"Kevin Pollak explores the dark side of comedy in this fascinating documentary."

2015

1h 34m

6.0(39 votes)

Comedy

Documentary

Overview

Do you have to be miserable to be funny? More than sixty comedians—including stand-ups, writers, actors, and directors from the US, Canada, and abroad—take on this question, sharing anecdotes and insights with lively enthusiasm.

Links & Resources

IMDbView

Social & External

IMDb

Production Companies

Videos & Trailers

1 video

Cast & Crew

71 members

Acting

Jon Favreau

Self

Directing

Kevin Smith

Self

Acting

Bobby Cannavale

Self

Acting

Freddie Prinze Jr.

Self

Acting

Matthew Perry

Self

Acting

Whoopi Goldberg

Self

Acting

Martin Short

Self

Acting

Jimmy Fallon

Self

Acting

Christopher Guest

Self

Acting

Janeane Garofalo

Self

Directing

Judd Apatow

Self

Acting

Stephen Merchant

Self

Acting

Kevin Pollak

Self

Acting

Matt Walsh

Self

Acting

Jason Alexander

Self

Acting

Joe Lo Truglio

Self

Directing

Jason Reitman

Self

Acting

Chris Hardwick

Self

Acting

Samm Levine

Self

Acting

David Koechner

Self

Acting

Nick Swardson

Self

Acting

Andy Richter

Self

Acting

Bob Saget

Self

Acting

Richard Kind

Self

Acting

Amy Schumer

Self

Acting

Kevin Nealon

Self

Directing

Paul Feig

Self

Acting

Laraine Newman

Self

Acting

Jim Gaffigan

Self

Acting

Maria Bamford

Self

Acting

Paul F. Tompkins

Self

Acting

Larry Miller

Self

Acting

Jim Jefferies

Self

Acting

Kumail Nanjiani

Self

Acting

Mike Birbiglia

Self

Acting

Richard Lewis

Self

Acting

Greg Proops

Self

Acting

Dave Thomas

Self

Acting

Lewis Black

Self

Acting

Marc Maron

Self

Production

James L. Brooks

Self

Acting

Penn Jillette

Self

Acting

Michael Ian Black

Self

Acting

David Wain

Self

Acting

Robert Smigel

Self

Acting

Scott Aukerman

Self

Directing

Michael Showalter

Self

Acting

Jim Norton

Self

Acting

Andy Kindler

Self

Acting

Rob Delaney

Self

Acting

Dana Gould

Self

Acting

Wayne Federman

Self

Acting

Kathleen Madigan

Self

Acting

Anthony Cumia

Self

No Image

Acting

Dov Davidoff

Self

Acting

Todd Glass

Self

Acting

Gregg Hughes

Self

Acting

Bobby Slayton

Self

Acting

Bret Ernst

Self

Writing

Alan Zweibel

Self

Acting

Kelly Carlin-McCall

Self

No Image

Acting

Jake Johannsen

Self

Acting

Eddie Brill

Self

Acting

Jeremy Hotz

Self

Acting

Nick Griffin

Self

Acting

Lynn Shawcroft

Self

No Image

Acting

Jimmy Pardo

Self

Acting

Jordy Elner

Self

No Image

Acting

Steve Coogan

Self

Acting

Jemaine Clement

Self

Acting

Tom Hanks

Self

Similar Movies

8.5

2023

Loriot 100

Documentary about German comedian Loriot alias Vicco von Bülow, who would have been 100 years old in 2023.

Movie

6.1

2015

Jay Pharoah: Can I Be Me?

Stand up Jay Pharaoh performs his most popular celebrity impressions in this powerhouse comedy special, including hilarious takes on Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle, Jay-Z, Barack Obama and more.

Movie

9.0

2022

Americana

A group of online friends meet in person for the first time and discover their host is an enigmatic entity who molds a private world just for them. Through surrealistic individual battles with regret, trauma, failure, and mental disorder, each must decide if laboring through life is a worthwhile effort.

Movie

2006

Acting Blind

This touching documentary follows a cast of blind and visually impaired actors as they prepare Dancing to Beethoven, a play about blindness. The film takes us deep into the lives of the actors. We hear stories of their shock and disbelief at first losing sight and of their struggles coping with a life without it. We hear them talk about grieving and pining for the visual world. They tell the moving story of how this play is itself a victory, a type of salvation, for each of them. By opening night, at the renowned Place des Arts in Montreal, they are a close-knit cast, well-honed and ready to step out of the wings and into the light.

Movie

1983

Belzer Behind Bars

Turn off the alarms and throw away the keys as these two comics set the inmates of Arizona State Prison rolling with laughter.

