Making Trouble (2006)

While Jewish humor is a nearly inseparable part of the story of comedy in America, the contribution of Jewish women to laughter in the United States is less widely acknowledged, but filmmaker Rachel Talbot sets the record straight in this documentary. As four noted funny ladies -- Judy Gold, Jackie Hoffman, Cory Kahaney, and Jessica Kirson -- chat about their craft over lunch at Katz's Delicatessen in New York City, they lend a framework to a celebration of iconic women in Jewish comedy and the influence of Jewish culture in American humor. Among the women chronicled in Making Trouble: Three Generations of Funny Jewish Women are legendary musical comedy stars Molly Picon and Fanny Brice, saucy nightclub entertainer Sophie Tucker, pioneering standup comic Joan Rivers, Saturday Night Live star Gilda Radner, and playwright Wendy Wasserstein. Created with the support of the Jewish Women's Archive, Making Trouble premiered at the 2007 Silverdocs Film Festival, a competition founded by the American Film Institute and The Discovery Channel. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi