Sarah Silverman: Jesus is Magic
First off, let me admit I am biased, because I love Sarah Silverman. But I am biased because of her last two performances on film (including her brief segment in ‘The Aristocrats’).
Her film, which she wrote and stars in, consists of live stand-up comedy intercut with skits and musical numbers. “It’s basically about the Holocaust, 9/11, rape, AIDS… but it’s a musical,” she says with an innocent grin in a recent interview. How could anyone get away with joking about these taboo subjects? Well, she does it and you won’t even feel bad for laughing so hard, because you’ll be laughing so hard! And don’t let the coarse content throw you, because she doesn’t take you to a difficult place and leave you there, but rather allows you to laugh in a way that isn’t hurtful. She uses comedy in the best possible sense and addresses issues that we really ought to be talking about, but are all too embarrassed to do so.
Silverman is a true talent, in the way performers used to be, say, sixty plus years ago. She reminds me of the Vaudevillian performers (like my grandfather) who were talented in many things because they had to be – acting, singing, dancing, and comedy with many dimensions. Joke content, timing, delivery, physical comedy and facial expressions that say more than the voice alone ever could. Think Laurel and Hardy, Marx Bros., Mel Brooks, Steve Martin, even Jerry Seinfeld – but she‘s a she, and can get away with naughty content partly because she’s so darn cute! Her other saving grace is that she lets herself be the brunt of much of her teasing.
Fair warning, as tempting as it may be, don’t try and re-tell her jokes to your friends – you’ll just look silly, like I did. As with good comedy, it’s not the joke itself, but its telling that makes it so funny.
Sarah Silverman takes big risks with this film, and for that reason alone I applaud her. What’s more is that she really pulls it off. And tempted as I am to tell the joke I’m still laughing about, I’ll be quiet and let the true talent do the talking. And singing, and dancing too.
Her film, which she wrote and stars in, consists of live stand-up comedy intercut with skits and musical numbers. “It’s basically about the Holocaust, 9/11, rape, AIDS… but it’s a musical,” she says with an innocent grin in a recent interview. How could anyone get away with joking about these taboo subjects? Well, she does it and you won’t even feel bad for laughing so hard, because you’ll be laughing so hard! And don’t let the coarse content throw you, because she doesn’t take you to a difficult place and leave you there, but rather allows you to laugh in a way that isn’t hurtful. She uses comedy in the best possible sense and addresses issues that we really ought to be talking about, but are all too embarrassed to do so.
Silverman is a true talent, in the way performers used to be, say, sixty plus years ago. She reminds me of the Vaudevillian performers (like my grandfather) who were talented in many things because they had to be – acting, singing, dancing, and comedy with many dimensions. Joke content, timing, delivery, physical comedy and facial expressions that say more than the voice alone ever could. Think Laurel and Hardy, Marx Bros., Mel Brooks, Steve Martin, even Jerry Seinfeld – but she‘s a she, and can get away with naughty content partly because she’s so darn cute! Her other saving grace is that she lets herself be the brunt of much of her teasing.
Fair warning, as tempting as it may be, don’t try and re-tell her jokes to your friends – you’ll just look silly, like I did. As with good comedy, it’s not the joke itself, but its telling that makes it so funny.
Sarah Silverman takes big risks with this film, and for that reason alone I applaud her. What’s more is that she really pulls it off. And tempted as I am to tell the joke I’m still laughing about, I’ll be quiet and let the true talent do the talking. And singing, and dancing too.
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