Can We Take a Joke?

"When people are outraged about something," argues comedian Gilbert Gottfried in CAN WE TAKE A JOKE, "they're also patting themselves on the back. Hey, I'm a good person! I was outraged!" The roots of outrage and its expression in politically correct culture are thoroughly skewered in Ted Balaker's documentary. Jim Norton, Lisa Lampanelli, Adam Carrolla, and other comedians also gather to tell horror stories of their tangles with the "thought police"; with a shocking number of tangles coming on college campuses. It's easy to laugh when the butt of the humor is someone with whom we don't really identify. But when it hits a little too close to home: can we take a joke? (Sarasota Film Festival)