Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic


Synopsis
Sketches, musical numbers and stand-up comprise this 72 minute routine by comedian Sarah Silverman. (R, 2005)


Observations
So, I’ll start by stating the obvious – if you are easily offended by off-color material, please don’t see this film. Though it is not nearly as raunchy as say, The Aristocrats, there is a lot of questionable material in this comedy special.

I was a bit disoriented by the bad-high-school musical flavor of some of the film, especially the opening musical number. Though Silverman has an OK singing voice, the songs just aren’t that funny. I had assumed the whole special was stand-up so I was confused with the sketch that opens the film. Though her stand-up is hilarious at times, I found myself dreading the vignettes that peppered her act. Silverman’s material is unforgiving, and any one can be a victim. I have a special appreciation for artists that use their platform to bring up social issues, and Silverman does that a lot. She has an interesting bit about Jews buying German cars and another piece about the horrors of the diamond industry.

If you are a fan of quality stand-up, it would behoove you to pick up some Mitch Hedberg. He’s unquestionably the smartest, most original stand-up I have seen in the past several years.

Rating:
Amazon's entry for Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic