The nature of stand-up comedy is that of division. Comedy, especially the stripped-down and raw version that represents stand-up with just a person and a mic, has always been subject to the audience’s set to receive it. The same routine can kill one night and bomb the next. This is also why there are very few attempts nowadays to produce a stand-up special in theatres, with places like Netflix and HBO being friendlier alternatives. But this Friday marks one such attempt as Rez Comedy, a stand-up special starring all Indigenous comedians, opens in several theatres across the country.

Playing like an HBO special from the 90s, the film briefly opens with host/co-director Keith Nahanee taking the audience to a traditional meeting ground on a reservation in British Columbia. After this brief introduction and a small set from Nahanee, the special gives us 10 minutes or less from a lineup of comedians. Brenda Prince, Wayne Alexis, Denise B. McLeod, Kevin Shawanda, Drea Omer, Helena Paul, Chuck Cease, and Janelle Niles all take the stage, in that order.  The group delivers their sets in a very straightforward manner, the directors utilising a standard 3-camera setup with little to no variation.

This film reminded me, production value-wise, of HBO stand-up specials from the 90s. It also reminded me of the old television show Comedy at Club 54 that they used to film out of Burlington Ontario, except with better cameras. It’s a noticeably lower-budget affair, which does make one wonder if this would have been better served as a television special instead of a feature film. There’s not much direction going on here other than “point and shoot” and little added in the edit, though none of this matters if the comedy is good.

As with many ensembles, things can be hit or miss, and sadly for this reviewer’s taste, this was more miss than hit. This might play a lot better in front of an Indigenous audience, but a lot of the issues here do tend to come with storytelling prowess. The opening is quite slow, with the host being very underwhelming and the opening acts struggling. Drea Omer has a few good jokes but seems to make herself laugh more than the audience through most of her set, and Kevin Shawanda is delightfully un-PC throughout most of his act. It’s obvious as to why Chuck Cease and Janelle Niles are left for the closers as both exude an energy that they are more polished than the others and have tight sets, though I laughed more with Cease than anyone else.

Everything said, I do applaud the filmmakers for attempting something out of the ordinary here, even if the end product doesn’t quite hit it out of the park. The lower quality production value knocks the mark down for a theatrical presentation, especially the opening segment which just feels tacked on and out of place. Also, a better host would have helped, but since the host is one of the credited directors, it’s probably hard to expect much. This may have been better suited as a Crave Original.