Perhaps genetic predisposition has something to do with it; as a native German, certain American past times elude me, among them baseball, grits, and stand-up comedy. No matter how hard I try or how many Ken Burns documentaries I watch, I simply don't get it. (This might also explain my averse reaction to "The Aristocrats.")
Sarah Silverman's new film goes a long way at fixing this problem. Her persona and delivery are finely tuned, and her jokes are sharp and merciless. Like Margaret Cho, she uses gender and ethnicity as a weapon: there seem to be no limits to the taboos Silverman will break for a laugh. For the first half hour of "Jesus is Magic," the effect is liberating, and I laughed heartily.
Sarah Silverman in "Jesus Is Magic"
But how long can you watch one person tell jokes? After a while, the outrageousness becomes the norm and the punch lines, all revolving around sex and race, seem to repeat. Director Liam Lynch wisely breaks up the live stand-up routine with a few added bits (Bob Odenkirk and Laura Silverman are especially funny as friends who bring out the competitive worst in Sarah), but some of the songs Silverman sprinkles throughout the performance miss the mark.
There are smart laughs to be had in "Jesus is Magic," but in the end, I'd always prefer a movie with a narrative. Must be a European thing.
