Own the rights?
102 out of 137 people found the following comment useful :- Holy cows make the best hamburger, 5 September 2005 Author: d_alexander from United States
Sarah Silverman is subtle, provocative, and disturbing. Her guileless, deadpan parody of profane ideas is like a naive child faithfully repeating something horrifying that she overheard her parents whisper. Reviewers who compare her to Andrew Dice Clay don't understand her comedy. Clay pandered to his audience's bigotry without irony, telling his audience what they wanted to believe but were afraid to say themselves.A more apt comparison would be to Carroll O'Connor: a gifted writer, comedian, and actor. Sarah Silverman presents a persona that makes people squirm; she creates a dissonance between her apparent lack of anger or malice and her socially unacceptable material. To accuse her of racism, sexism, homophobia, internalized anti-Semitism, or going for cheap shock is to miss the point. Holy cows make the best hamburger, but it's easy to choke on if you're laughing.Silverman forces audiences to confront their own gut reactions about unacceptable ideas without providing anyone easy to blame. She is a polite, educated, attractive young woman. To hear her say things we refuse to believe polite, educated, attractive young women think or would even admit is disturbing.The Anti-Defamation League, the National Organization of Women, NAACP, and the Human Rights Campaign won't laud her as a transgressive comedian who forces audiences to confront their own unacknowledged bigotry. Sarah Silverman is not a social crusader; she is a comedian who tickles your funny bone with a sharp spear. She could preface all her material with, "Can you believe there are idiots who think, '(assume character, insert content),'" to avoid controversy. Gutted by incorporated disclaimers, her comedy would lose its ability to induce awkward guilt in her audience. The power of her comedy is its ravaging of social beliefs that we are all supposed to share.No comedy is universal, but hers is biting, subversive, disturbing, and fascinating. Instead of laughing at her content, you laugh at the attitudes she portrays and worry if you should find them funny. You either miss the irony of her comedy or you have to appreciate her genius as an actor, writer, comic, and social critic.
36 out of 51 people found the following comment useful :- What's a nice Jewish girl doing in a movie like this?, 20 November 2005 Author: Red-125 from Upstate New York
Sarah Silverman: Jesus is Magic (2005), written by Sarah Silverman and directed by Liam Lynch, was shown at the High Falls Film Festival in Rochester, New York.Sarah Silverman is a unique comedian, and the movie is unique as well. Silverman is strikingly beautiful, and startlingly filthy-mouthed. The result is comedy that is not actually funny per se, but is funny because of the incredible contrast between what you expect and what Silverman delivers.I've noticed that most reviewers can't refrain from quoting some lines from her performance. The problem with that practice is that if you read enough reviews, you've basically seen the movie. I'm going to refrain from revealing any part of her act. I'll just say that Silverman makes jokes about matters that society assumes can't be funny--9/11, racism, world hunger, AIDS. Silverman delivers her act in a neutral, confidential way. The contrast between Silverman's straightforward, level manner and the nature of her comedy is what makes her unique. My guess is that Silverman's humor would wear thin on repeated viewing. However, for the 72 minutes of this movie, she's very, very funny.Notes: Silverman was profiled in the 10/24/05 issue of The New Yorker magazine, in an article titled "Quiet Depravity." Stay for the credits. They contain some funny bits.
22 out of 30 people found the following comment useful :- Sarah is Magically Delicious (and funny), 11 December 2005 Author: David H. Schleicher from New Jersey, USA
I don't care that Sarah Silverman dates a painfully unfunny slob like Jimmy Kimmel or that she often says offensive things just for the sake of being offensive. Ever since her short stint on "Saturday Night Live", I knew she was a brilliant comedienne. Part of her appeal is her natural good looks and charming nature. She seems sweet and innocent, but what comes out of her mouth is often filthy and offensive. She delivers it straight with a style that is both perky and deadpan. She has a contradictory self-deprecating confidence that makes her rather unique in the world of stand-up comedy.There's some misguided musical numbers and "skits" that are never quite as funny as they are conceptually. It's the stand-up bit that had me rolling in the aisles. Sarah pokes fun at everything from AIDS to the Holocaust to 9/11 and she wears her badge of political incorrectness with pride. In terms of her racial humor, she's more than just the white Jewish female version of Dave Chappelle, she's downright hilarious, and her unique delivery is what makes the off-color jokes go down so smooth. The film is brief at 72 minutes, so be sure to stay for the credits as they contain some funny bits.
