Bitter Jester (2003)

User Rating:

3.0/10   

Director:

Maija Di Giorgio

Writers:

Maija Di Giorgio (writer)
David Burton Levin (writer)

Genre:

Documentary | Adventure | Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

Comedy, the tragedy.

Plot:

BITTER JESTER is the first documentary to give us a glimpse into the real process behind the comedy we watch in clubs...

Cast

Maija Di Giorgio	...	Herself
Kenneth Simmons	...	Himself (As Kenneth R. Simmons) (as Kenneth R. Sim)
Richard Belzer	...	Himself
George Carlin	...	Himself
Whoopi Goldberg	...	Herself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Joy Behar	...	Herself
Peter Boyle	...	Himself
Chevy Chase	...	Himself
Norm Crosby	...	Himself
Jody Del Giorno	...	Himself
Phyllis Diller	...	Herself
Gilbert Gottfried	...	Himself
D.L. Hughley	...	Himself
Dom Irrera	...	Himself
Kevin James	...	Himself
Terry Jones	...	Himself
Richard Kind	...	Himself
Kathy Kinney	...	Herself
Robert Klein	...	Himself
Barry Manilow	...	Himself
Heather McConnell	...	Sexy Personal Assistant
Colin Mochrie	...	Himself
Paul Mooney	...	Himself
Richard Pryor	...	Himself
Colin Quinn	...	Himself
Tony Roberts	...	Himself
Ray Romano	...	Himself
Rita Rudner	...	Herself
Vincent Schiavelli	...	Himself
George Schlatter	...	Himself
Paul Shaffer	...	Himself
Ryan Stiles	...	Himself
Jerry Stiller	...	Himself
Nicole Sullivan	...	Herself
Judy Tenuta	...	Herself
Rich Vos	...	Himself

Directed by
Maija Di Giorgio

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Maija Di Giorgio		writer
David Burton Levin		writer

Produced by
Richard Belzer	....	executive producer
Ron Di Giorgio	....	executive producer
Eric Gardner	....	executive producer
David Klingman	....	co-producer
Heather McConnell	....	co-producer
Kenneth Simmons	....	producer

Original Music by
Joe Delia

Cinematography by
Jody Del Giorno

Film Editing by
Maija Di Giorgio

Production Management
Tony Martinelli	....	production manager

Sound Department
Will Kreth	....	supervising sound editor

Visual Effects by
Steve Channon	....	digital artist
Steve Channon	....	visual effects coordinator

Production Companies

• Bitter Jester Productions
• McBelz Enterprises
• Panacea Entertainment

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Company:

Bitter Jester Productions

Movie Connections:

References Comedian (2002)

Not a well made film, but worth checking out.

I don't know if this documentary is available anywhere, but this film does have elements worth checking out if you can find it, especially if you are prepared for the amateur film making and the overpowering, and sometimes nerve wracking, presence of star-by-proxy Kenneth Simmons. I caught this at the 2003 New York Film Festival and met with many of the members of the production in the theater after the screening. I can vouch that they are the real deal. In fact, they may have even edited out some things to make it more palatable.

I agree with Soybomb89's excellent review, so refer to that for more details. Suffice to say, this film is like watching a train wreck, both fascinating and yet tragically nauseating at the same time. I would not fault someone for hating it, it shows they have a soul, but there are many redeeming qualities about it as well. A hilarious interview with Gilbert Godfried comes to mind. I also think director Maija Di Giorgio is to be commended for working well with limited resources, especially experience. Given more of the latter, I believe she could become an excellent filmmaker.