Movie

5.5

2023

Dare to Say Yes

Michelle is having the worst day – she gets fired and dumped on the very same day. Ouch! Best friend Sara persuades her to come along to a new retreat which offers a wellness and empowering program “Just Say Yes”. Here Michelle faces her fears and finally learns to take on all the wonderful things life has to offer, including love.

Movie

6.0

2018

Eugenio

Documentary film about stand-up comedian Eugenio.

Movie

Lootin'

Imran Khalil made it: he finally got his big break as an actor. However, after an incident at a press event goes viral and gets him fired, he is forced to return to Luton and figure out his next move.

Movie

8.0

2018

Hannah Gadsby: Nanette

The Australian comedian Hannah Gadsby is taking an anti-comedy stance in her newest special.

Movie

8.7

2018

Franco Escamilla: por la anécdota

Mexican stand-up comedian Franco Escamilla draws his jokes from real-life experiences -- and he's willing to do anything for new material. He's not afraid to make generalizations about how men bathe. But he is scared to talk to strangers. Especially at funerals.

Movie

5.5

2004

The Reality of Love

Ryan Banks's manager and old friend, Todd, comes up with the idea to have Ryan be the bachelor on a reality dating show in order to clean up his image. The only problem is, Todd falls in love with Charlie, the girl Ryan has chosen to propose to.

Movie

1.0

2006

Behind the Smile

A young stand-up comedian finds his burgeoning career threatened when he teams with a veteran comedy superstar.

Movie

6.6

2024

I Used to Be Funny

Sam is a young stand-up comedian and au pair struggling with PTSD, who is weighing whether or not to join the search for Brooke, a missing girl she used to nanny.

Movie

6.6

2012

Daniel Radcliffe: Being Harry Potter

Made-for-television documentary about Daniel Radcliffe and his role as Harry Potter.

Movie

2007

Sean Hughes - Live: The Right Side of Wrong

Sean Hughes returns to the stand-up stage with his first national UK tour in nearly a decade. The Right Side of Wrong marks a return to the comedy circuit for one of the most distinctive and darkly explosive exponents of the art of stand-up.

Movie

6.7

2021

The Super Bob Einstein Movie

This documentary explores Bob Einstein’s unlikely discovery and enduring career, sharing the many evolving layers of his comedy from the people that knew him best.

Movie

2015

Max Amini: Authentically Absurd

Max Amini’s hour-long stand-up special

Movie

4.5

2019

The Japon

In 1614 a Japanese expedition led by the emperor's grandson landed in the Sevillian town of Coria del Río, and the heir to the throne fell in love with a beautiful Sevillian, formed a family and never returned to Japan. 400 years later, Emperor Satohito dies and the rightful heir turns out to be Paco Japan, a 37-year-old neighbor of Coria del Río. The life of Paco and his family will change dramatically when he sees himself overnight living in the Imperial Palace and preparing to be the new Emperors of Japan. The cultural and linguistic clash between Japanese and Andalusian will cause funny and crazy situations in this adventure where East and West shake hands.

Movie

7.0

2019

Dolemite Is My Name

The story of Rudy Ray Moore, who created the iconic big screen pimp character Dolemite in the 1970s.

Movie

6.6

2012

Fame High

Everyone dreams of fame. From the nail-biting freshman auditions to the spectacular year-end performances, Fame High captures the in-class and at-home drama, competition, heartbreak, and triumph during one school year at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, also known as Fame High.

Movie

Recommended Movies

6.6

2016

My Scientology Movie

After being denied access to the Church of Scientology's headquarters, documentarian Louis Theroux teams up with ex-Scientology official Marty Rathbun to stage re-enactments of alleged abuses within the organization. Theroux soon discovers that the church is watching his every move.

Movie

7.2

1945

Detour

The life of Al Roberts, a pianist in a New York nightclub, turns into a nightmare when he decides to hitchhike to Los Angeles to visit his girlfriend.

Movie

3.8

1975

The Happy Hooker

Having emigrated to New York and immediately got the kiss-off from her mother-besotted fiance, a Dutch lass takes a well-paid office job and starts liberally sampling the local male talent. After a while she decides to make her pleasure her business too, and as her reputation grows she graduates to a high-class bordello. Soon she realises she has the right talents to make a real success of a place of her own.

Movie

6.7

1992

The Bodyguard

A former Secret Service agent grudgingly takes an assignment to protect a pop idol who's threatened by a crazed fan. At first, the safety-obsessed bodyguard and the self-indulgent diva totally clash. But before long, all that tension sparks fireworks of another sort, and the love-averse tough guy is torn between duty and romance.

