Laughing Matters follows four lesbian comedians, Kate Clinton, Karen Williams, Marga Gomez and Suzanne Westenhoefer as they make us laugh and tell us a bit about their lives and their careers.
These Women are Funny!
Laughing Matters is a documentary. But do not be afraid. It is as entertaining as any movie you will see this year. Imagine spending an hour with four of the funniest lesbians on the planet. That's exactly what you get when you watch this DVD. A combination of live footage and one-on-one interviews, Laughing Matters lets you see into the lives of Karen Williams, Kate Clinton, Marga Gomez and Suzanne Westenhoefer, lesbian comedians extraordinaire.Kudos to Ellen DeGeneres
Long before Ellen, these women have been performing in straight and gay comedy clubs, out and proud. Three of them started in the early eighties, when coming out was considered career suicide. No matter. These women had a point to make and a loyal lesbian following. All of them talk about how important humor is for any oppressed group and lesbians in particular. And in the process, they make us laugh.At one point in the DVD each woman speaks to Ellen's coming out and what it meant to them. All were supportive of Ellen, but spoke of doors closed in their faces because, "We already have a lesbian comedian."
Inspirational
Watching these women and what they risked to be out in their careers is truly inspirational. None of them even considered the closet. My only complaint about the DVD is that the sound is murky for some of Suzanne Westenhoefer's routines. We missed some of the punch lines due to poor sound quality, and that is a shame.Special Features
The Special Features are worth the price of this DVD alone. The Q&A with the four comedians is just hilarious. Watching these four divas of comedy banter is priceless. A live audience asks questions but the four are really more content to talk amongst themselves about butch and femme, writer's block and sex. Although the quality of this segment is about the same as someone's home video, it is one of the funniest parts of the DVD and not to be missed.
