When Jews Were Funny

Mar 25 2014 Not Rated 1h 29m
Documentary

From the 1930's to the 1970's, pretty well every comedian or comic you might see on TV or the movies was Jewish. Jews came to dominate the world of western-society comedy on radio, stage and screen alike.Why did Jews dominate comedy in this period? And why did that domination end? Were Jews just funnier back then? And if so, did that extend to your average Jew on the street? In this 90 minute documentary acclaimed director Alan Zweig will examine these questions and many others in this exploration of 20th century humour, cultural decay, and a search for a missing heritage.

Plot

Alan Zweig's 2013 documentary "When Jews Were Funny" surveys the often colorful history of Jewish comedy in America. The documentary is insightful, often hilarious and packed with one-liners. While taking the viewer on the journey through the history of Jewish comedy, a second journey is taken in the exploration of what it means to be Jewish in America.

Written by

Alan Zweig

Directed by

Alan Zweig

Cast

Marc Maron, Gilbert Gottfried, Rodney Dangerfield

Crew

View crew

Production Countries

Canada

Languages

English

Awards

1 win total

Trailers
When Jews Were Funny - Trailer
Scores
# of Votes
568
Average Rating
6 out of 10
Metascore
NA
Popularity
NA