Writer-director Mike Young’s action-comedy feature Stealing Jokes is set for release next month from Freestyle Digital Media.
The company, which is the digital film distribution division of Byron Allen‘s Allen Media Group, has acquired the movie and will release it via digital platforms and DVD on Nov. 1. The ensemble cast includes Jeff Dye (The Wedding Year), Dustin Ybarra (Easter Sunday), HaHa Davis (Domino: Battle of the Bones), Michael Rapaport (Beautiful Girls), Luke Null (Saturday Night Live), Ryu Go Eun (Everything’s Trash), Al Madrigal (Night School) and Michael Manasseri (Weird Science).
Stealing Jokes centers on a comedian and his friends who, after setting out on a comedy tour, get bilked out of their promised fees on the first night. They decide to rob the venue, leading to a heist involving the underworld of the comedy scene. The trailer, which is exclusive to The Hollywood Reporter, can be seen below.
Young (My Man Is a Loser) wrote and directed the project after having toured as a comedian with such prominent figures as Bob Saget, Sebastian Maniscalco and Dave Chappelle. Manasseri and Jeremy Alter are producers on the film.
The release is timed to the start of Young’s Rock Comedy tour, which launches its 25-city run in Phoenix on Oct. 11. Young and the roster of comedians will end the tour in Detroit, where Stealing Jokes was filmed.
“I’ve always wanted to make a film about comedians getting their due,” Young said in a statement. “After years opening for Bob Saget and seeing firsthand the global influence of stand-up comedy, I thought what better way to tell the story than through an underdog tale about standup comics. The cast blew me away. Jeff Dye and Dustin Ybarra were amazing, Ha Ha Davis is a star on the rise and Luke Null was incredible.”
Young added, “I couldn’t be prouder of Stealing Jokes. Shooting in Detroit — the hometown of myself and Byron Allen — was the cherry on top.”