Joke Man

Although I was very interested in watching this, I had very low expectations going into it. I expected it to be cheesy, trashy, and low-grade. Actually, it wasn't any of these things. We are so used to the narrative of what we think Jackie Martling is like based on the Stern Show. It kind of makes sense that it's not necessarily the case. There were lots of interesting things I learned about his career from watching this, and if anyone is expecting to see the "bitter" Jackie, that wasn't even remotely the case. I also liked seeing credible comics like Penn Jillette (of Penn and Teller fame) having respectful and nice things to say about Jackie. While they were able to get ex-Stern show staff like Artie Lange (with a horrible nose), Billy West and Stuttering John to appear in this documentary, it is noticeable and sad that no current Stern Show people are in this. I'm sure Stern forbade it, as I can't imagine Fred Norris or Gary not doing something like this for Martling.

Finally, I've noticed that blindly-loyal Stern fans have already commented on this movie and trashing it. Don't believe it for one minute. If you listened to the show during the Jackie years, this is worth watching, and gives you a different side of Jackie Martling.

If you want to inflate your own relevance, hire your best friend to make a movie about you, and if you run out of people to comment on you, allow that same friend to be a commentator in the film. This is just a vanity docu-project about the classic joke comedian who was once a writer for Howard Stern.

There is no new ground covered, basically the same stories Jackie has recycled for years on podcasts and in his biography. But that's Jackie, right? A fine purveyor of recycled jokes and material in yet another attempt at self-promotion. Isn't that what we love about him?

This film allows you to laugh AT him more than with him, you just wish Howard, Fred and the Jackie Puppet were doing a commentary track about it. The most exciting part is the appearance of Scott DePace, the ignorant director who fell off the face of the Earth and is probably again the team leader at ShowBiz Pizza. Watch it if you have a love for Jackie and the Stern show.

PS - Artie does make three 10 second appearances.

Jackie's ability is that he remembers jokes. And he tells them. But he's not very funny in general, he just thinks he is. And the cavalcade of has-beens in this documentary is just downright sad, especially stuttering john, the least funny person on planet Earth.

Jackie also made the worst decision in show Business history in leaving the Stern show, his career has been in a downward spiral ever since leaving Stern, because he never understood the fact that he was a side man, he was not a frontman, and his talents are minimal at best. All that being said this is a entertaining documentary even though Jackie is a bitter has-been.

"Joke Man" does a nice job telling Jackie Martling's story. I'm not the biggest fan of Martling. I also live on Long Island and have had many opportunities to see his act over the years but never bothered. I know a lot of people who enjoy his act but it was never my thing. That said, "Joke Man" is definitely worth the watch. Martling tells some funny stories and doesn't use the movie to go on the attack. Martling takes the high road and that helps the movie out quite a bit. I listened to Martling on the Howard Stern show for many years but it wasn't until I watched this movie that I actually fell like I know who he is. Anyone who used to enjoy Martling on the radio should try to watch this movie.

Wow, what an awesome movie!

Very nicely put together and well paced. A must watch for fans of the early Howard Stern show. Some very cool blast-from-the-past-moments. Actually made me miss how freaking funny the Stern show used to be with Jackie.

Really hammers home the fact that Jackie was responsible for so much of the humor when he was a part of it and how the quality of the show greatly declined once he left.

I personally think Jackie made the right choice to leave, especially considering what a absolute "joke" Howard Stern has become.

Hearing the once champion of free speech and FCC crusader come out against Joe Rogan for "daring" to have certain guests on his podcast was absolutely absurd and destroyed any credibility Stern may have still had. F_ _ K Howard.