Movie

6.6

2015

It Follows

When carefree teenager Jay sleeps with her older boyfriend for the first time, she learns that she is the latest recipient of a fatal curse that is passed from victim to victim via sexual intercourse. Death, Jay learns, will creep inexorably toward her as either a friend or a stranger. Jay's friends don't believe her seemingly paranoid ravings, until they too begin to see the phantom assassins and band together to help her defend herself.

Movie

7.9

2014

Guardians of the Galaxy

Light years from Earth, 26 years after being abducted, Peter Quill finds himself the prime target of a manhunt after discovering an orb wanted by Ronan the Accuser.

Movie

7.6

2016

Deadpool

The origin story of former Special Forces operative turned mercenary Wade Wilson, who, after being subjected to a rogue experiment that leaves him with accelerated healing powers, adopts the alter ego Deadpool. Armed with his new abilities and a dark, twisted sense of humor, Deadpool hunts down the man who nearly destroyed his life.

Movie

5.8

2015

Trainwreck

Having thought that monogamy was never possible, a commitment-phobic career woman may have to face her fears when she meets a good guy.

Movie

6.0

2012

Snow White and the Huntsman

After the Evil Queen marries the King, she performs a violent coup in which the King is murdered and his daughter, Snow White, is taken captive. Almost a decade later, a grown Snow White is still in the clutches of the Queen. In order to obtain immortality, The Evil Queen needs the heart of Snow White. After Snow escapes the castle, the Queen sends the Huntsman to find her in the Dark Forest.

Movie

5.9

2016

Suicide Squad

From DC Comics comes the Suicide Squad, an antihero team of incarcerated supervillains who act as deniable assets for the United States government, undertaking high-risk black ops missions in exchange for commuted prison sentences.

Movie

8.2

2009

Inglourious Basterds

In Nazi-occupied France during World War II, a group of Jewish-American soldiers known as "The Basterds" are chosen specifically to spread fear throughout the Third Reich by scalping and brutally killing Nazis. The Basterds, lead by Lt. Aldo Raine soon cross paths with a French-Jewish teenage girl who runs a movie theater in Paris which is targeted by the soldiers.

Movie

7.3

2015

Avengers: Age of Ultron

When Tony Stark tries to jumpstart a dormant peacekeeping program, things go awry and Earth’s Mightiest Heroes are put to the ultimate test as the fate of the planet hangs in the balance. As the villainous Ultron emerges, it is up to The Avengers to stop him from enacting his terrible plans, and soon uneasy alliances and unexpected action pave the way for an epic and unique global adventure.

Movie

7.4

1978

Grease

Australian good girl Sandy and greaser Danny fell in love over the summer. But when they unexpectedly discover they're now in the same high school, will they be able to rekindle their romance despite their eccentric friends?

Movie

8.4

2010

Inception

Cobb, a skilled thief who commits corporate espionage by infiltrating the subconscious of his targets is offered a chance to regain his old life as payment for a task considered to be impossible: "inception", the implantation of another person's idea into a target's subconscious.

Movie

5.8

2014

Annabelle

A couple begins to experience terrifying supernatural occurrences involving a vintage doll shortly after their home is invaded by satanic cultists.

Movie

7.2

2017

Wonder Woman

An Amazon princess comes to the world of Man in the grips of the First World War to confront the forces of evil and bring an end to human conflict.

Movie

7.9

2016

La La Land

Mia, an aspiring actress, serves lattes to movie stars in between auditions and Sebastian, a jazz musician, scrapes by playing cocktail party gigs in dingy bars, but as success mounts they are faced with decisions that begin to fray the fragile fabric of their love affair, and the dreams they worked so hard to maintain in each other threaten to rip them apart.

Movie

6.9

2001

Pearl Harbor

The lifelong friendship between Rafe McCawley and Danny Walker is put to the ultimate test when the two ace fighter pilots become entangled in a love triangle with beautiful Naval nurse Evelyn Johnson. But the rivalry between the friends-turned-foes is immediately put on hold when they find themselves at the center of Japan's devastating attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.

Movie

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

6.0

2008

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Set during the Cold War, the Soviets—led by sword-wielding Irina Spalko—are in search of a crystal skull which has supernatural powers related to a mystical Lost City of Gold. Indy is coerced to head to Peru at the behest of a young man whose friend—and Indy's colleague—Professor Oxley has been captured for his knowledge of the skull's whereabouts.

Movie

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

6.8

2016

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

A teenager finds himself transported to an island where he must help protect a group of orphans with special powers from creatures intent on destroying them.

Movie