The Good Humor Women deck : Lifetime special’s theme says it all: ‘You’ve Come a Long Way, Maybe’

Question: How many feminists does it take to screw in a light bulb?

Answer: That’s not funny.

The old joke aside, the female comedians on Lifetime’s “Retaining Laughter” (yes, the title is a play on “retaining water”) do poke fun at themselves and other women. In the process, they also skewer men, anti-abortionists and the manufacturers of feminine hygieneproducts.

The Wednesday program, themed “You’ve Come a Long Way, Maybe,” was conceived as a tribute to women on the 25th anniversary of the founding of the National Organization for Women.

Hosted by Jane Curtin, it features four female stand-up comics, an all-woman band and a guest appearance by comedian Martin Mull, who offers tips to young women based on high school etiquette films from the 1950s.

The special is a far cry from the days when, according to Curtin, John Belushi and Chevy Chase insisted women weren’t funny while the three were starring on “Saturday Night Live” in the 1970s. Belushi even refused to perform material written by women, Curtin said.

But if you dare call the program feminist, or even ask whether the idea was to make jokes based on women’s issues, watch out.

Perhaps influenced by society’s backlash against the term “feminist” or fear that dreaded images of hairy-legged bra burners will turn off potential viewers, the most influential women connected with the show insist that the “F word” does not apply.

“Hopefully, (the show) is just a good laugh,” said Ellen Brown, who directed it. “I don’t think there’s a message in it.”

“In my monologue, I mention (the women’s movement), but that was basically it,” said Curtin.

And yet there’s no question that what propels the program is concern over what it means to be a woman in today’s world. Curtin, Mull and the four comedians--Leah Krinsky, Ellen Cleghorne, Laura Kightlinger and Carrie Snow--lampoon everyone from Nancy Reagan to Jane Fonda and Betty Friedan. In one sketch, Mull plays an alcoholic oaf who corners a female executive (Curtin) on an airplane.

At the network itself, there is no doubt among executives that the point of the program is to highlight female comics and treat women’s concerns.

“This comedy special was mainly about women and their issues,” said Pat Fili, the network’s senior vice president for programming.

But Fili, too, downplayed the notion that the program was consciously feminist.

“It’s not so much that there’s a female sense of humor versus a male sense of humor, but that so much humor is taken from your life experience,” Fili said. “And the life experience of these comics is female.”

Fili said that the hour-long show is one of a series of comedy specials organized around specific themes. A previous special, “Six Ladies Laughing,” aired during the Christmas season and featured six female comedians telling jokes about the holidays.

“There aren’t as many opportunities in comedy for women as there are for men,” said Fili.

Lifetime, which calls itself a woman’s network, is trying to give women a boost. “You can probably count on one hand the number of times a female is in a starring role in a comedy or sitcom,” Fili said.

Still, it’s somewhat easier than it used to be, Curtin said.

“On ‘Saturday Night’ there was a real stigma attached to women writers,” she said. “A lot of the men didn’t want to do material that was written by women. They didn’t believe women could be funny.”

Curtin, who became a mainstay of the show and is considered by many to be one of its funniest performers, was hired as a “straight” player.

“I was hired because they needed someone who looked like Middle America,” Curtin said. “They had already hired (who) they thought would be the extremely funny people.”

And in those days, Curtin said, women who wanted to be accepted in stand-up comedy found themselves emulating men.

“It seems as though 15 years ago women had to stand up there and grab their crotches and go for the gold,” Curtin said. “These women (in ‘Retaining Laughter’) are more comfortable. They were comfortable with sexuality, comfortable that they were attractive and they were extremely bright.”

“Retaining Laughter” premieres Wednesday at 10 p.m. on Lifetime.