Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio’s new HBO documentary ”George Carlin’s American Dream” takes viewers on a tour through the life and career of one of the greatest comedians of all time, whose legend will only grow as humanity continues to digest the lessons he left behind.
By Greg Gilman, June 6, 2022
George Carlin may have despised organized religion, but the new HBO documentary about the comedian’s life and career makes it very clear he was, in fact, a very spiritual being.
It’s a side of the comic that directors Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio explore throughout George Carlin’s American Dream, contrasting his harshest criticisms of the Church, ferociously spewed at audiences during stand-up specials, with gentler interview or behind-the-scenes footage of Carlin discussing the subject.
The filmmakers of the fantastic two-part doc—a must watch for all the comedic and philosophically inclined—even included a revealing interview with the icon from Rosanne Barr’s short-lived daytime talk show. “I think you really are the guy who believes all the good of humanity,” Barr says to a then 61-year-old Carlin. “I think you are a very high spiritual person.”
Source: The Zen Teachings of George Carlin, a Comedian Who Pointed the Way