I’m not really sure what Toronto filmmaker Alan Zweig is trying find with his new, documentary, which is about (duh) funny Jews. The title recalls a time when Jews were funny, suggesting that they’re not funny anymore, an implication that many a Jewish funnyman would find slightly offensive. Unfortunately, Zweig’s theme, if it exists at all, is elusive. His interview subjects are comedians, so, as you can expect, they use the opportunity to find jokes rather than insight. However, Spending 90 minutes with a bunch of comedians riffing on Jewish identity is not a complete waste of time, even if Howie Mandel is one of those comedians.
Mostly, When Jews Were Funny consists of Jewish comedians, young and old, discussing Jewish identity, comedy, and how they overlap without any clear objective. It’s obvious that many of Zweig’s subjects are unsure about the purpose of his documentary, and there’s a few awkward moments when various comics express their frustration with him, especially the older comics who insist there is nothing culturally specific about their comedy. In particular, Bob Einstein (better known as Super Dave Osborne) has little patience for Zweig, but most of his colleagues indulge the filmmaker. Really, the film is more of an elegy for the tight-knit urban Jewish communities, and their particular sense of humour, that raised Zweig’s generation.
When Jews Were Funny has its world premiere at 9:15pm on Tuesday, September 10 at the Scotiabank Theatre. It will also play at 9:15pm on the following Thursday at the Bloor Hot Docs Theatre and again at the Scotiabank Theatre on the following Sunday at 4:45pm.
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Alan Jones writes about film for Toronto Standard. You can follow him on Twitter at @alanjonesxxxv.
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