Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic (15)

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The ViewLondon Review

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Review byMatthew Turner30/07/2008

Four out of Five stars
Running time: 70 mins

Enjoyable stand-up show with several good laughs, though Silverman may be an acquired taste for some.

What's it all about?
Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic is a recording of comedienne Sarah Silverman's sold out stand-up show, filmed in front of a Los Angeles audience. This is interwoven with a couple of filmed video inserts, including Sarah hanging out with her sister Laura (Laura Silverman) and her friend Brian (Brian Posehn) and Sarah throwing a diva fit backstage, as well as a couple of comedy songs (e.g. singing "You're going to die soon" to a group of pensioners in a home).

The majority of Silverman's routine centres on jokes about sex, religion and race (the certificate advice warns against strong sex references, strong language and racist terms), but it's worth noting that Silverman adopts a comedic persona for her act, in which she's a precocious, outspoken hipster, completely clueless about her political incorrectness. A sample line: "I don't care if you think I'm a racist, I just want you to think I'm thin..."

The Good
Fans of Silverman's work will probably have seen this already, as it was filmed three years ago, prior to the commission of her series, The Sarah Silverman Program. However, this is a good opportunity to see it on the big screen and, crucially, with an audience – it's telling that even the audience in the movie are sometimes shocked into uncomfortable silence.

Silverman's comedy has drawn comparisons with comedy legend Lenny Bruce and while that may be overstating things a little, there's no denying that there's no one else like her.

The Great
Aside from the comedy songs (and an amusing encore that has to be seen to be believed), there are several comic highlights, particularly a routine about striking back at Osama Bin Laden by buying up all the domain names he might want to use for a website.

Worth seeing?
In short, Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic is an enjoyable and frequently funny stand-up show, though Silverman definitely won't appeal to everyone and you might want to check out a few clips on YouTube first, to be sure.

Film Trailer

Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic (15)
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Content updated: 16/02/2012 02:37

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