WHEN JEWS WERE FUNNY
Directed by Alan Zweig
It would likely pain him to admit it, but Toronto documentarian/notorious curmudgeon Alan Zweig has had quite the year. With his uncharacteristically optimistic 15 Reasons to Live still making the festival rounds, his second 2013 effort, When Jews Were Funny, shocked everyone by winning TIFF's Best Canadian Feature award in September. The two films are a study in contrasts. Whereas the former consists of tightly structured, well-composed essays, the latter relies on rambling conversations with a cavalcade of Jewish comedians.
Whether it's octogenarian Shelley Berman, stone-faced Bob Einstein (a.k.a. Super Dave Osborne) or reigning comic whisperer Marc Maron, Zweig's interview subjects are occasionally flummoxed by precisely what it is the filmmaker is after. Ultimately, this only adds to the doc's considerable shambolic charm. Initially posing general questions about the role of humour in moulding the Jewish identity and, in turn, how Jews have shaped American comedy, Zweig eventually reveals the extremely personal reasons behind this exercise (the details of which are best disclosed on-screen.)
And while it remains true that jokes are best left unexplained, examining the roots of a people's humour proves unexpectedly fascinating. There's something enthralling about watching these comedians recite old Jewish jokes as if they were passages of scripture. There's also considerable evidence on-hand to back the assertion that comedy is the Jewish jazz guided by lilting Yiddish rhythms. Submitting that humour is born of oppression, Zweig seems genuinely unnerved by the prospect of cultural assimilation. What does the future hold for a natural born kvetcher like him if there's nothing left to complain about? Curtis Woloschuk
Plays Dec. 20, 22, 24 & Jan. 2 at the Vancity
