"Comedy's always a reflection of the culture, good and bad," says Page Hurwitz. Her new Netflix documentary about the history and current state of LGBTQ comedy is proof. Through archival footage, performances and interviews, Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution spans nearly a century of LGBTQ comedy, including the milestones and setbacks for queer comedians pursuing careers making people laugh.
As comedian Scott Thompson puts it in the documentary, 'I just thought life can change on a dime and society can change on a dime.' This highlights the rapid shifts within both comedy and societal perceptions towards LGBTQ individuals.
Joel Kim Booster, who's interviewed in the documentary, says he was 'floored' when he saw the final cut of Outstanding. He says it made him grateful to all of the queer comedians who blazed a trail for his generation. 'We were not the ones who busted down the door. We just walked through it,' he says.
Outstanding shows how there are still challenges for gay performers, most significantly transphobic material by big-name comedians. But Page Hurwitz says that LGBTQ comedians will continue to take the stage, make people laugh and change the culture.
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