It is very often noted that laughter has a healing power that can soothe troubled minds and bodies. Now, one Bronx film company has created a film about the medicinal power of laughter that they will premiere for their hometown crowd.
Throggs Neck-based Laugh Loud Productions has completed the film Just Laugh – The Movie, a fun-filled documentary that explores the many positive benefits of simply laughing.
Comic legend Pat Cooper is scheduled to appear in person at the screening of the film at the Whitestone Multiplex Cinema on Sunday, September 14 at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. Tickets are $10 each.
“We show in the film how laughter plays a pivotal role in the lives of different people, even in times of great despair, or in times of happiness,” said producer John Galasso, who is thrilled to have the comic legend at the Bronx premiere.
Director Anton Evangelista and Galasso are the principal creative minds involved in the project, which took three years to complete.
The documentary’s message is that regardless of political, religious or social boundaries, laughter is the universal language everyone understands. Just Laugh presents evidence showing how laughter can promote overall good health and healing in the body.
“We were recently featured on a Fox Five News on a segment on how laughter heals,” said Galasso, indicating the attention the film has received in the media. “The director and I also discussed laughter on a television show that is the Japanese equivalent of Good Morning America.”
Some of the featured interviewers in the documentary include Regis Philbin, Joel Osteen, Doris Roberts, and Danny Aiello, as well as medical professionals and members of the Throggs Neck and Pelham Gardens communities.
“This film took a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to complete,” Galasso said. “Laughter is cheap medicine. We are not inventing anything; our intentions are just to put a smile on people’s faces. In these tough times, we are all stressed, but often times when I stop and look at a situation, I realize that half the things I worry about are not all that important.”
Prizes will be given at the theater, as people will be allowed to tell their own jokes after each showing, and by the applause of the audience, different winners will be chosen. Two prizes include an overnight stay at the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City and two tickets to the Westchester Broadway Theater.
A portion of the ticket sales will go to Calvary Hospital, whose executive director Dr. Michael Brescia is also featured in the film, discussing the medicinal power of laughter.
For more information about Just Laugh, or to purchase tickets, call 347-306-5591, visit www.justlaugh.org, or e-mail laughloudeg@yahoo.com.
