The Comedians of Comedy (2005)

A ramshackle and chaotic film and a complete disaster as a documentary. If it weren't also pretty damn funny, it'd be worthless. Funny it is, though, and with the people involved, how could it not be? (Full disclosure: I think Patton Oswalt is one of the funniest men alive, so maybe I was predisposed to liking this.) Zach Galifianakis is this group's wild card, and it's right about the time he shows up that the film falls apart from a cinematic standpoint; of course, it's also when the humor level gets ratcheted up, so it's a reasonable tradeoff. He seems to be more into conceptual humor than the others (so much so that one wonders if his last scene isn't actually some Andy Kaufman-style prank on the audience), and Maria Bamford kind of disappears once he shows up which I guess is unfair and indicative of the boy's-club mentality of the standup circuit, but then I don't find Bamford particularly funny, so it's not like I minded.

Grade: B-