Women Aren't Funny (2014) User Reviews

More Rich Vos is never the answer

[Neil-238-599054 · 5/10 · 5 December 2014]

It's a shame Ms. Mcfarlane chose to half-a** it. The myth of unfunny women could have been interesting. But she didn't explore the history of women in comedy or perhaps the psychological reasoning why women don't prefer women comics. You could have had a few panel discussions. And more Rich Vos is never the answer. And no Kathy Griffin? Odd.

She lacked confidence through the film and made it way more personal than it needed to be. And if she wanted to go that route why not talk about how she broke in and what her family/friends thought about it. And were they barriers? It's also strange that four of the five writers for the movie are men. Can't help a sister out? But the interviews are still fun and worth a few laughs

Had So Much More Potential

[gavin6942 · 5/10 · 20 January 2015]

Comedian Bonnie McFarlane dons her investigative journalist's hat to find out once and for all if women are funny and report her unbiased findings in what some are calling the most important documentary of our generation.

Apparently, this all started when Christopher Hitchens wrote an editorial called "Why Women Aren't Funny". Unfortunately, he died and can no longer discuss his thoughts.

Early on, it seems like most of the male comedians interviewed seem to think there is a lack of funny women. One guy does say with so many male comics, there are probably more unfunny male comics than all women combined. That makes sense. Maybe women are just as funny, but there are fewer examples...

Calling this a "cocumentary" was a bad idea. In fact, the whole segment with the radio show seems pointless and the husband could be cut out entirely, too. Explore your topic rather than padding 30 minutes of material with fluff.

But, really, are women funny? This may ultimately be subjective. Men probably do not find women funny who base their standup on their kids. Which, sadly, seems to be the case. But women who tread into more traditionally male territory, like Sarah Silverman and Amy Schumer, are drop dead hilarious.

More importantly: Is Maria Bamford funny? No.

This documentary isn't funny

[vrhproductions · 1/10 · 16 January 2015]

This "cocumentary" is funny same as Bonny being funny. This whole movie is about her and not much about female comedians nor the subject of women not being funny...if anything this documentary just proves the point they are trying to dispute. She even goes to the point when she says she did not do any research for this subject

Trying to prove women are funny by not being funny. The moment when she asks people "Do you know me?" is just sad...why does it matter? Maybe you are a shitty comedian and thats why nobody knows you? Oh yeah...and she asks Wanda Sykes, Sarah Silverman and Chelsea Peretti about not being funny? What do they know? They never were funny from start

Women can be funny, they are just not in this documentary.

Surprisingly good.

[13Funbags · 7/10 · 14 October 2019]

I thought this was going to be a rant by an angry woman but it wasn't. Not only is it not serious, it's not a documentary. It's a scripted movie that is intended to be funny and they succeeded. Watch it.

doesn't do female comics any favors

[c-elizabeth-hammon · 2/10 · 13 January 2015]

It's a pretty lame documentary. Im actually surprised it got made in the end. Nothing is learned, nothing is gained. many popular female comics are completely absent and/or never even mentioned (rosanne, whoopi, Kathy griffin, more) It's totally self indulgent. I'm not even sure if there was a single redeeming clip in the entire thing. Every time she got close to having an interesting interview it ended up turning silly. She had golden opportunities with some really great people, like Joan Rivers & Wanda Sykes, but she didn't capitalize on the fact that she had them sitting right across from her. Those parts were too short and the parts with her acting dumb were too long. Its just a mess. I liked Bonnie mcfarlane before I watched this and it actually made my opinion of her go down.

Just read the title

[combs-954-135653 · 1/10 · 21 January 2015]

If you're going to make a movie about how people perceive that woman aren't funny... at least make it funny. There are lots of funny women in comedy, McFarlene isn't one of them, even though she got lots of funny women in the movie, to which she never took to her advantage. I'm still lost, as a fan of comedy this was still the worst documentary I have seen on Netflix. The only reason for positive reviews is seeing lots of comics people know.

Hail the likes of Joan, Wanda, Silverman, Amy Etc....but this is is pile of trash, and pretty sure I could take a camera out on a Friday night and film funnier stuff than this in a matter of hours.

Unbiased? Really? :/

[jake2034 · 3/10 · 22 February 2015]

To be quite honest, if this documentary was handled by someone else, it might have been interesting. But, this wasn't so much a question of if women are funny, but rather is Bonnie funny? And frankly, I think not. The "Do you recognize me?" and "Maria, add me to your funny ladies page" scenes are a little sad. Are women funny? Sure, probably equal to the percentage of men that are funny.

It's hard to say it's unbiased when she's trying to prove how funny SHE is throughout the whole movie, and taking (some) clips out of context. I know that Doug Stanhope is talking about the reason he got into comedy when talking about being funny as a way to get girls.

At the very least, it's about as good as any "Cocumentary", in the sense you get to hear your favorite comedians talk off the stage. But, it's a shame that this could be the last appearance for some recently passed comedians.

All-in-all, watch this if you've watched every other cocumentary on Netflix/Hulu.

My wife hates me on screen!

[jizz-207-294511 · 10/10 · 8 January 2015]

This film was very entertaining and an amazing amount of talented female as well as male comedians. If you are fan of the "My wife hates me" pod-cast that comedian Rich Vos & Bonnie Mcfarlane you will love this movie. Opie & Anthony fans as well as comedy fans in general will recognize great comedic stars such as Dane Cook, Amy Schumer, Colin Quinn, and even Jim Norton and Bob Kelly. The relationship between Rich and Bonnie is very entertaining the way they destroy each other and happen to support one another when they really do need it makes the film into a complete story. Finally, the movie takes a good look at comedy from the inside and shows us what really motivates and scares most women and men entering the comedy business today.

