The Idle American: Happenings along the way…. Brownwood Bulletin Expertly written and acted, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum has been ransacked as an eye-catcher for many projects, presentations, and programs over the years. Based on the book and Broadway play, the 1960s movie awakened in humankind that funny things do happen along the way, sometimes even en route to church. Much has been written about such things, but two minor “foul-ups” some three decades apart probably remained in the “shallows of the unknown,” except as may have been shared among friends by word of mouth.