You Had to Be There: How the Toronto Godspell Ignited the Comedy Revolution, Spread Love & Overalls, and Created a Community That Changed the World (In a Canadian Kind of Way)

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You Had to Be There: How the Toronto Godspell Ignited the Comedy Revolution, Spread Love & Overalls, and Created a Community That Changed the World (In a Canadian Kind of Way)

In Theaters Sep 18

1h 38m

Documentary

Musical

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92%

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12 Reviews

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Martin Short, Eugene Levy, Gilda Radner, Victor Garber, Paul Shaffer, and other entertainment icons got their start in a 1972 Toronto production of the musical Godspell. Featuring interviews with the surviving cast members, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mike Myers, and more, the film recounts a pivotal moment in comedy history, in hilarious, moving, and inspiring detail. Executive produced by Judd Apatow.

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In Theaters Sep 18

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Nick Davis

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Valda Aviks

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Avril Chown

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Jayne Eastwood

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Eugene Levy

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Kristy Puchko

Mashable

Sep 16

The most incredible thing about You Had to Be There is that this film makes you feel like you were there, and these friends are your friends too.

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Owen Gleiberman

Variety

Sep 15

The niftiness of Davis’s film is that it’s about Godspell, and it’s about something bigger than Godspell -- a pop movement that didn’t have a name yet, a cultural spirit that found its way into existence almost like (laughing) gas gathering in the air.

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John Urbancich

JMuvies

Apr 9

4.5/5

All of it comes, somewhat incredibly, despite Davis not having one scrap of footage to show from any of those long-ago stage performances with a cast that eventually helped change the culture of comedy forever. That's why you have to get there now, eh?

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Cameron Meier

MeierMovies.com

Apr 2

2/5

Nick Davis’s partly animated, talking-heads documentary – despite its share of laughs, insights and good vibes – is as tedious, self-indulgent, rambling and self-aggrandizing as its absurdly long title.

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Danielle Solzman

Solzy at the Movies

Sep 14

5/5

For comedy nerds, You Had to Be There: How the Toronto Godspell Ignited the Comedy Revolution...isn’t just a clever title—it’s a promise the documentary delivers on.

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Bill Brioux

Brioux.tv

Sep 11

If you are still waiting in vain for that long delayed Martin Scorsese documentary about the origins of the series half the cast of “Godspell” ascended to, SCTV, consider “You Had to Be There…”...to be like manna from heaven.

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Synopsis

Martin Short, Eugene Levy, Gilda Radner, Victor Garber, Paul Shaffer, and other entertainment icons got their start in a 1972 Toronto production of the musical Godspell. Featuring interviews with the surviving cast members, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mike Myers, and more, the film recounts a pivotal moment in comedy history, in hilarious, moving, and inspiring detail. Executive produced by Judd Apatow.

Director: Nick Davis
Producer: Nick Davis, Sue Turley, Tom Powers, Bonnie Comley, Stewart F. Lane
Screenwriter: Nick Davis, Jane Mendelsohn
Distributor: Greenwich Entertainment
Genre: Documentary, Musical
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 18, 2026, Limited
Runtime: 1h 38m

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