A black comedy set at a retirement home, Comedian was a big hit at the 2000 Locarno Film Festival. Roni Beck (Beat Schlatter) is an aspiring comic whose inability to make even his mother laugh poses a major career stumbling block. His mother lives in a retirement home, and after the home's director, Serge (Patrick Frey), discovers Beck sleeping in her room, he puts him to work as an orderly and also tries to promote the hapless young man's entertainment career. Unfortunately, Beck's stand-up routine proves to be a huge disaster, and catalyzes a series of funerals among the home's residents. To top it all off, a triangle develops between Beck, Serge, and Serge's neglected girlfriend (Brigitte Beyeler) that mirrors the rivalry of two geriatric lotharios for Beck's mother.