Comedy documentaries
Over the course of the last year, we got retrospective documentaries on a few of the comedy world’s biggest names. We got to revisit the life of John Candy in the tear-jerking I Like Me, we got a lighter fare hanging out with Eddie Murphy at his home and looking back on his life and career with Being Eddie, and at the beginning of 2026, we got a look into the complex legacy of Chevy Chase, with the man himself giving his accounts and showcasing some of his infamous difficulties in the documentary I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not. Our Chris Bumbray said in his review of that film, “In the end, I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not feels like an honest, fair documentary. It’s not a hack job, and it acknowledges that despite his faults, there are still many people who love him — and any man as well loved by his family as he is must have done something right.”
Martin Short’s turn
According to The Hollywood Reporter, John Candy’s SCTV peer and film star, Martin Short, will be getting his own documentary titled Marty, Life is Short. The film will be streaming on Netflix starting this May 12. Short is a universally loved figure and is less controversial than someone like Chevy Chase, but his documentary will have the talents of the legendary Lawrence Kasdan directing the film. Kasdan is known for directing such films as The Big Chill and Body Heat. He also is the scribe behind iconic films such as Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Empire Strikes Back. Kasdan and Short would work together on the 1999 movie Mumford.
Marty, Life is Short will contain never-before-seen behind-the-scenes footage and feature interviews with “some of the most established and beloved stars.” The producers on the documentary includes Sara Bernstein, Meredith Kaulfers, Christopher St. John, Justin Wilkes, Kasdan and Blair Foster. Imagine Entertainment founders Brian Grazer and Ron Howard are on board as executive producers.
At 75, Short is still going strong, starring with his buddy Steve Martin in the hit show Only Murders in the Building. Short told THR back in June that he has no plans to retire, “I’m not a believer in retirement just based on a number. It’s designed for people who don’t really like their job and then they want to relax or they’re tired or they just want to do something else. But I like my job.”
