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Five severely-injured Iraq/Afghanistan veterans bring their life-altering experiences onstage, transforming personal tragedy into brutal and fiercely funny stand-up gold, mentored by some of the most talented comedy performers and writers in show business. Burn survivor Bobby (“I’ve been extinguished for years”) Henline, amputees Rob Jones, Stephen Rice, Joe Kashnow and a very pregnant former helicopter pilot with a debilitating back injury, Darisse Smith, learn the fine art of joke telling and timing from mirth masters Bob Saget, Zach Galifianakis, B.J. Novak, and Lewis Black. With only a short time to rehearse, the five are flown from all around the U.S. out to Hollywood for a one night stands at top Los Angeles comedy clubs, the Laugh Factory and the IMPROV. The crash course prep, with the pros guiding the raw comedy recruits through a raucous, and occasionally raunchy, run-through of material (Saget to amputee Kashnow: “You have a leg up on a lot of people right now because you’re Jewish.”) is one of the doc’s hilarious high points. The climatic live show finds the Comedy Warriors not only comprehending the healing and highly addictive power of humor, but quite suddenly discovering that their lives are about to take a very unexpected direction.
Northern CA Premiere
Co-sponsored by Carolyn Cavalier Rosenberg and Sanford Rosenberg
and by Russell and Susan Holdstein
Followed by live standup comedy by subject Joe Kashnow in San Francisco