I Used to be Funny

Released Jun 7

1h 45m

Comedy

Drama

TRAILER

for

List

84%

Tomatometer

57 Reviews

72%

Popcornmeter

50+ Ratings

I Used To Be Funny is a dark dramedy that follows Sam Cowell (Rachel Sennott), an aspiring stand-up comedian and au pair struggling with PTSD, as she decides whether or not to join the search for Brooke (Olga Petsa), a missing teenage girl she used to nanny. The story exists between the present, where Sam tries to recover from her trauma and get back on stage, and the past, where memories of Brooke make it harder and harder to ignore the petulant teen's sudden disappearance.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Buy Now

Critics Consensus

Bringing a droll edge to deeply serious subject matter, Ally Pankiw's feature length debut provides Rachel Sennott a welcome opportunity to display her dramatic range.

Read Critics Reviews

Claudia Puig

FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)

Ultimately, it did win me over on the strength of the lead performer, Rachel Sennott.

Jul 13, 2024

Full Review

Kylie Bolter

Chicago Reader

Rachel Sennott takes an impressive dramatic turn in this exploration of mental health and grief.

Jun 25, 2024

Full Review

Radheyan Simonpillai

CTV's Your Morning

It’s really smart and lovely indie filmmaking that finds this delicate balance between the laughs and the big emotions, and using the laughs to cope with the big emotions

Jun 14, 2024

Full Review

Calum Baker

Radio Times

Rachel Sennott stretches her dramatic muscles with this tender, though rather upsetting, character study.

Rated: 4/5

Sep 13, 2024

Full Review

Jesse Hassenger

Decider

I Used to Be Funny is too grounded to head too far into genre territory, and that’s not a bad thing. Pankiw has a better, more intuitive command of the oft-tricky dramedy form than plenty of more experienced filmmakers.

Sep 11, 2024

Full Review

Roger Moore

Movie Nation

The milieu may be familiar, and the third act revelations and actions are both predictable and somewhat clumsily handled. But Sennott wraps herself completely around this character, giving us vulnerability behind the cocky facade.

Rated: 2.5/4

Sep 10, 2024

Full Review

Read all reviews

Asantewaah

Loved it! Love seeing Rachel Sennott in these dramatic roles where she truly shines! She’s both hilarious and serious and it’s perfect.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

06/12/24

Full Review

julie b

Trojan horsed by Rachel Sennott thinking this would be a biiiig laugh, and it was super emotional. Not complaining though - good to see her range and it was well balanced between funny and sad while tackling heavy subjects. Other highlights: - sad girl score - the gen-z driven comedy and dialogue - the people in the theater over the top laughing and laughing at random times (why does this always happen?) - Rachel Sennott’s delivery in general “So I’m hearing….you think I’m skinny”

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

09/19/24

Full Review

Green C

Her mopiness got tiresome, and the reason for it is not revealed until over an hour in. Acting was good though.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

09/09/24

Full Review

Wolfgang's M

Too Choppy of a movie. The flow was terrible. Wanted to like it, but just not great.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

09/09/24

Full Review

DL W

Not great. Poor acting. I felt like I was watching an “after school” special. The background music is terrible.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

09/08/24

Full Review

Katie D

I like Rachel but found this dull and plodding. Ultimately bailed on it.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

09/07/24

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Ally Pankiw

Director

Rachel Sennott

Sam

Olga Petsa

Actor

Jason Jones

Actor

Sabrina Jalees

Actor

Caleb Hearon

Actor

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

Peace by Chocolate

86%

72%

Peace by Chocolate

TRAILER

for Peace by Chocolate

Fetching Cody

0%

69%

Fetching Cody

The Queen of My Dreams

89%

%

The Queen of My Dreams

Phantom Project

90%

43%

Phantom Project

Lost Inside

100%

93%

Lost Inside

TRAILER

for Lost Inside

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

I Used to be Funny: Trailer 1

1:30

View more videos

View more photos

Synopsis

I Used To Be Funny is a dark dramedy that follows Sam Cowell (Rachel Sennott), an aspiring stand-up comedian and au pair struggling with PTSD, as she decides whether or not to join the search for Brooke (Olga Petsa), a missing teenage girl she used to nanny. The story exists between the present, where Sam tries to recover from her trauma and get back on stage, and the past, where memories of Brooke make it harder and harder to ignore the petulant teen's sudden disappearance.

Director: Ally Pankiw
Producer: James Weyman, Jason Aita, Breann Smordin
Screenwriter: Ally Pankiw
Distributor: Utopia
Production Co: Vigilante Productions, Partizan, Ontario Creates, Téléfilm Canada, Barn 12
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 7, 2024, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 18, 2024
Box Office (Gross USA): $167.7K
Runtime: 1h 45m

Most Popular at Home Now