"What do Jews hate most about the Holocaust? The cost" is a
joke by Sarah Silverman used in her introduction of Mel Brooks at an awards ceremony. He is shown laughing but later admitted that it crossed the line and was in poor taste.

In this documentary, Brooks discusses Springtime For Hitler and The Producers pointing out that it is permissible to ridicule the Nazis but not the Jews who died in the Holocaust. This veteran comedian and film director calls Life Is Beautiful the worst film ever made thanks to its trivialization of the Holocaust. Abraham Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League, on the other hand, salutes the Oscar winner as a classic that's "absolutely brilliant."

Writer and director Renee Firestone is a 91-year-old Auschwitz survivor whose family was murdered in the death camps. She believes that Jewish survivors of the Holocaust deserve to have the last laugh. Of course, there is no consensus on this controversial subject. Another survivor, Elly Gross, finds nothing funny about the death camps and others agree with her at a Holocaust survivor meeting in Las Vegas.

Firestone does cast her nets widely with her coverage of the TV series Hogan's Heroes, Seinfield's "Soup Nazi" episode, Jerry Lewis's The Day the Clown Cries, Archie Bunker's bigotry on All in the Family, Borat's transgressive comedy, Rob Reiner's take on Holocaust jokes, Robert Clary's clowning acts at the camps, and the notorious wisecrack by Joan Rivers which was condemned widely as being offensive.

In a final segment, comedians Lenny Bruce, Dave Chapelle, Ricky Gervais, and others comment on other taboos in their field, such as 9/11, AIDS, and racism. Brooks once again takes center stage and offers this cogent overview:
"Comics are the conscience of the people and they're allowed a wide berth in any direction . . . even if it's in bad taste."