Humor Me

Jemaine Clement and Elliott Gould in Humor Me

Sam Hoffman's Humor Me was released, briefly, in 2018 to minimal box office. What little critical response it gathered was mixed. I saw it on TUBI, the crippled step-child of streaming services. I do have a small place in my heart for crippled step-children, TUBI and, subsequently, Humor Me. The film breaks no new ground, especially visually, but it is a pleasant kvetch leavened with schtick.

An expansion of Hoffman's show, "Old Jews Telling Jokes", the film is utterly predictable. Jemaine Clement plays a stunted playwright dealing with the fallout of an unexpected divorce. He is forced to seek the shelter of his father's house in a senior community monikered "Cranberry Bog". The jokes write themselves. There is power walking, seniors going to pot, and an octogenarian puts the make on Clement. A ramshackle production number from The Mikado suddenly turns magical in the last reel and there is a brush with death, happily averted.  

Gould plays Clément's dad. He uses humor to deflect questions that provoke his fears and anxieties. Black and white interludes illustrate his lengthy jokes. Joey Slotnick, forever fated to be a second banana, is wonderful as "Zimmerman", the perpetual protagonist of the gags. These joke sequences suggest not only alternate worlds to the drab reality of "Cranberry Bog", but different perspectives from which to view the calamities of life. 

What won me over to Humor Me, despite it formulaic nature, was the warmth and dexterity of its (well) cast. Elliott Gould was born to play an old Jew. Annie Potts is a delicious Yum-Yum. Clement is too ugly and inert to be a popular leading man, but he is expert at playing off his fellow actors. He establishes an easy rapport with both Gould and Ingrid Michaelson, who plays his romantic interest. Mike Hodge, Bebe Neuwirth, and Priscilla Lopez all have nice moments. Hoffman overdoes the horny senior bits, but keeps the pace brisk. Comedy is hard, folks, and you could do worse than this inconsequential and pleasant film.