Again I tried to watch a doc about a famous comedian, hoping it would be funny. It was cute and sweet and very polite, but it wasn't very funny. It wasn't sad, but it wasn't funny either.
Goodnight, We Love You is the biographical documentary of Phyllis Diller, a pioneering female comedian for over 40 years. The film was striking similar to A Piece of Work (which I watched a few days ago); a mixture of archival footage of Diller's long career on television and movies and a documentation of her day to day life. Specifically they followed her as she prepared and performed her final show before entering into retirement.
I have never heard any of her standup before so I was looking forward to hearing some jokes. I also didn't know anything about her life but I was less interested in that- it turned out to be pretty much what I expected. She grew up poor, worked hard, and is now obscenely rich. Has some kids and some famous friends.
What I learned: In addition to a strong comedic talent, she is musically and artistically inclined. She studied piano in school and when she started doing standup it was a mix of jokes and piano-playing. She's also a talented painter and has sold a handful of paintings. Also, when she used to travel doing shows she'd take 60 bags with her: make up, show supplies, food (she got sick of room service) and pharmaceutical needs.
What I liked: Unlike the Joan Rivers bio, I had no problem deciding how to feel about Diller. She seemed like a good hearted, hard working, sweet old lady. She would make an awesome grandma. At first I was a bit disappointed in the film, because it's basically a puff piece with little critiques or mentions of career low points. But now that I think about it, why would someone want to make a movie pointing out the flaws of a sweet funny old lady, and what kind of person would want to watch that?
What I didn't like: It wasn't that funny. They show some clips of her standup, both past and present, but it's hard to 'get into' because it's so brief. Granted, her style of humor relies mainly on one-liners, but I think I would have liked it more watching a whole set. This is just one of the many docs about comedians that isn't as funny as I was expecting. I guess if I want to laugh I should just go watch their standup hmm?
Anyway, she seems like a nice lady. You can watch it on netflix instant.
Here's a clip of her jamming out with Liberace back in 1969. He seems like quite a character himself:
And here's some of her art. Pretty awesome, in my opinion:
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