When Jews Were Funny

Surveys the history of Jewish comedy...

Is there such a thing as Jewish comedy, or a Jewish-style comedy? For me, if I were to describe it, my first thought would be Woody Allen, who was not even mentioned on here. His delivery and obsession with psychoanalysis is, to me, the cornerstone of modern Jewish humor. (Add on Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David for a trifecta.) There is some attempt to connect the topic to immigrant culture -- they mention how Italians and Irish (the other two big immigrant groups of the time) had their own humor. Oppression breeds humor, perhaps, while assimilation kills it. There is probably some truth in that humor comes from pain, and Jews have known pain like few other groups of the last century.

Many of the bits on here are odd interviews, including "Super Dave", who I would not have suspected as self-identifying as a Jewish comic. There is nothing about his act that screams "Jewish" to me, but maybe I am ignorant to what it really means.

One person (I missed their name) argued that 20th century comedy history is the same as Jewish comedy history. Obviously, there are exceptions like George Carlin and Steve Martin, but the number of prominent Jewish comedians and comedy writers is overwhelming... it is difficult to discuss ethnicity without the risk of making what could be racist comments, but indeed, there may be such a thing as Jewish comedy... although whether or not this documentary found it, I am not so sure.

The notion of making a film like "When Jews Were Funny" is a pretty good one. However, it's not a particularly good film--and much of it is because so many of the great Jewish comedians are dead. Who's left feels like a who's who of the D-list comedians. I won't name any names--I do NOT want to be mean. Had the film been made in the 1940s, 50s, 60s or even 70s, many brilliant comics could have provided their insights--and the film would have been so much better.

Some of the old-time comics they interviewed seemed a bit ashamed of being labeled 'a Jewish comedian' or possibly worried about being seen as 'just Jewish'--which WAS a very interesting thing to follow- up on and I would LOVED to have heard much more about this sort of attitude. Yet, many of the younger folks didn't seem to feel that way at all. Again, this difference was interesting but didn't seem to be followed up on very well. Why did so many of the older folks de-emphasize their Jewishness while the next generation in the film tended NOT to? And, what exactly WAS the history of Jewish humor in America? Well, after seeing this film, I still didn't know because the film just seemed to go in many directions.

Overall, a tighter focus and more interesting interviews (much of this just wasn't funny but should have been and the great comics simply are dead in too many cases) would have helped make this a much better documentary.

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.

OK-so the filmmaker Alan Zweig's interview skills are terribly annoying, yet despite that I laughed a lot at the jokes, anecdotes, and schtick from the many comedians and writers that appeared in this film. As Zweig probes whether old style Jewish humor is dead, he unfortunately loses focus quite often and even, at times, gets some of the interviewees uncomfortable, confused, and even irritated, which, in my opinion, is not great viewing.

The consensus ends up being that as the Jewish people are more and more assimilated into society the type of Jewish humor of the past, kindled by pain, suffering, and frustration, takes a new form today.

Aside from the interviews from many of the top Jewish comics and writers today, there are a number of film clips of Jewish comedians, many of whom are no longer with us, performing on television.

Overall, despite Zweig's style, I found this documentary to be quite entertaining and, as mentioned I found myself laughing whole heartedly quite often.