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One of the classic problems of writing talented or competent characters is potentially writing things you don’t know yourself. Want to write a computer or medical genius but don’t know either that well? You can do research, ask for help, or just try your best — that doesn’t usually work that well though. Similarly, trying to write a character that is funny is no easy task, because it requires you to be funny. Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip never managed that, because it was supposed to be astoundingly funny — I recall Obvious Child with Jenny Slate being not that funny either. So it’s an uphill battle.
All Joking Aside comes from director Shannon Kohli and writer James Pickering in their feature film debuts. The film stars Raylene Harewood as 21-year-old black, broke, and uneducated New Yorker Charlene Murray who only wants to be the next great standup star. One of the benefits to having someone who is just starting out and not supposed to be great yet is that you can write hacky jokes for them and it’s supposed to be awful.
The movie starts when Charlene tries to give her first set in public, all very clichéd, outdated, boring observational jokes, she gets heckled by an older dude in the audience. Although the man is kicked out of the club, the pressure is too much and Charlene flees the stage. But although her best friend Kim (Tanya Jade) is supportive, Charlene isn’t sure what to do — until she gets some insight.
The ‘grizzled host’ (this is how he is credited) played by Dave ‘Squatch’ Ward shows Charlene an old VHS of that heckler, Bob (Brian Markinson), from years ago. Apparently Bob was a rising star, opening for big acts, and was quite talented. But in the video she watches, he gets heckled and throws the mic at an audience member, effectively ending his career. The host explains that they are old friends, and this was all part of a downward spiral that also included Bob losing his wife and access to his kid.
So Charlene gets the bright idea to pay (with her meager grocery store salary) Bob to mentor her. Naturally he’s initially a classic ‘Refusing the Call’ styled mentor, but the idea of enough money to pay his long missed child support payments gets him on board. The actual advice feels pretty solid, and Brian Markinson does an excellent job as the washed up but maybe not completely gone performer. He’s good enough that I had to check who it was at first to see if he was actually a stand up comedian, which he isn’t.
Eventually it’s sort of clear the direction the movie will go, but it has a rewarding enough arc and a fulfilling conclusion, allowing for a bittersweet ending without deep, awful tragedy that sometimes shows up in these sorts of movies. Instead it’s ending on a note of hope, which is a nice change of pace sometimes.
Raylene Harewood is pretty good here in her first leading role, mostly believably playing a bit younger, even if she has a sort of ‘older than her years’ vibe. The actual sets where she has to deliver what are supposed to be funny jokes are decent, if not amazing — maybe not the most laugh out loud funny but believably the sort a warmed up audience would laugh at.
Her energy in the role works well in general, and although the movie never really gets that much in backstory or depth, it’s lightly touched on. That sort of light touch is fine, as too much would be maudlin and clichéd — I think it’s probably a bit too light, ending up as a more forgettable backstory, whereas I’d have preferred a bit more connection to get us to empathize more for Charlene’s character. Still, it’s a pretty enjoyable movie, perhaps not the most deep, but one that ought to leave you in a good mood.
Planning to see All Joking Aside? Click below to see the movie, and be sure to come back and tell us what you thought!
All Joking Aside has a run time of 1 hour 23 minutes and is not rated.
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