Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution

If you doubt that representation matters all that much, watch “Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution.”

Outstanding makes a persuasive, highly entertaining case that the evolution of queer comedy is inextricably bound to broader developments in representation, and that emerging next-gen queer comics could learn a lot from their forebears.

Hurwitz examines comedy’s place in the L.G.B.T.Q. movement in... “Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution,” creating a rich, century-long timeline full of archival footage, behind-the-scenes glimpses and candid interviews with comedians.

An impressive and nearly-comprehensive overview that will probably have something to teach almost everyone in the audience, regardless of how familiar they already are with the topic.

While it's not the deepest thing in the world, it's a good foundational start to go more into (queer comedians).

Plenty here to inspire a new generation of LGBTQIA+ comics, thought-provoking and highly entertaining for the mature general public.

Highlights include a rare, controversial clip of Richard Pryor confronting a gay audience and a look at the career of Robin Tyler, the first lesbian or gay comic to come out on national TV.

Some of the artists featured here are worthy of stand-alone documentary treatment. But the omnibus approach taken by Hurwitz provides an effective look at the variety and breadth of gay comedy… and whets the viewer’s appetite for more.

One of the great things about making this documentary is that it allows writer/director Page Hurwitz to rectify some of the snubs and oversights that didn’t or couldn’t make the cut in Stand Out: An LGBTQ+ Celebration.

While the structure may be a bit conventional and repetitive, Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution has multiple findings and values ​​in its exploration... [Full review in Spanish]