It was the humour present in the trailer for Humor Me, combined with my knowledge of Jermaine Clement’s great comic timing – particularly in People Places Things (2015) that had me wanting to watch writer/director Sam Hoffman’s latest comedy movie.

I think I laughed a little, a couple of times, but most of the humour simply made me smile at most. Hoffman’s story of a once-acclaimed New York playwright who now finds himself struggling to finish a new play when his wife leaves him covers themes of father/son relationships, sibling relationships and grief.

There are one, maybe two emotional moments that were well handled in the film. However, overall it felt as though something was missing from the story. I sat and I watched but my attention certainly wasn’t commanded by what was taking place on screen; at least not until near the end.

I feel as though writer/director John Krasinski’s The Hollars (2016) did a better job of telling a somewhat similar story that was more amusing and featured better-executed emotional moments. Another thing that Humor Me has made me realise is that I’m ready to see Clement in roles where he’s actually a winner, someone going through a happy phase in their life.

One more thing that occurred to me as I watched is the fact that I can no longer help but compare any comedy films starring more than 3 older people, to Grace and Frankie (2015-2022); a good Netflix series centred around the complicated relationships between a group of older friends.

Watch Humour Me if you absolutely must. Also, if you’re into ‘dad jokes’, you may find new ones that you really enjoy in this movie.

Happy Film Loving,

G