshell, Zweig's style is: Talk with people (not merely "interview" them), be sincere, open and honest in a way that encourages the interviewee to also be open and honest (though it may make some people uncomfortable), and film it. It seems like many reviewers here came to this doc more from an angle of loving Jewish comics without having any experience with Zweig, and I think they have missed the unique value of Zweig's art.

I find it fascinating how he catches people so off-guard with his input, which usually puts people in unexpected situations where they will either put their guard up or open up. Many reviewers here in IMDB also seemed critical of the fact that this was not a traditional documentary format, and that it did not place the focus solely on the interviewees (I also think this threw off some of the more egocentric interviewees). But think about how Zweig actually included so many of those moments, moments that would have been cut in a more traditional doc. (It's funny how many people in Zweig's docs ask "So what is this about?" and how often those moments end up in his films.) I think that's where Zweig's magic is. It might make the viewer uncomfortable at times, but it's raw, it's real, and it's authentic.

7/10 because I probably won't watch it again, but it was successful at the most important thing for me: It made me feel something and it made me think.

I grew up in the northeast, mostly New York, so it is no surprise that Jewish humor is the thing that probably makes me laugh the most. I had never heard of this documentary and it is now twelve years old. What this is mostly about, the diminishing of traditional Jewish humor, is more prevalent now than when this was created. However, somehow, I had not noticed its slow demise until watching this. It's all true. The Jewish humor and intonations are mostly a thing of the past. Sad, but as one person says here, it's all about assimilation. The doc itself was a tad disappointing as I expected more humor. There is some, inevitably, but this is mostly a talkfest with Jewish comedians from the past (who were alive 12 years ago!) and while it is certainly interesting, it was a bit of a letdown. There are a lot of famous faces here, so if this is your thing, you should take a look. There are indeed some moments of hilarity. I was very surprised not to hear a mention of a lot of very famous comedic Jews from the past, but this seems to be concentrating on those who did stand-up mostly in their careers, hence, I guess the absence of such giants as Woody Allen, Mel Brooks and a helluva lot more.