39 out of 66 people found the following comment useful :- Refreshingly Crisp, 21 March 2005 Author: bgstahl from United States
I saw Sarah Silverman's "documentary" as my last event at the 2005 SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas. It provided a perfect, lingering finish to the week. The film is one of the tightest pictures I've seen on comedy -- great clips from her live performances, with a balanced sprinkling of scenes about Silverman the person. I liked the use of her sister and brother-in-law to delve deeper into Silverman's approach to her craft. I see three things in Silverman from the work depicted in this film: (1) she catches our attention with stuff that is real -- themes with just enough current of truth; (2) she makes us pause and think with her incredible comedic timing; and (3) she relieves the tension, making our sides hurt with punch lines that elegantly tell us all not to take ourselves or life too seriously. Those who take the time to research the background of Silverman's sister will appreciate the great wit contained in the simple act of casting her sister in the film. This flick takes a refreshing stab at people and life through comedy. Be sure to stick around for the outtakes – more great fun. I hope Silverman keeps honing her skills and doing great work. I imagine she will constantly be forced to ignore those who would like to restrain her. It's clear that Silverman works hard at her writing and her stage presence; stuff this good doesn't just happen.Silverman and this film are like a great Zinfandel -- strong intoxicating elements, with layers and layers of transcending substance and flavor.
14 out of 18 people found the following comment useful :- Somewhere Between Lenny And Joan, 22 July 2006 Author: aguasmarked from United States
Of course there is nothing that could possibly survive between Lenny Bruce and Joan Rivers. That's why Sarah Silverman is unique. She reminds you of others but she's not like anybody else. The outrageous boldness of her comedy is the classiest piece of gross vulgarity I've ever came across. "60 million would be unforgivable" I was gasping and laughing without being able to stop. Dangerous stuff. Wonderful stuff. She's pretty like one of Charlie Chaplin's daughters. Awkwardly so, making the comedy all the more refreshing, shockingly so. I'm buying a few DVDs of "Jesus is Magic" and sending them anonymously to some friends and relatives. Oh yes, my targets deserve the side splitting pain inflicted by this superb Silverwoman.
19 out of 31 people found the following comment useful :- Austin Movie Show review - brutal, politically-incorrect and brilliant, 11 December 2005 Author: leilapostgrad from Austin, TX
I've never seen a stand-up comedy hour get national theatrical distribution before, but I know why this one did. Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic is some of the most subversive, brutal, politically-incorrect, and brilliant stand-up comedy out there. Silverman splices up the stand-up routine with silly and obnoxious musical numbers, and it works. Though it may not make $1 million at the box office, Jesus Is Magic will undoubtedly become a comedy classic along the lines of Eddie Murphy: Raw and Bill Cosby: Himself.What makes Silverman so ballsy is fearless take on race ("The best time to conceive, of course, is when you're a black teenager"), religion ("The only time religion matters is when you have kids and you're deciding what to teach them. If my boyfriend and I ever have a kid, we'll just be honest with it. We'll say that mommy is one of God's chosen people, and daddy believes that Jesus is magic!"), rape ("I was raped by a doctor… which is kind of bittersweet for a Jew"), the Holocaust ("The Holocaust would never had happened if black people lived in Germany in the 1930s and 40s… well, it wouldn't have happened to Jews"), and 9/11 ("I think American Airlines' new slogan should be: We were the first to hit the twin towers") – every topic you're NOT supposed to joke about. Obviously these jokes are better on screen than read in print.Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic is comic genius. Your cheeks will hurt from laughing so hard. It's the perfect cure for the holiday blues.
