Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with a couple more reviews of the lovely Sarah Silverman's JESUS IS MAGIC. I saw this flick back in March at SXSW and it is great. Absolutely revolting, shocking and hilarious. I congratulated director Liam Lynch on this film being picked up when I visited the set of the Tenacious D movie and I went on about how in love I am with Sarah Silverman. He was like, "Dude... To me, she's just one of the guys." Apparently she's a slob and is just one of the boys... but I don't have any "boys" around me that are that pretty, soo.... yeah. Enjoy the reviews!
Hey Harry, I went to the first Midnight Madness showing of the Toronto Film Festival tonight, which was Sarah Silverman's movie Jesus Is Magic. I think it's best to start this review off with a quote from the film:
"I dated this half-black guy for a while and he dumped me because I was a fucking loser. You know, I shouldn't be such a pessimist... he was half-white."
That's nowhere near as funny or offensive as some of the stuff in the movie, but hopefully it should give you a good idea of what to expect. Sarah Silverman, who most people I talk to know only as the evil girlfriend in School of Rock, is Jimmy Kimmel's girlfriend, and one of the filthiest comics you'll ever hear. Certainly the dirtiest female comic... and she even gives Andrew Dice Clay a run for his money at some points.
A lot of people feel there's certain things you can't joke about, be they rape, AIDS, the Holocaust, race... and Silverman gets into them all, and even though you're occasionally not sure whether to laugh out loud or be horrified at the things being said... more often than not you'll be laughing. Hard. Really hard, and while you hopefully won't be blessed with a guy like the one in our theatre who was really high pitched and really loud, you will be laughing and you will be enjoying yourself.
Oh, and there's 5 of 6 musical numbers on all manner of topics from an Ode to Porn Stars, to an uplifting song about how old people are going to die... to a version of Amazing Grace which defies written description.
The film was directed by Liam Lynch, best known for "My United States Of Whatever" and who is following this, his directorial debut, with the upcoming Tenacious D film The Pick Of Destiny, an hour of which Sarah claimed to have seen, and which she decreed to be really awesome. Here, it's okay work, nothing overly impressive, and the low budget shows. That said, considering the amount of money and the amount of funny... I'd be willing to say there's one of the highest funny-for-money ratios of any movie I've seen in a long time on display here. Also, given that it's a one-woman show, most of which is just Sarah with a microphone and her oh-so-crucial Fiji water, the direction and budget can really only do so much. The majority of the weight in any concert film is on the performer's shoulders.
And Sarah Silverman handles it. She handles it well. Indeed, any criticism of this movie can't include shots at her comedic chops, because they're impeccable. She can deadpan the most appalling material and it plays gloriously. The movie never really falls flat and that's a testament to the strength of the material.
It's a fairly short film at only an hour and 15 minutes, but it's packed solid with laughs, songs, and profanity. As long as you go in willing and ready to cast aside all your societal taboos and just accept the humour for what it is, you should have a great time.
After the film, Sarah did a short Q&A, and I asked her if she had ever been offended. She said it was trite to get political, but that someone had offered her some pot which she had smoked while we were watching the movie... and then, and I quote, "George W. Bush is Boss Hogg with a Jerusalem Complex." My friend asked a stupid question about the Amazing Grace cover and got shot down.... deservedly, in my humble opinion.
If you use this, call me El Fuego.
Thanks for the review, man. Now we have a review that has me scratching my head a little bit... He says he laughed his ass off, but then said he was disappointed by the movie... I don't quite understand... If a comedy cracks you up constantly how can it disappoint? I do agree that Lynch's camera work isn't phenomenal, but it's kind of a concert film, yeah? His real test will be in THE PICK OF DESTINY, that's for sure. Anyway, here's the review!
Hey Harry,
I know some reviews were posted about this film before, but here are my thoughts anyway...
Hard to describe Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic. In short, it?s a movie, of sorts. It?s a concert video, kind of. And, it?s a sketch comedy, in a way. It?s all these things and more... much, much, more.
I?m a little apprehensive writing this. I like Sarah Silverman a lot. From Mr. Show to Larry Sanders and everything else (well, except maybe Greg the Bunny), she always crackled on-screen. I don?t think I?m the only one who wondered why there wasn?t more Sarah Silverman. Why didn?t she get her own show? Or, star in more movies? Why no comedy specials? (Sorry if there are and I haven?t seen them)
After tonight?s Midnight Madness screening of her new opus, I think I know why. Sarah Silverman is quite possibly the most offensive comedian ever. EVER!!!!!!
The film begins as a sketch about how her friends have tons of projects on the go and she has nothing, so she makes one up. A movie-type performance about the Holocaust, and AIDS only funny and musical (kind of the way she puts it). From there we have a musical number and quickly move into the meat of the film, the stand-up.
Over the course of her routine Sarah sets out to rip no, not strong enough, annihilate every race, culture, and creed known to humanity. Over and over she pushes to the edge and then gleefully dives over. To call this material grandly offensive would be an understatement.
I will not lie, I laughed my ass off. My face hurt, actually. However, I must also admit that I was offended. I think I recognize the irony of her shtick. I get it. It?s an act. She?s really no different from Andrew Dice Clay. Only difference being, she doesn?t limit herself to one target.
I won?t attempt to cover any of the material in specifics. Comedy doesn?t work like that. You know if you want to see it, and you probably think you know what to expect now, multiply that by a thousand.
Aside from the stand-up material, SS:JIM is fairly disappointing. The musical numbers are clever but not particularly memorable as songs. Silverman?s voice is decent but not overly strong, and, let?s be honest, a little screechy. I have always thought the best musical-comedies worked because of the music first and material second.
Liam Lynch is also a bit of a let-down. I can?t think of anything particularly strong about his camera-work or staging. Not bad, just ho-hum. Let?s hope Lynch has more up his sleeve for the D movie.
Finally, Sarah was in attendance at the screening and seemed completely overwhelmed by her surroundings. She was funny, but maybe a little out to lunch if you catch my meaning.
-pmoney
