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It Started as a Joke

Play trailer 1:41 Poster for It Started as a Joke 2019,  1h 16m,  Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
It Started as a Joke: Trailer 1 It Started as a Joke: Trailer 1 Now Playing View more videos
Watchlist 100% 10 Reviews Tomatometer 71% Fewer than 50 Ratings Popcornmeter
100% Tomatometer 10 Reviews 71% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
Filmmakers Julie Smith Clem and Ken Druckerman chronicle the decade-long run of the Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival - including a final farewell show.

Critics Reviews

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Jason Bailey Flavorwire Apr 29, 2019
It's a warm and inviting bio-doc of Mirman, one of the funniest and most delightful people in comedy Go to Full Review
David Ehrlich IndieWire Mar 15, 2019
B-
More than a time capsule but less than it could have been, "It Started as a Joke" makes a lovely case that laughter is the best medicine... Go to Full Review
Kimber Myers The Playlist Mar 13, 2019
B
It Started As A Joke is often as entertaining as a solid set from any one of the featured comedians, but it also has a serious streak in the insight it offers into Mirman's challenges off the stage. Go to Full Review
Sean Burns WBUR’s Arts & Culture Apr 5, 2020
There's a raw power in this footage I'm not sure the filmmakers really have a handle on. It hits upon that primal human need to turn grief into art, to salvage something positive out of all this sadness. Go to Full Review
Jeffrey M. Anderson Common Sense Media Apr 3, 2020
4/5
This documentary breezes by quickly, but it manages to capture its subject soulfully while touching on serious subjects and demonstrating that laughter really is the best medicine sometimes. Go to Full Review
Dominic Griffin Spectrum Culture Apr 3, 2020
3.5/5.0
Seeing the absurdity of Mirman's stage work, coupled with the irreverent, inside-baseball tenor of the festival's approach to humor, it feels sad that this film is documenting what seems to be an end to this era. Go to Full Review
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It Started as a Joke

My Rating

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Cast & Crew

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Ken Druckerman

Director

Julie Smith Clem

Director

Michael Ian Black

Self

Wyatt Cenac

Self

Jo Firestone

Self

Jon Glaser

Self

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It Started as a Joke

It Started as a Joke: Trailer 1 It Started as a Joke: Trailer 1 1:41 Now Playing View more videos
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It Started as a Joke

It Started as a Joke (2019) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Filmmakers Julie Smith Clem and Ken Druckerman chronicle the decade-long run of the Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival - including a final farewell show.
Director
Ken Druckerman, Julie Smith Clem
Producer
Meri Haitkin, Geoff O'Brien
Production Co
Left/Right
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 3, 2020
Runtime
1h 16m
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