| Bitter Jester | |
|---|---|
The movie cover for Bitter Jester. |
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| Directed by | Maija DiGiorgio |
| Produced by | Kenneth Simmons |
| Written by | Maija DiGiorgio David Burton Levin |
| Starring | Maija DiGiorgio, Jody Delgiorno |
| Music by | Joe Delia |
| Release date(s) | February 26, 2003 |
| Language | English |
Bitter Jester is a documentary starring Maija DiGiorgio, Kenny Simmons, Jody Del Giorno and Heather McConnell. It's a portrait of the comedy world that includes interviews with a multitude of stars including Richard Pryor, Richard Belzer and many others.
Contents |
Maija DiGiorgio is a naive New York comic whose therapist recommends a video diary as a means of examining her self. Maija's borderline psychotic ex-boxer boyfriend, Kenny Simmons and director of photography, Jody Del Giorno sees a means to instant stardom.
Maija, searching to find answers to the meaning of life and art, the answers for art and artific, allows Kenny to impose his "vision" onto her film. Before long, the three (along with a crew of misfits) are criss-crossing the country, interviewing celebrities under a parade of false pretenses. In one famous incident, Kenny makes the cover of The New York Post after a confrontation with Jerry Seinfeld.
Dennis Harris of Variety said "making a movie without really knowing what it's going to be about is not generally advisable, but Maija Di Giorgio's 'Bitter Jester' makes that process quite entertaining." Harris hailed "Jester" as "often hilarious and always diverting" and noted "Di Giorgio may fret that 'Maybe comedy isn't the thing I should be pursuing.' Regardless, she definitely has a future as a filmmaker."[1]
Steve Rhodes of the Online Film Critics Society praised "Bitter Jester is much funnier and more insightful than a similar documentary, Comedian"[2] while MetroActiv described it as "Intense, disturbing, and voyeuristic, the documentary about standup that's not afraid to jump right into the muck."[3]