Julia Scotti: Funny That Way
02 Aug 2020.

Julia Scotti is a trans stand-up comedian. On the road most of her life, she recently scored big on America’s Got Talent in 2016. Julia is relatively funny in that New Jersey Italian sort of way. Now, she is the subject of a rather good documentary called Julia Scotti: Funny That Way.

She began her comedy career in her 20s, as Rick Scotti. She worked hard, eventually opening for such big name acts as Tanya Tucker and KC & The Sunshine Band. She married a woman, but that didn’t work out, so she married another woman and had a son and a daughter with her. That marriage also fell apart when Julia started a third relationship. It was that third woman who in 2000 encouraged Scotti to transition, but the transition eventually drove a wedge between them.

Wedges are all over the place in Funny That Way. The mother of Julia’s two children is blurred in all the archival material, and the third wife, though sympathetic and still a close friend, only appears via phone. Was Rick Scotti gay, I wondered? She tells a story about going on a date with a man who left right after the sex and took the wine he brought with him. Now, in her late 60s, Julia seems more like a delightful dotty old auntie than anything else, though it is a persona that serves her well on stage. 

The two relationships that did survive were with her children, Emma and Dan. Although Emma seems a little measured, referring to ‘Julia’ with the detachment of someone she just met, Dan harbours a desire to be a comedian himself, and the film includes footage of him giving a ‘meh’ performance at some comedy club. (Later, in the parking lot, the club owner offers some advice on how to rephrase a joke, and even if it is good advice, Dan’s eyes roll the minute the guy turns his back.)

I enjoyed the movie not because it is about a transperson’s struggles. Forgive me for saying this, but much like coming out stories, it is more or less the same thing over and over again. I preferred the movie as a portrait of a comedian, someone who dedicated her life to telling jokes to audiences all across the country. The movie opens with Julia in her car, driving to a gig and talking about the thrill of being on the road. And clearly, her triumph on America’s Got Talent fills her with a performer’s pride. There is also a wonderful moment where a group of her fellow stand-up comedians meet for breakfast, and the camaraderie of the group is a testament to how stand-ups bond together, regardless of race, gender, or age. A stand-up’s life is never easy, but they wouldn’t have it any other way.

I identified a lot with Julia. Like her, I love comedy and believe in its power to change how people think. Julia uses this power to enlighten her audiences about transitioning, and when she says that she always felt like a woman inside, I understand, though I myself never felt the need to change my body or my identity. To do what she did takes guts, and for the most part, it turned out well for her. She is a success story, even if she will never achieve the fame and success of superstars like Chris Rock or Ellen Degeneres, even if she never gets her own talk show or sitcom, or even a Netflix special. She has achieved something even better - complete self-realization.