Drive-In Comedy Show: Documentary

The Drive-In Comedy Show captures the fallout after a popular outdoor comedy event hits a snag when a joke aimed at the trans community upsets an attendee. The film follows how organizers, performers, and community members respond, focusing on a meeting arranged so different voices can be heard. Comedian Thai Rivera, who is gay, steps forward to represent part of the conversation alongside the local LGBTQ Center, while other comedians and stakeholders explain their intent and perspective. The documentary keeps the conflict front and center without resolving every dispute, showing how talk, emotion, and policy collide in a tight-knit comedy setting.

Directed by Ed Gregory and released in 2022, the film features appearances by Nikki Carr, Steven Pearl, Thai Rivera, and Murray SawChuck. It’s presented as a documentary record of an actual incident rather than a dramatization, with interview footage and event clips forming the backbone of the narrative.

The film did not report a mainstream box office run and appears to have had a limited release, screened mainly at community venues and small festivals rather than wide commercial distribution.

Even with a very small number of public votes, the title registered a 1.0/10 average from two voters, indicating a chilly reception among that tiny sample. Critics and viewers may divide along lines of how they view comedy boundaries versus harm and accountability. The documentary raises questions about responsibility in live performance and how communities negotiate apology, intent, and inclusion.

By staging conversations between comedians and advocacy groups, the film highlights contemporary debates around free expression, respect, and the role of comedy in public life. It offers a compact case study of how a single joke can trigger broader discussions about who gets to tell which stories, and how communities work to keep dialogue open while addressing real hurt.