“When Comedy Went to School” Laughter Personified (Film Review)

COMEDY GREATS

TALK ABOUT

THE OLD TIMES

 

Review by John Delia

Have you ever wondered where the comedy greats started in the business? Well here’s a tell it all from directors Mevlut Akkaya and Ron Frank who put together a great cast of incredible comedians to tell their story.  When Comedy Went to School is not only a documentary but a comedy treat with many of the zany stand up comics that went on to television, movies and stage.

Narrated by comedian Robert Klein the film takes you to the mountains of New York for a look at the Catskills where vacationers were a captive audience for budding comics.  Getting out of New York City during the hot summers to the nearly 500 hotels and rooming houses, thousands of guests swarmed into the mountain retreat.  There they had fine food, exercise, swimming and entertainment.  It was a place like no other from the 1930’s to the late 1960’s.

With the use of archived film, photos and television tape all time greats Jerry Stiller, Sid Caesar, Larry King. Mort Sahl, Jerry Lewis and Jackie Mason transport us to those days where they provided the entertainment.  It was a proving ground for not only them but the likes of Danny Kaye, Mel Brooks, Red Buttons, Buddy Hackett, Lenny Bruce, Henny Youngman, Don Rickles, Totie Fields, and Rodney Dangerfield in the early years.  But many others followed including Billy Crystal, Joan Rivers, Woody Allen and Jerry Seinfeld who found the audiences that relished having a good laugh.

Year after year new material was experimented on the audiences where the funny men practiced their trade.  Not paid a lot of money for their talent, the advantage of having huge audiences and a possibility of getting discovered were more valuable to them.  Each of the interviewed comedians tells their story of how they were worked to the bone by the audiences that were so attuned they’d finish a line if the joke was a repeat.  Each skit was a tough act to follow, but that’s what made them great.

The documentary goes on to show how history changed the face of comedy from the war in Europe to politics.  But the talented comics kept going strong integrating current events into their acts.  It was a release from the troubles in Europe and a way to enjoy a short period of time before the vacationer returned to their routines in New York.

There’s a lot crammed into just an hour and a half, but it runs smoothly and with a quick tempo.  Directors Mevlut Akkaya and Ron Frank keep interviews snappy, yet in most cases allowing adlibbing to make them fun.  Their film targets those that remember the golden age of comedy and the comedians that made laughter another kind of remedy for good health.  With the downfall of the Catskills as a place for comedians to get a start and the advent of comedy clubs around America, the vacation land is now only a memory of a time when the earth stood still for three months out of the year for laughs.

The film gets released on a somber note that comedian Sid Caesar who is featured in the film has passed away on the day of this writing.  Known for many zany characters that he brought to millions through Film (Grease, It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World), Television (“Your Show of Shows”, “Caesar’s Hour”) and Broadway (“Little Me”, “Make Mine Manhattan,”) over 67 credits in all, he’ll be remembered by millions across the world.  His appearance in When Comedy Went to School is touching and humorous, just like he’s always been during his long career. Sid Caesar was 91 years young.

FINAL ANALYSIS:  An Amusing Doc with a lot of heart. (B)

Additional Film Information:
Cast: Robert Klein, Jerry Stiller, Sid Caesar, Larry King. Mort Sahl, Jerry Lewis and Jackie Mason
Directed by: Mevlut Akkaya, Ron Frank
Genre: Documentary, Comedy
MPAA Rating: Unrated, No Offensive Material
Running Time: 1 hr 28 min
Release Date: February 14, 2014
Distributed by: International Film Circuit
The film is now playing at select theaters, check your local listings for time and place.