Wisecracks
| Wisecracks | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Gail Singer |
| Produced by | Susan Cavan Rina Fraticelli Signe Johansson Gail Singer Ginny Stikeman |
| Cinematography | Zoe Dirse Robert Fresco |
| Edited by | Gordon McClellan |
Production companies | |
Release date |
|
Running time | 90 minutes |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
Wisecracks is a Canadian documentary film, directed by Gail Singer and released in 1991.[1] The film profiles a number of women who were active in comedy in the late 1980s and early 1990s, including Joy Behar, Phyllis Diller, Ellen DeGeneres, Whoopi Goldberg, Geri Jewell, Paula Poundstone, Sandra Shamas and Jenny Jones.[2]
The film premiered at the 1991 Festival of Festivals. Singer's comedy film True Confections was also screened at the same festival, making her the first filmmaker in the festival's history to have both a documentary and a narrative fiction film screened at the festival in the same year.[3]
Cast
[edit]- JoAnne Astrow
- Joy Behar
- Maria Callous
- Dreenagh Darrell
- Ellen DeGeneres
- Phyllis Diller
- Whoopi Goldberg
- Dorothy Hart
- Geri Jewell
- Jenny Jones
- Maxine Lapiduss
- Jenny Lecoat
- Emily Levine
- Paula Poundstone
- Sandra Shamas
- Carrie Snow
- Pam Stone
- Deborah Theaker
- Robin Tyler
- Kim Wayans
- Lotus Weinstock
- Cast of Faking It
- Archival footage
Reception
[edit]Critical response
[edit]Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote: "How do female stand-up comics differ from their male counterparts? What does comedy mean to them? How do they feel about their audiences and about being able to make those audiences laugh? These not altogether burning questions are addressed by Gail Singer's Wisecracks, a full-length documentary that is noticeably bigger than its subject. Still, Ms. Singer manages to offer an interesting overview, not to mention scattered moments of insight and humor."[4]
Awards
[edit]The film subsequently received a Genie Award nomination for Best Feature Length Documentary at the 13th Genie Awards in 1992.[5]
References
[edit]- ↑ Taylor, Noel (December 24, 1991). "Wisecracks proves that women are funny too". Ottawa Citizen. Postmedia Network. ISSN 0839-3222. OCLC 60621316. Retrieved September 16, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Bastien, Mark (September 9, 1991). "Funny bone is Canadian film-maker's new target". Montreal Gazette. Postmedia Network. ISSN 0384-1294. OCLC 456824368. Retrieved September 16, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ MacInnis, Craig (September 2, 1991). "Singer: Cracking wise and felling lies". Toronto Star. Toronto Star Newspapers Ltd. ISSN 0319-0781. OCLC 137342540. Retrieved September 16, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Maslin, Janet (June 4, 1992). "Review/Film; Is Women's Anger a Laughing Matter?". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. ISSN 0362-4331. OCLC 1645522. Archived from the original on May 26, 2015. Retrieved September 15, 2026.
- ↑ Kirchhoff, H. J. (October 14, 1992). "French-Canadian films steal Genie show: Cronenberg's Naked Lunch leads the pack with 11 nominations". The Globe and Mail. The Woodbridge Company. ISSN 0319-0714. OCLC 61312660. Retrieved September 16, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
External links
[edit]- Wisecracks at IMDb
- Wisecracks at the National Film Board of Canada catalog
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