Nick Fituri Scown

Sept. 8th, 2021 will see the arrival of one of the best documentaries not only about comedy, but about the very DNA of jokes, the audiences hearing them amidst a historic tragedy, and the truly undeniably healing power of laughter.

Too Soon: Comedy After 9/11, co-directed by Nick Fituri Scown and Julie Seabaugh, has been long in the works aiming for a release nearing the 20 year anniversary of the events of September 11th, 2001. Even in the excerpt of their doc that recounted the story of The Onion having to put its first issue out after moving offices to NYC after 9/11, we were spellbound by the depth and scope of perspectives weaved together. The feature length Too Soon goes all over the place covering comedy in the days leading up to it, as it happened, and, of course, the fallout/the discovery of ways to joke about/laugh about one of America’s darkest days.

Interviews range from Gilbert Gottfried, who was lambasted for his 9/11 jokes being akin to the doc’s title, to Nathan Lane & Matthew Broderick, who were doing a run of The Producers on Broadway at the time, to Scott Thompson, who attempted a terrorist themed solo comedy show, to Jeff Ross, Laurie Kilmartin, Ian Edwards, and numerous other comedians and people in comedy.

When it comes to joking about the taboo, this doc really shows how much people just need and utilize humor to get through the darkness (not unlike the current and perpetual moment of COVID-19).

With that in mind, you might want to catch it Too Soon: Comedy After 9/11 on Sept 8th on ViceTV.