Laughing Matters the Funny Business of Being Sad Director

Laughing Matters

The funny business of being sad

Comedians come together for an honest look and real conversations about comedy + mental health because when the cost of bringing others joy is your own joy...the cost is too high.

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Popular reviews

If you're able to get a dozen beloved comedians to give you incredibly vulnerable interviews about their mental health history, you probably shouldn't squeeze it all into a 30-minute soundbite fest of all the most quotable parts. If each person was given an equal amount of screentime in this, it would only amount to two and a half minutes each. That ain't enough time!!!

The content of this documentary is poignant and important, but the way it's edited together skims over everyone's story enough to say "we're all in pain" but not enough to give an understanding of each person's narrative.

Dang it, Rainn Wilson, you literally make web series for a living!!!
"I think the saddest people always try their hardest to make people happy. Because they know what it's like to feel absolutely worthless and they don't want anybody else to feel like that."

That quote from the late Robin Williams is probably a little cliche now due to social media overuse, but my experiences have found it to be overwhelmingly accurate.

Laughing Matters is a short made for the YouTube channel SoulPancake, who often have viral hits surrounding around questions of life, religion, and big ideas. This particular short is about depression, and those who are quite familiar with its relation to comedy. There are a lot of big names featured here, and all are candidly honest.

Many of my…
accidentally stumbled upon this and maaan am I glad I did <3

it's a short documentary about depression through the lens of some famous comedians and their life stories and it really hit home for me<3

if you've never had depression, this might be an eye-opener and - if you're like me and have been battling with depression at any point in your life - this made me feel seen & understood <3

it's an important subject to talk about to spread the awareness of one simple thought;
you are not alone<3
Felt like this would be an interesting follow-up to watching I Smile Back since Sarah Silverman was interviewed for it. Unfortunately the short doc jumps around between the interviews too much for my tastes. Trying to weave this narrative from a small set of interviews. Also I expected more interesting stories. The only one which really struck with me was the guy who told the story about being interviewed by his dad.

Still, the discussions are always worth having and comedians have an interesting perspective on mental health because of the time they spend thinking and analyzing emotions. ... Of course psychologists and those in the affective sciences also do. So I guess a large gripe of this doc is…
When you boil it down, this is simply a half hour of interviews. Where you fall on the scale of enjoyment and appreciation will vary based upon the person, but I found the content here to be moving and truthful in ways you rarely see. There is emotion and humanity to be felt through simple interviews. A short, yet wonderfully done documentary.
Watch it here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBV-7_qGlr4

The last 10 to 15 minutes are damn powerful and Sarah, those last few words hit me right in the face.

Only criticism: I agree with other reviews that this could've been easily 20 minutes longer in order to go deeper into the subject and getting a more clear understanding of the history of the participants and how they actually manage to deal with their life. But I guess the intend behind this was more to create a "wake up call".
if ignorance is bliss maybe clarity is misery
😟
There's just something so comforting about this documentary. If you're a struggling with mental health obstacles please please reach out.
"There's a lot of I Love You in the comedy community but that just mean Please, don't die".
I wish this was longer, I feel like the subject has barely been brushed over, there is so much more to be said!
Touching. Beautiful. Raw.

There is so much good in these comedian's words. The vulnerability and honesty was powerful. When you're struggling it feels like no one else knows what you're experiencing yet here we see otherwise from people who, from the outside, look like they have it all.

My only criticism is that I believe they should expand the interviews. It would help so many people and I deeply wish there was an extended version.
Don't know a single funny person that isn't deeply sad in some way.