When Stand Up Stood Out is a documentaryfilm by former BostoncomedianFran Solomita which chronicles the explosive popularity of the Boston Stand-up comedy scene in the 80s and early 90s. It was released on DVD on June 20, 2006 by THINKFilm, the distributor behind the documentary The Aristocrats. The run time of the movie is 78 minutes.
The film portrays the smart yet gritty comedy of Boston, a veritable melting pot of people of very different backgrounds: the multi-ethnic working class and the hip, learned college crowd. In an interview for the film, Solimita commented that "Those two things right next to each other created an odd vibe - really smart people who also understand a dollar earned. The comedy just sort of percolated."
Along with its joyful 'insider' look at comedy (Solomita performed at the Ding Ho for 2 years in his youth), the film also explores the darker side of the scene. Cocaine, the glamor drug of choice of the 1980s, was a problem in the circles of performers and club owners. Equally bad was the cut-throat competition between the clubs themselves.
Features
The film features original footage from two of the Boston area's most renowned comedy clubs: The Comedy Connection in Quincy Market, and the club which operated at The Ding Ho in Inman Square in Cambridge. Some of this footage was obtained via one of the film's producers, Doug Miller, who worked for Channel 5 and frequented the comedy clubs with his camera. Still other footage from the era came courtesy of DJ Hazard.
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