It Started as a Joke (2019)

For ten years, Eugene Mirman hosted an eponymous comedy festival which featured scads of recognizable comedians from television and film. This documentary celebrates the history of the festival while also delving into Mirman’s personal life, namely his wife Katie’s fatal cancer diagnosis and how that spurred the closing of the event at its tenth year. It spends little bits interviewing various comedians who have participated over the years, some time showing festival performances particularly ones from that last year, and more allowing Eugene and Katie to talk about their relationship and death. Because it tries to handle too many disparate parts, the film is a bit scattered in its aggregate, but it still remains heartfelt and honest with quite a bit of humor shown.