Sarah Silverman: Jesus is Magic (2005)* (out of 4) Sarah Silverman's controversial comedy show features all sorts of jokes ranging from racist ones to jokes about the Holocaust, 9/11, AIDS and various other taboo subjects. I'm sure many would watch this thing or even just read about it and throw a fit over the subjects that are made fun of. Sure, not too many people would have the balls to make a joke about 9/11 or child rape but if you're going to do it then perhaps shouldn't you write good material? I personally wasn't offended by any of the jokes here but I must say that I found all of them to be poorly written. I think you can look at any great stand-up comedian, be it Pryor or even Lenny Bruce, and hope that they believe in what they are saying. No matter if it's tragic or comical I think it's important that they believe in what they are saying and that's clearly not the case here. If Silverman really believed in anything she's saying here then it would be shocking and funny. However, it's clear that she's just telling these jokes because she's trying to be outrageous and shocking and that to me isn't funny. I wasn't really digging her delivery style either but I think in the end this film fails because the material is just weak. The musical numbers are just as lame as are the opening and closing "acted" parts. This was my first time seeing Silverman and even though I hated this film I think she could be funny as a comedian. However, when the material is this poor and the editing so bad there's really not much you can do except come close to falling asleep.

I gave it a 6. 6 is pretty damn high in my books. SS is a extremely nasty old gal. she will make fun out of the most touchy thing she can think of.if you can somehow get past all that and just watch her then you'll have a good laugh. she's super witty and thats what makes for good times. she knows what she is saying and 1/2 her act is about going deeper and deeper into touchy territory. if you don't laugh in the first 10mins after her first song then just switch it off because you'll get more and more offended.I'm going to look for more from her.later.

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.

Before I heard her I knew she must be doing something right because I heard people were offended by her, particularly by the title of the film "Jesus is Magic". At the first quick glance I thought it was a serious title because all the evangelical Christians I've heard and met believe that to be the case. Once I quickly realized it was a satirical joke I read some reviews. Natuarally, a lot of people were offended. Well it doesn't really take much to offend religious people, especially the orthodox, because anything that remotely approaches the truth and/or reason, contradicting and threatening the shaky foundation of their illogical and poorly constructed fictitious beliefs enrages them and causes the most hateful, violent reactions. The vast bulk of the wars and offenses committed on other peoples is based on or at least justified by religious beliefs, frequently just the persecution of those with contradicting religious beliefs. (Of course it's usually just based on the greed and power lust of the leaders but they play the religious card because they know that opium stirs the too frequently intentionally ignorant masses.) And since evangelical Christians are getting more and more power in the US and closer to fulfilling their dream of a Christian Taliban I became intrigued and gave the film a viewing. (Fortunately, the completely religious state does not exist yet so Ms. Silverman can make these films and others can watch them without fear of persecution and prosecution but give some time to some of the evangelical federal judges George W. has installed to start "reinterpreting" the laws to see if that doesn't start changing soon.)It's an entertaining film. Not brilliant but humorous and entertaining. She doesn't have the intellectual appeal of someone like George Carlin or even Bill Hicks nor the great depth of Lenny Bruce but she does have a nice act and fulfills the role of what adult comedy really should be, telling the truth in a fashion that people will hear it, that otherwise don't want to be bothered with anything "negative" (i.e: preferring the BS over reality). Of course, since she is telling the truth in a fashion, often with her character of a typically ignorant, arrogant woman who uses being cute as her veneer to gloss over her shortcomings, she is offending people who hate to admit their own shortcomings mirror what she is doing or saying. And, especially now in these tenuous times of a dangerous swing toward fundamentalism, we need those who poke fun at a humorless, intolerant group who insist on imposing their beliefs onto others. And before anyone starts flying off the handle claiming I'm anti-Christian, don't worry, I find all fundamental religious practices and other forms of orthodoxy equally destructive and dangerous, especially to the rare, disappearing freedoms left in the US and elsewhere. This may not be a fantastic film but it is a necessary one as it gives some hope to believers in individual intellectual pursuits that our disappearing freedoms aren't completely gone yet and still may have a chance to survive their recent assault. So we can continue things like the pursuit of legitimate scientific inquiry, which is always outlawed in religious states as facts contradict "faith": one only need look at the many, many years of meticulous research by some of the most brilliant minds being trashed in favor of "faith based" education to realize the horrifying dangers taking place right now. I hope more people get angry at this film and it starts to wake up the opposition who have been laying down to the will of someone with some crackpot belief in fear that they might offend someone's "faith". We need more people like Sarah Silverman who say "offensive" things about religious faith and other sacred subjects. Good job, Sarah, keep it up!