Search - Now That's Funny on DVD

Good but not Great

W. Easley | Colorado Rocky Mountains | 05/08/2010

(3 out of 5 stars)

"

"Now That's Funny" is essentially a text in how to be funny. This DVD is not a complete performance by any comic. This DVD shows interviews, in brief snippets, of many comedians on questions related to what is funny and what is not funny. Comedians who teach us include: Rich Little, The Smothers Brothers, Sarah Silverman, and Carrot Top. Other comedians are shown with brief sketches of their performances: for example Charlie Chaplain, and the Three Stooges.

The chapters of the "text" include:
Jokes about men
Jokes about women - including blond jokes.
Funny word jokes
Lawyer jokes
Light bulb jokes
Jokes about marriage

Some of the better chapters are: "So What is Funny", which defines various methods of humor, and "What Is It Like to Make People Laugh", which relates how comics feel about their performances.

This DVD discusses timing, inflection, and the importance of adjusting to the individual audience. We also learn a bit about sources of material. "Now That's Funny" is indeed instructional, however, the quality of the production is not sharp and some of the scenes are slightly fuzzy. Some of the jokes are flat and not really funny. A few jokes are trite but hilarious.

I recommend this DVD for people wishing to study comedy technique.
"