It's a warm and inviting bio-doc of Mirman, one of the funniest and most delightful people in comedy

More than a time capsule but less than it could have been, "It Started as a Joke" makes a lovely case that laughter is the best medicine...

It Started As A Joke is often as entertaining as a solid set from any one of the featured comedians, but it also has a serious streak in the insight it offers into Mirman's challenges off the stage.

There's a raw power in this footage I'm not sure the filmmakers really have a handle on. It hits upon that primal human need to turn grief into art, to salvage something positive out of all this sadness.