Standup comics are a misunderstood lot. We're often viewed by outsiders as being immature, egotistical, arrogant, xenophobic and lazy. Rodney Dangerfield speaks for all of us when he says, "I can't get no respect." But, you must admit there's something magical about a person who can stand on a stage alone and make a roomful of people laugh. And it is this very quality that makes some people envy us, some admire us and still others downright despise us.

Dean Ward's documentary, "Let Me In...I Hear Laughter," is ostensibly a documentary about the history of the legendary Friar's Club, the 90-year old social institution most noted for its famous comedic membership and obscenity-laced celebrity roasts. As a documentarian, Ward's intention was to provide an inside look into this historic and secretive fraternal organization. What we get is an inside look into the heart and mind of a standup comic.

Most comics are all too aware of the love/hate relationship some audiences have with them. Perhaps that's why comedians feel most comfortable in the company of other comedians. Any standup comic will tell you that there is nothing more satisfying than making another comedian laugh. That same comedian will also tell you that there is nothing more fun that laughing at another comic. The Friar's Club celebrity roasts gave many comics the ulitimate opportunity to engage in such activities. The film focuses a great deal on the roasts.

At a roast, nothing was sacred. Friars comics, free from the shackles of political correctness, had license to say anything about anybody. The fact that these roasts were closed to the public made the comedy all the more liberating. "Let Me In...I Hear Laughter," is packed with never-before- seen footage of these testimonial dinners. It's riotously funny to witness the likes of Rob Reiner use the "F-word," but the real beauty of Ward's film is seeing comedy legends laugh at each other. The respect they have for their fellow comics is evident and the respect they have for their industry is heartwarming.

"Let Me In...I Hear Laughter," was screened at the 1999 Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal. For nearly two weeks in July, this Canadian city was teeming with standup comics from all over the world. The semi-desperate atmosphere of the comedy get together temporarily fractures the comedy community by making comics feel they are in competition with each other. Seeing the film in that setting, put the business, and our place in history, back in perspective. It's a film that makes a comic feel good about being a comic.

The most poignant moment in Ward's film, chronicles the death of Harry Einstein, alias Parkyrkarkus, at the 1958 roast for Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Harry Einstein would be better known to today's audiences as the late father of comedian-director Albert Brooks. Through skillful use of stills, newspaper headlines, live interviews and voiceovers, the film recounts how Einstein, after destroying the Friar's Club crowd, returned to his seat on the dais, put his head on Milton Berle's shoulder and quietly died of a heart attack. When a comic hears this story, he feels more envy than sadness. Harry Einstein died the perfect death for a comedian: seconds after a kill, in front of an audience.

"Let Me In...I Hear Laughter," is a must-see for every standup comic and standup comedy fan. As writer, director and co-producer (with Dolores Gavin), Dean Ward managed to be both reverential and objective in his telling of the Friar's story. It is obvious from this entertaining and insightful film that Ward respects standup comics...and we respect him for it.