Women are funny but not Bonnie

[sugsnj · 2/10 · 9 June 2019]

When she dressed up as a man, expecting to kill on stage and make her point that it's easier being a man was so cringey.

An interesting view

[drjay-28585 · 3/10 · 5 July 2018]

Bonnie is a moderately funny woman. She has some things that are holding her back. She decided that being a male would put her over the top. She is funny but changing gender did not make her funnier.

The answer is obvious, but not from this documentary

[johnmichael-2 · 1/10 · 10 October 2015]

"Are women funny?" Bonnie McFarland asks

The answer is simple: YES. Of course.

Wanda Sykes, Lisa Lampanelli, Whitney Cummings, Natasha Leggiero, Amy Schumer, Marina Franklin, Rachel Feinstein, Nikki Glaser, Sarah Silverman... and that's just standup. Then there's Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Melissa McCarthy, Jane Lynch, Ellen Degeneres, Mindy Kaling, and a bunch of others that will come to me when I'm not actually writing this off the top of my head. That's not to even mention the greats like Joan Rivers, Lucille Ball, Mary Tyler Moore, all the Golden Girls (Bea Arthur, Betty White, Estelle Getty, and Rue McClanahan), and others I'm too young to remember.

I wish this documentary had been about showing us funny women, instead of 80 minutes of existential crises. Even better would have been if this documentary had exposed me to some female comedians who I hadn't known before. Awkwardly enough, a lot of the women I mentioned above actually showed up for one- or two-minute cameos, but not nearly long enough to showcase their incredible talent.

The hardest thing is that, in the end, this expose-of-sorts didn't even bolster its own cause. It was unfocused, unfunny, and her husband Rich Vos was awkwardly omnipresent. There's already too many men in this documentary as it is.

I'll Tell You What Isn't Funny: Some of These Reviews

[grouchyeditor · 8/10 · 8 February 2015]

If you are reading these reviews, I'd advise skipping some of the hate-filled one- and two-star reviews on this page. These "critics" seem more interested in venting their feelings of rage toward women in general, and MacFarlane in particular, than in any type of fair evaluation of the film. I watched the movie last night. My thoughts:

1. I liked it. Bonnie and Rich are an engaging couple in a rather unique relationship, and it was interesting to follow their behind-the-scenes lifestyle.

2. Some of the haters on this page complain that the movie failed to reach its "potential," that it could have examined the history of women in comedy, perhaps from vaudeville to the present. This is an absurd criticism. The movie never claimed to be an educational, exhaustive study of American humor. Instead, it's an amusing peek behind the scenes of a typical comic's life which manages, along the way, to raise some provocative questions about women in comedy and society's reaction to them.

3. I do not know Bonnie or Rich, and I was not paid to write this review.

4. I'm not hailing this documentary as great cinema. But it is an amusing way to spend an hour and a half.

5. There are quite a few funny interviews/cameos from the country's top comics. Kathy Griffin is missing? The horror! The horror!

6. It's hard to diss a movie that (at seven minutes and 20 seconds) gives us a great, if brief, shot of Bonnie's bare butt. I am thinking of posting a screen capture of said butt on my site, grouchyeditor.com.

7. Finally, are women funny? Some are, some aren't. Society encourages men to be funny, so more of them are, and discourages women who are funny, so less of them are.

In the End, It's Supposed to be Funny...

[emsalt10503 · 8/10 · 15 January 2015]

I think all of the other reviewers are completely missing the mark here... At the end of the day, this movie was intended to be funny. Yes, it is technically a documentary, but in the end, it was an attempt at humor. With that in mind, this movie hits the mark, and it hits it a lot. Very, very funny. From the interviews, to the bits of stand up, I was very entertained. My only gripe with the entire movie was redundancy. The same point is often made numerous times. It was as if they ran out of different ways to ask the same question, and began to ask the same question the same way.

I give major kudos to Bonnie, for making a very entertaining film in the end. I think a sequel may be in order. Production can start once Bonnie finally wises up, and leaves that moron mush mouth Rich Voss. The fact that Bonnie has been able to accomplish even a modicum of success with Rich around is an accomplishment, in and of itself.

Great movie, fun, and Bonnie is hot.

[slimnfunny · 13 February 2016]

I love Vos and Bonnie. I know that is weird cuz I've never met them. But their podcast is hilarious, their comedy is great, and this movie is very well done for a first movie.

My favorite part is seeing Bonnie's butt in the weeds. It was amazing. Didn't JO to it but plan to.

The only thing I didn't like is how Bonnie doubts her skills, or the podcast, or her humor in general. I understand she's a chick and gets emotional bit Jesus it gets old. Vos is close minded, for sure ("No I'm not!") but that's prob why I liked this movie so much. Cuz you get to see the madness behind the scenes.

If you like Vos and Bonnie, definitely give this a shot. You'll probably love it, and it'll prob put you in a good mood.

Mark

loved it

[cookiecaroline-89283 · 10/10 · 23 October 2015]

I liked it. I think that it address the topic well, I applaud it for focusing on a topic that not many people pay attention to. I wish more people would be less biased against women, and I wish people would stop saying "I think women ARE funny ... but none of these women are funny." I saw it on Netflix, and I had to watch it because the topic is important. I think documenting this issue through Bonnie's lens is good for it, because she is a female comic (and I think she's funny) and we get a taste of what these female comics think when they hear "women just aren't funny," but they have to be calm and nice to this jerk because otherwise they'd be accused of being all "period-y."

My one critique is that I felt like while the emotional bits were very good, they felt a bit scripted (maybe they weren't at all and I'm being crazy, but that was my impression.) However, I really loved the tie up with the show at the end, I thought all the jokes they showed were hilarious, and I loved the Dane Cook bit.

Screw the haters. Women are very funny. And this documentary is funny.