Sometimes the brain doesn’t work as well as it ought to. By that I mean, I found out three months ago that the comedy documentary Phunny Business: A Black Comedy, produced by Raymond Lambert, and directed by John Davies, was coming to the Showtime cable channel in Feb. 2012, but it slipped my mind. Oh well better late than never.

But that’s good news since it’s a terrific and funny film that should be seen by everyone; it chronicles the rise and fall of Chicago’s All Jokes Aside, co-founded by Lambert, who was a protege of Chris Gardner (The Pursuit of Happyness), which, for a decade during the 90’s, was the premier black comedy club in the country.

Literally every black comedian you know of today got their start there, and in the film, there’s some great footage of comedians when they were very young, and at the beginning of their careers, such as Bernie Mac and Jamie Foxx.

The film is also returning to the Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago, after it’s sold out engagement during the the Black Harvest Film Festival. It will play at the Center from Friday – Sunday, Nov. 4-6, on Friday Nov. 11, and Monday Nov. 14

Here’s the trailer: