Film by: Kevin Pollack
Written by: Matthew McGuire
Kevin Pollack, writer and director for “Misery Loves Comedy,” takes the documentary to the Tribeca Film Festival.
Do you have to be miserable to be funny?
Filmed primary in the New York City region. “Misery Loves Comedy” was produced via Kickstarter, with $50,000 going into the budget. Heretic Films also helped support this project. It will be a sweet homecoming for the film at Tribeca after winning over audiences at Sundance. This film takes a deep look at the emotional and psychological makeup behind being a comic.
I’ll be honest, I tried stand up comedy, and failed. It is difficult to come up with material that multiple people find funny. I find it much easier to make a small group of people laugh, but comedians that perform for large audiences, have guts, and skill.
As a writer, and online media producer, I do my best to be fair, comical, and unbiased.
That being said. Do you have to be miserable to be funny? My answer is, yes at first, but once you get good at it, like Larry David, or Chris Rock, the misery fades and the talent of finding humor in the world is still there.
The smartest comedians can relate to everyone in the crowd. I feel that comedy is finding a common ground that is entertaining and thought provoking.
Miserable:1. wretchedly unhappy, uneasy, or uncomfortable: miserable victims of war.2. wretchedly poor; needy.3. of wretched character or quality; contemptible: a miserable villain.4. attended with or causing misery: a miserable existence.5. manifesting misery.6. worthy of pity; deplorable:
Amy Schumer, comedian and actress, recently was in “Trainwreck,” and I wrote a negative review about the film. After hearing more about the comedian’s perspective, I could feel how negative reviews can have a domino effect. Here is my point, a studio film that lacks soul, and usually comes off as being empty. ‘”Misery Loves Comedy” is an independent film that I feel has passion behind project.
As a critic, I find that each project has time and effort put into, but I tend to back the projects with more thought, time and effort that is put into the story. Pollack does an excellent job of finding the common ground to a complicated subject.