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Can We Take a Joke?

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1:43

Can We Take a Joke?

Released Jul 29, 2016

1h 15m

Documentary

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

53%

Tomatometer

19 Reviews

76%

Popcornmeter

100+ Ratings

Gilbert Gottfried, Penn Jillette, Jim Norton, Lisa Lampanelli, Heather McDonald, Karith Foster, Adam Carolla and other comics discuss how humor and free speech come under attack.

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Matt Zoller Seitz

RogerEbert.com

Plays as if you've been invited to read half of a courtroom transcript -- the defense's half -- while skipping past redacted text that might have complicated or undermined the argument.

Rated: 1.5/4

Jul 29, 2016

Full Review

Michael Rechtshaffen

Los Angeles Times

"Can We Take a Joke?" ... poses a valid question at a juncture when freedom of speech is a hot topic, especially where the Internet is concerned.

Jul 28, 2016

Full Review

Neil Genzlinger

New York Times

It would be better if it ... at least acknowledged the possibility that some jokes ought not be told.

Jul 28, 2016

Full Review

Stephen Silver

EntertainmentTell

Overstates its case to a nearly comical degree, as a group of comedians claim censorship that doesn't exist (Splice Today)

Rated: 1.5/5

Aug 14, 2016

Full Review

Avi Offer

NYC Movie Guru

Tackles a vital and provocative question, without a variety of different answers, it feels incomplete and unbalanced.

Rated: 5.57/10

Aug 2, 2016

Full Review

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

A sporadically interesting yet terminally unfocused documentary...

Rated: 2/4

Aug 2, 2016

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Stephen C

1.25 hours of real comedy footage!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/30/25

Full Review

Audience Member

If you get offended easily, you should watch this. There is something to be said for learning to accept that hearing things that you might find offensive eventually leads to growth and progress. If we don't know what offends us, how can we make changes?

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/18/23

Full Review

Ed M

Kind of interesting. Nothing you haven't heard before.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

07/03/20

Full Review

Audience Member

As serious a film about the duty of offensiveness in comedy as you could wish for. It's a timely reminder that freedom of speech is our only bulwark against dictatorship in all its guises. Fascinating interviews with comedians, commentators and politicians, and the only obvious failure is the absence of a voice from the other side of the debate. A long section Lenny Bruce, but nothing from Bill Hicks, Richard Pryor, George Carlin, Joan Rivers, Louie C K. Presumably for rights reasons.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/27/23

Full Review

paul s

This is an excellent documentary about an incredibly important topic. Freedom of speech matters even if it hurts your feelings. I genuinely believe that the low tomatometer rating is because people are offended by the subject matter.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Struggles to make it to feature length, but has some interesting things to say about the thin-skinned that still show up at comedy clubs...

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

Full Review

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Ted Balaker

Director

Christina Pazsitzky

Narrator

Gilbert Gottfried

Self

Penn Jillette

Self

Jim Norton

Self

Lisa Lampanelli

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Jason Bourne Thrills but Lacks Identity

Can We Take a Joke?: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

Gilbert Gottfried, Penn Jillette, Jim Norton, Lisa Lampanelli, Heather McDonald, Karith Foster, Adam Carolla and other comics discuss how humor and free speech come under attack.

Director: Ted Balaker
Producer: Courtney Balaker, Ted Balaker
Distributor: Samuel Goldwyn Films
Production Co: Korchula Productions
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 29, 2016, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 2, 2016
Runtime: 1h 15m

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