Women Aren't Funny
Women Aren't Funny
| 29 August 2014 (USA)
Women Aren't Funny Trailers

Comedian Bonnie McFarlane dons her investigative journalist's hat to find out once and for all if women are funny and report her unbiased findings in what some are calling the most important documentary of our generation.

Reviews
drjay-28585

Bonnie is a moderately funny woman. She has some things that are holding her back. She decided that being a male would put her over the top. She is funny but changing gender did not make her funnier.

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johnmichael-2

"Are women funny?" Bonnie McFarland asksThe answer is simple: YES. Of course.Wanda Sykes, Lisa Lampanelli, Whitney Cummings, Natasha Leggiero, Amy Schumer, Marina Franklin, Rachel Feinstein, Nikki Glaser, Sarah Silverman... and that's just standup. Then there's Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Melissa McCarthy, Jane Lynch, Ellen Degeneres, Mindy Kaling, and a bunch of others that will come to me when I'm not actually writing this off the top of my head. That's not to even mention the greats like Joan Rivers, Lucille Ball, Mary Tyler Moore, all the Golden Girls (Bea Arthur, Betty White, Estelle Getty, and Rue McClanahan), and others I'm too young to remember.I wish this documentary had been about showing us funny women, instead of 80 minutes of existential crises. Even better would have been if this documentary had exposed me to some female comedians who I hadn't known before. Awkwardly enough, a lot of the women I mentioned above actually showed up for one- or two-minute cameos, but not nearly long enough to showcase their incredible talent.The hardest thing is that, in the end, this expose-of-sorts didn't even bolster its own cause. It was unfocused, unfunny, and her husband Rich Vos was awkwardly omnipresent. There's already too many men in this documentary as it is.

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gavin6942

Comedian Bonnie McFarlane dons her investigative journalist's hat to find out once and for all if women are funny and report her unbiased findings in what some are calling the most important documentary of our generation.Apparently, this all started when Christopher Hitchens wrote an editorial called "Why Women Aren't Funny". Unfortunately, he died and can no longer discuss his thoughts.Early on, it seems like most of the male comedians interviewed seem to think there is a lack of funny women. One guy does say with so many male comics, there are probably more unfunny male comics than all women combined. That makes sense. Maybe women are just as funny, but there are fewer examples...Calling this a "cocumentary" was a bad idea. In fact, the whole segment with the radio show seems pointless and the husband could be cut out entirely, too. Explore your topic rather than padding 30 minutes of material with fluff.But, really, are women funny? This may ultimately be subjective. Men probably do not find women funny who base their standup on their kids. Which, sadly, seems to be the case. But women who tread into more traditionally male territory, like Sarah Silverman and Amy Schumer, are drop dead hilarious.More importantly: Is Maria Bamford funny? No.

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Neil-238-599054

It's a shame Ms. Mcfarlane chose to half-a** it. The myth of unfunny women could have been interesting. But she didn't explore the history of women in comedy or perhaps the psychological reasoning why women don't prefer women comics. You could have had a few panel discussions. And more Rich Vos is never the answer. And no Kathy Griffin? Odd.She lacked confidence through the film and made it way more personal than it needed to be. And if she wanted to go that route why not talk about how she broke in and what her family/friends thought about it. And were they barriers? It's also strange that four of the five writers for the movie are men. Can't help a sister out? But the interviews are still fun and worth a few laughs

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