Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic

Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic is a 2005 stand-up comedy film written by and starring Sarah Silverman, directed by Liam Lynch, and distributed by Roadside Attractions.

Jesus Is Magic
Promotional release poster
Directed byLiam Lynch
Written bySarah Silverman
Produced byHeidi Herzon
Grant Jue
Randy Sosin
Mark Williams
StarringSarah Silverman
Laura Silverman
Brian Posehn
Bob Odenkirk[1]
CinematographyRhet W. Bear
Edited byLiam Lynch
Music byLiam Lynch
Sarah Silverman
Production
companies
Showtime
Visual Entertainment
Distributed byRoadside Attractions
Release date
  • November 11, 2005 (2005-11-11)
Running time
72 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The movie is a concert film consisting of 72 minutes of clips taken from Silverman's previous stand-up show of the same name, interspersed with flashbacks and comedic sketches. Silverman addresses a number of topics, including religion, AIDS, the Holocaust, race, sexism, political parties, people with disabilities, homeless people, and dwarves. Silverman also performs several original songs in the film.[2]

Release

The film was released November 11, 2005 in eight theatres. Receiving positive reviews, it made just under $125,000 during opening weekend. Its performance led to an expanded release in as many as 57 theatres, resulting in a box office take of more than $1.2 million. The film was released on DVD on June 6, 2006, in the United States, June 13 in Canada, and October 13, 2008, in the United Kingdom. A soundtrack CD was also released featuring most of the musical numbers, excerpts from Silverman's stand-up comedy, and several additional songs which did not appear in the film.

Critical reception

Jesus Is Magic has been the subject of mixed reviews. A. O. Scott of The New York Times believed that the film's comedic value rests too heavily on the shock value of having such irreverent jokes delivered via the Jewish American Princess persona embodied by Silverman, writing "Most of the humor in 'Jesus Is Magic' depends on the scandal of hearing a nice, middle-class Jewish girl make jokes about rape, anal sex, the Holocaust and AIDS. She makes fun of religion. She riffs on 9/11. But Ms. Silverman is not smashing taboos so much as she is desperately searching for them."[3] Others, like Leo Benedictus of The Guardian, credit the intelligence of Silverman and the skill of the performance. Using as an example of Silverman's off-color joke that “being raped by a doctor” could be “kind of bittersweet for a Jewish girl,” Benedictus concluded that “it's not the Jewish stereotype that really powers the laugh, or the perfect inappropriateness of [Silverman’s words], it's the flip of mood from: ‘Here's something you can't joke about’ to, ‘Oh yes you can.’ Dangerous – and liberating.” [4] Rotten Tomatoes gives the show a rating of 64%.

References
  1. Gross, Terry (November 9, 2005). "Sarah Silverman: 'Jesus Is Magic'". NPR.
  2. Benedictus, Leo (March 21, 2012). "Comedy gold: Sarah Silverman's Jesus is Magic". The Guardian.
  3. Scott, A. O. (November 11, 2005). "A Comic in Search of the Discomfort Zone". The New York Times.
  4. Benedictus, Leo. Comedy Gold: Sarah Silverman: Jesus is Magic. The Guardian. March 21, 2012)


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