When Comedy and Outrage Collide! ‘Can We Take a Joke?’ Available Today

Is edgy comedy on life support?

In Can We Take a Joke?, top comedians like Gilbert Gottfried, Penn Jillette, Lisa Lampanelli, and Adam Carolla join together to explore what happens when comedy, hypersensitivity, and political correctness collide on and off campus.

After nearly a year on the film festival circuit and screenings on over 240 campuses this past spring, the FIRE-supported documentary is now available for viewing by audiences nationwide.

You can catch Can We Take a Joke? on iTunes, Google Play, and Amazon Instant Video, as well as in select theaters in New York City, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. through Friday, August 4. The film is also available in 228 million North American homes via most cable and satellite providers, including Verizon, Comcast, and DirecTV.

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It used to be that comedians like the legendary Lenny Bruce had to fear the police cracking down on their more edgy routines. But today, according to many comics, the audience has become the police—and its tolerance for jokes that push boundaries is waning. It happens all the time: a comedian tells a joke, someone gets offended, and outrage blasts across the land.

Can We Take a Joke? details the stifling impact this new trend has on comedy and the free exchange of ideas, and features commentary from free speech notables such as FIRE’s own Greg Lukianoff and Kindly Inquisitors author Jonathan Rauch.

Reviewers have called the film “hilarious,” “vitally important,” and “the most essential documentary of the year.”

Download the movie now on iTunes, Google Play, or Amazon Instant Video!

To learn more about the documentary, you can “like” Can We Take a Joke?’s Facebook page, follow it on Twitter, or sign up for email updates at the film's website.

FIRE’s support for this movie is part of our campaign to defend comedy and free speech on campus. To help this campaign and to learn more about Can We Take a Joke?, visit thefire.org/can-we-take-a-joke-new/.