Misery Loves Comedy

Jan 23, 2015

1h 34m

★ 6.0

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

Genres

Comedy

Documentary

Production Companies

Heretic Films

Misery Loves Comedy Trailers

Cast

Self

Jon Favreau

Self

Kevin Smith

Self

Bobby Cannavale

Self

Freddie Prinze Jr.

Self

Matthew Perry

Self

Whoopi Goldberg

Self

Martin Short

Self

Jimmy Fallon

Self

Christopher Guest

Self

Janeane Garofalo

Self

Judd Apatow

Self

Stephen Merchant

Capturing John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr in their electrifying element, 'A Hard Day's Night' is a wildly irreverent journey through this pastiche of a day in the life of The Beatles during 1964. The band have to use all their guile and wit to avoid the pursuing fans and press to reach their scheduled television performance, in spite of Paul's troublemaking grandfather and Ringo's arrest.

7.3

Brené Brown: The Call to Courage

Apr 19, 2019

Brené Brown is a research professor at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work. She has spent more than a decade studying vulnerability, courage, authenticity and shame. With two TED talks under her belt, Brené Brown brings her humor and empathy to Netflix to discuss what it takes to choose courage over comfort in a culture defined by scarcity, fear and uncertainty.

7.8

Dream Girl: The Making of Marilyn Monroe

Sep 20, 2022

How did Marilyn Monroe become one of the greatest sex symbols of all time? What drove a prudish little Californian girl, who was not especially pretty nor exceptionally talented, to become this incredibly striking platinum blonde superstar? How did she become the icon capable of balancing innocence with raw sensuality, whilst continuing to captivate the masses to this day? How did she achieve this? And what price did she pay?

0.0

The Importance of Being Ernest

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Through nine feature films, an Emmy-award-winning TV show, and thousands of television commercials, Ernest P. Worrell became a beloved comedy icon. Originally created as an advertising character, Ernest transcended these humble beginnings to become an unexpected hit—given life through the creativity of an indispensable team of artists, as well as through the unparalleled talent of actor Jim Varney. Today, two decades after Varney’s death, both Ernest and Jim seem to endure largely as pop culture footnotes; or worse, as easy punchlines. But there’s more to Ernest than that, and this documentary film will guide viewers through the entire Ernest epoch to examine the shelf life of a phenomenon. Using archival footage, cast and crew interviews, and never-before-seen material, we will seek to answer the questions: “Who was Ernest, who was Jim Varney, how did they relate, and why do they both mean so much to people?”

7.3

Monty Python's The Meaning of Life

Mar 31, 1983

Life's questions are 'answered' in a series of outrageous vignettes, beginning with a staid London insurance company which transforms before our eyes into a pirate ship. Then there's the National Health doctors who try to claim a healthy liver from a still-living donor. The world's most voracious glutton brings the art of vomiting to new heights before his spectacular demise.

5.2

ISMO – Breaking Bad English

Nov 1, 2024

ISMO – Breaking Bad English is a cinematic version of the saying “through hardships to the stars.” Ismo, who grew up in Jyväskylä, is a shy boy with a vivid imagination who has trouble fitting in. As a student in his twenties, he stumbles upon a new form of expression in Finland, stand-up comedy, which suits him perfectly. Ismo quickly rises to become one of Finland’s most successful stand-up comedians, but that’s not enough for him. He decides to pursue a career in the United States, the homeland of the world’s most famous comedians.

6.1

Jean-Marie Straub and Danièle Huillet at Work on a Film Based on Franz Kafka’s Amerika

Nov 13, 1983

This film is at once a self-portrait and an homage to Jean-Marie Straub, Farocki's role model and former teacher at the Film Academy.

5.0

Igelak (Frogs)

Dec 2, 2016

Pello, a bank branch manager, is arrested on charges of embezzlement. Abandoned by his superior (who got him involved in the heist), Pello escapes from the court room and goes on the run. With no papers, no money and no family or friends he can trust, he changes identity so that he can stay undercover for a time. By chance he ends up hiding in a building that has been occupied by a group of people evicted from their homes who are fighting his bank. Pello gains their trust, all the time planning to steal money from them to pay for false documentation so that he can escape abroad and start a new life.

5.5

I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With

Apr 28, 2006

Life has its downs for James, living with his mom in Chicago at 39, an aging performer at Second City, eating and weighing too much. A woman he's been dating drops him, as does his agent, her brother. James turns down roles in local TV, roles that make him sad. Someone's remaking his favorite movie, "Marty," a role he'd love, but he doesn't even get an audition.

0.0

Bogo the Clown

Jan 28, 2017

Bogo, a self-deprecating stand-up comedian, struggles to find happiness in a life where his only value seems to be making other people laugh.

8.1

Anteojito and Antifaz, A Thousand Attempts and One Invention

Sep 14, 1972

Anteojito and Antifaz live in an apartment house in Villa Trompeta, a fantasy city with funny animals, dancing vegetables, and Uncle Antifaz’s enemy, Cachavacha the witch, living with Pajarraco her owl, in the apartment right under his. Uncle Antifaz tries to invent an invisibility formula with Anteojito’s help, and Cachavacha tries to steal it.

7.6

Dylan Moran: Like, Totally

Nov 27, 2006

Dylan Moran returns with an all-new stand-up show. Unpredictable, startling, bizarre, elegiac, but above all brilliant and hilariously funny, Moran is a master of comedy.

5.9

Heckler

Nov 4, 2007

HECKLER is a comedic feature documentary exploring the increasingly critical world we live in. After starring in a film that was critically bashed, Jamie Kennedy takes on hecklers and critics and ask some interesting questions of people such as George Lucas, Bill Maher, Mike Ditka, Rob Zombie, Howie Mandel and many more. This fast moving, hilarious documentary pulls no punches as you see an uncensored look at just how nasty and mean the fight is between those in the spotlight and those in the dark.

5.7

Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!

Jan 23, 2004

A small-town girl wins a date with a Hollywood star through a contest. When the date goes better than expected, a love triangle forms between the girl, the celebrity, and the girl's best friend.

0.0

The Last Laugh

Jan 4, 2024

Javi Fuentes, a talk show host, loses his sense of humour after his father's death. He is replaced by an unbearable influencer and hires Alfonsina, a stand-up comedian, to regain his spark and save the show.

7.6

Dara Ó Briain: Live at the Theatre Royal

Nov 25, 2006

The final date from Dara's sell-out 100 date tour of the UK and Ireland. Recorded in front of 2,500 fans at London's Theatre Royal, this show displays the comedian at his quick-thinking best.

6.7

Kathy Griffin: Straight to Hell

Nov 29, 2007

Kathy Griffin talks about her Emmy acceptance speech, Larry Craig, Paris Hilton, Paula Abdul, and "The View" (1997). Filmed live at the Chicago Theater - 175 N State St, Chicago, Illinois, USA

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0.0

The Best Show on the Planet

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No overview available.

7.6

Dylan Moran: What It Is

Nov 23, 2009

Unpredictable, bizarre, elegiac, often cruel but above all painfully funny, What It Is sees Dylan ponder the joys and disappointments of human existence with the sensibility and intense perception of a man teetering on the edge. Critically and publicly acclaimed around the world for his previous Monster and Like, Totally shows, What It Is is Dylan's finest live performance yet.