Comedy inspires a variety of emotions, not the least of which is hilarity. Stand-up comedy — typically rooted in the pain and suffering of its orator — provides hilarity for its audience but is also a kind of auto-therapy for the comedian on stage, whose most effective material is often the sheer messiness of his own life. Which is why, in theory, gay comedians should have no trouble slaying an audience every time.

The comedians showcased in Laughing Matters find their voices in both affirming gay stereotypes and refuting them — yes, variety television joke writer Bruce Vilanch is a big flaming queen, but with 16 Oscar telecasts under his belt, not to mention a Miss Black Teen Utah pageant, who’s laughing all the way to the bank? And while Scott Kennedy may look like a superannuated frat boy sports junkie from Lubbock, Texas, he’s really watching all those football games for more than just the touchdowns.

These are gay men who find humor in what gays have guffawed at time and again, from Star Jones and sissy children to zany comings out and butch tops with femme proclivities. Defying race, ethnicity, body type and cultural import, the men of Laughing Matters share a rich propensity for mining humor out of everyday gay life, cultivating honesty, combating shame and reappropriating power along the way. Rounding out this rainbow coalition of outsider humorists is African American Andre Kelly, New York Jew Eddie Sarfaty, Filipino Catholic Alec Mapa and suburban white male Bob Smith. — ANDY BAILEY