This documentary begins on a trajectory toward a hardcore psychological study of thirty-something up-and-coming NYC comedian Wendi Starling. Even if the film’s sole focus was on Starling’s constant battle with her manic, bipolar past, this would still be intriguing in its own right. But Funny Pains eventually expands its ambit to become a broader philosophical study of the nature of stand-up comedy itself and what (usually dark) forces drive its young practitioners to suffer for their chosen art form.
Director Jorgy Cruz takes a simple but effective directorial path: he views stand-up comedy, not from the airy perch of Jerry Seinfeld-like stardom but, more interestingly, from the ground up, focusing on young comedians, both male and female, all of whom seem to be teetering precariously on the cusp of breakaway success. Not least is Starling, whom Cruz follows for a period of about four years. Although we meet other comedians in different stages of their careers—veteran scenester Jim Norton, Bonnie McFarlane, Nikki Glaser, Rich Vos, and others, the fulcrum of the film always swings back to Starling and her uphill fight to stay sane and relevant on the NYC comedy circuit.
Cruz follows her from unfulfilling day jobs to moonlighting stand-up gigs all over the city, privy to all the daily frustration, elation, stress, and ups and downs associated with life on the mid-level career treadmill. Starling’s daily doings are intercut with informal roundtable discussions with both rising and established comics. The wisdom imparted within these gatherings functions as a sort of learner’s guide to the comedic lexicon: everything from comedy taboos—do they exist?—to how to work a room full of tourist and what to do when you’re bombing onstage (hint: pick on the audience, a technique known as 'crowd work').
Cruz’s empathetic film is clearly enamored with its subject matter. And even though the jokes and stories from the featured comedians are sometimes more self-indulgent than actually rip-roaringly funny, the film’s biggest strength is showing how one comedian can take deep-seated pain and channel it into something positive by making her personal problems the stuff of public entertainment. Recommended. Aud: C, P.