A LITTLE LAUGHTER goes a long way in politics.

Donald Trump should keep that in mind as he takes over at the White House. Someone in his position needs a sense of humor, an ability to laugh and be laughed at. But so far Trump doesn’t get it.

Al Franken, the former Saturday Night Live writer and performer who is now a US senator from Minnesota, told the New York Times recently that Trump never laughs. Franken watched Trump closely at the Al Smith Dinner in New York City in October, an event where the two presidential candidates traditionally engage in some good-natured ribbing of each other to the delight of the audience.

“I wanted to see if Trump laughed,” Franken said. “And he didn’t. He smiled, but didn’t laugh.”

Here at CommonWealth and MassINC, we’re not known for being funny, either. But every five years we take a shot at humor when we celebrate an anniversary. At our 15th, we put on a show called Serious Fun that featured politicians in funny videos and skits. The late Tom Menino brought down the house with his portrayal of Vito Corleone in The Godfather, lecturing a stand-in for developer Don Chiofaro. (Menino wouldn’t do the scene with Chiofaro himself.)

We celebrated our 20th anniversary in December, and we tried the same formula again. It wasn’t easy convincing politicians to step outside their comfort zone, but eventually many of them agreed to do it. And they seemed to have a lot of fun, just as the audience did.

Gov. Charlie Baker and his transportation secretary, Stephanie Pollack, played the Blues Brothers, getting the band back together to fix the T. Baker, exhibiting a Dan Ackroyd swagger and even a bit of a Chicago accent, pulled off his part surprisingly well. Pollack, known more for her serious policy chops, rose to the occasion, too.

Gov. Charlie Baker as Ellwood Blues.

Former governors Michael Dukakis and Bill Weld demonstrated a knack for comedy. And Newton Mayor Setti Warren, US Rep. Katherine Clark, Senate President Stan Rosenberg, and developer Chiofaro (this time he got a role, but he’s still waiting for city approval to build a new tower) all played along.

Mayor Marty Walsh’s video focused on his young staff, played by the sons and daughters of real staff members. Walsh’s staff takes humor seriously. They have developed an in-house capability to turn around funny videos because they realize that laughter can be just as important as policy papers and speeches in building connections with voters.