I Used to Be Funny

A film set in Canada. Sam is a stand-up comedian. For a while things went well; she worked the clubs, built her material and made up her living by working as a nanny. Now she does not leave the house. She cannot go on stage, does not answer her friends' calls and is on medication. There is a missing person report on the news: a girl named Brooke. Sam knows her; she looked after her for years and the two became close friends. The film runs two times together. In the past is the period of the childminding: conversations in the kitchen, meeting her after school and the bond built between them. In the present the search goes on and Sam has to leave the house. The narrative opens the reason for her state slowly and does not use it as a turning point; when the information comes the film does not change register. What the film is interested in is not the trauma itself but how daily life works afterwards: work, friendship and the wish to do comedy. Rachel Sennott plays Sam and Olga Petsa plays Brooke. Jason Jones is in the cast. Ally Pankiw directed and wrote it. A strong choice for anyone who likes character drama and films that keep their register measured. Before you watch, know this: the film deals with sexual assault, directly but without display.