8 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :- Doesn't always work, but it's edgy and often funny, 31 March 2007 Author: guyfromjerzee from United States
I've seen Sarah Silverman in plenty of films and TV appearances, but this is my first time seeing her stand-up act in its entirety. Altogether, I enjoyed the film. I'm sure this won't appeal to all tastes, especially if you're easily offended. I wouldn't say Sarah is nearly as good as George Carlin or Richard Pryor or other classic envelope-pushing comedians, but she is good and definitely has a unique comic style (not something I say about many comedians nowadays). I like the way she delivers her profane, offensive humor in such a mundane fashion. I think it makes the jokes even funnier. The flaw in her comedy, in my opinion, is that despite her significant intelligence and wit, Sarah does have a silly, absurd side. Some of the musical numbers definitely bordered on the silly side. Altogether, the film is hit-or-miss, thankfully with more hits. And of course, Sarah is quite easy on the eyes, which is part of the fun of seeing her in a starring role.
21 out of 36 people found the following comment useful :- Spit on Every Taboo, 18 November 2005 Author: bluesdoctor from A Place is Just A Place
Like a drunken perverse Don Quixote, in the best tradition of black comedy, Sarah S. tilts her lance at every sacred cow in sight, sexual, ethnic, and social. No one gets off, Mexicans, Jews, Puerto Ricans, Asians, homosexuals, no one. And that's fine.In the current in vogue style of Hollywood humor, it's all self-conscious, controlled, stylized, an act. Sarah is one intelligent and very pretty lady -- her timing is crafty, subversive, sly.My fantasy: Sarah Silverman takes the place of Oprah as pop icon (couldn't think of a more fitting alterego). It would be like having Putney Swope in the White House.Of course this movie will offend. It steps on everyone's toes. And that's fine. It's like a breath of fresh air, even if it achieves it by smashing every window in the house with the furniture.
18 out of 32 people found the following comment useful :- Definitely has its moments, but lukewarm overall, 19 November 2005 Author: totallynatural1 from south pole
I walked into the theatre fully expecting and eagerly anticipating the type of offensive, edgy humor Silverman is known for. And while there were certainly some great jokes (and songs!) that had me bursting out laughing, the rest of the movie only raised a smirk and an occasional chuckle. The ending felt particularly flat.Some jokes just weren't creative enough to be funny, and I'm guessing Silverman hoped the shock value alone would get laughs. When you're sitting in a packed theatre and a "funny" joke/moment comes up, and you can only hear one or two people discernibly laughing - sorry, those are pity laughs. And there seemed to be quite a few points in the movie where this occurred.So while I was walking out of the theatre thinking of several funny lines, as a whole Silverman's stand-up was so-so. I've laughed much harder and longer at other comedians' routines.
23 out of 42 people found the following comment useful :- Funny, but not spectacular, 12 November 2005 Author: IvanX from New York
I saw this movie on opening night last night with moderately high expectations and not a lot of knowledge about Sarah Silverman. I left amused but disappointed. Ms. Silverman is entertainingly acerbic, but ALL of this movie's strong moments come from her stand-up, and the air completely goes out of the film when she goes into her mediocre, poorly integrated songs and set pieces. (And what's up with her repeating the same punchless lines over and over in her songs?)In the end, "Jesus Is Magic" bogs down under the weight of its own pretension. It would seem better as an ordinary cable special, especially if you removed the fluff and focused on her stage show. The movie wants to present Silverman as something more than a mere comedian, but unfortunately fails -- the haphazard presentation and (especially) the atrocious-looking digital video (I challenge you to find a single sharply focused object in the entire movie) make it unworthy of a cinematic event.In other words, it's worth seeing, but wait for cable or DVD.
Add another comment
