Director Mark Meyer’s chronicles the birth of his first child alongside his first attempts at standup comedy. The idea is that there are obvious parallels between the levels of anxiety experienced in either situation.

Mark joins friends Shane, Sean and Bert. During filming Sean learns that his estranged father is dying of cancer. They reunite and Sean spends every weekend with his father. This is not only more touching and interesting than the rest of the documentary but it also serves to emphasize Meyer’s point that trying comedy is ultimately about conquering fear and embracing life.

What begins as a seemingly fun and original documentary quickly degenerates into a self-indulgent mess. If anything Delivery simply serves to reinforce the “Boys Club” that is comedy (like so many other forms of entertainment). Out of all the talking heads there are a total of three female comedians (one of whom works for Naked News). Not surprisingly we are also reminded of just how badly the average person will suck when attempting to do actual standup and that 90 per cent of the time men just want to tell penis and boob jokes.

Relief from this tedious film comes in the form of a 71-year-old Dutchman named Bert. In fact Bert alone – with his irreverent humour – would have made a splendid documentary.

[star v=25]