Sarah Silverman: Jesus is Magic

Sarah Silverman is officially awesome. Her "movie" Sarah Silverman: Jesus is Magic is really more of a souped-up stand-up skit, and it's really, really, really hilarious. Silverman's humor jives very much with my own sense of humor, which is why I wanted to see this film. However, it's definitely not for everybody; in particular, people who are easily offended (or who aren't into political incorrectness) should probably pass on this, although IMO that would be your loss. Subjects like rape, race, "little people", AIDS, the holocaust, and 9/11 show up repeatedly in the jokes (which can be a bit tasteless at times, much to my enjoyment), so consider yourself warned.

Anyway, the flick was bloody awesome! I was laughing the whole time. It's certainly not for the easily offended, but that's why I wanted to see it in the first place. I had seen a short preview for it (technically not a trailer, I think, because it was combined with the main feature) with The Aristocrats, which is also bloody hilarious. Silverman's performance in The Aristocrats was extremely good and coupling that with the preview, I knew that her "film" was a 'must see'. There are a ton of good lines in Jesus is Magic, as one would expect from the format. Several of the jokes are racial in nature, and I especially enjoyed several of the Jewish-themed ones because of my own heritage. (Of course, given her background, it's not surprising that she can do an excellent job delivering those jokes.) One that I especially liked was the following: "I was raped by a doctor... [pretty long pause] ... which is bittersweet for a Jewish girl." This line is fairly representative of her style of humor, which I appreciate greatly. Again, it's not for people who are remotely easily offended or who aren't into very caustic political incorrectness. (Subjects like rape, race, AIDS, the holocaust, and 9/11 show up repeatedly in the jokes, so consider yourself warned.)

Now, I would consider ranking this my top film of the year (and in terms of pure enjoyment, it's definitely on the short list), but it's not really a movie per se, so I don't think comparing it to movies consisting of actual stories is fair. A fair comparison: As much as I loved The Arisocrats, this flick was even better.


Some Silverman quotes from IMDB also convey her style of the humor very well:

"People are always introducing me as "Sarah Silverman, Jewish comedienne." I HATE that! I wish people would see me for who I really am- I'm white!"

[on the US-Iraq war of 2003:] "This is not the first time that Europe has been passive while a Jew-hating tyrant with a weird looking mustache killed the people by giving them gas. [Pause.] Obviously I'm talking about Chef Boyardee."