Silverman gives a loving spoonful of twisted thoughts and theories.
Officially peaking the curiosity of many art-house moviegoers with her naughty, 3 minute arm chair couch confession in The Aristocrats, this wild, Jewish American Princess with the girl next door looks effectively kicks sand in the faces of all that breathes, actually Sarah Silverman: Jesus is Magic even takes below the belt shots at dead grandmothers.
Directed by Liam Lynch, the well-photographed doc merges musical numbers and sketch bits with a shot in-front of a live audience format giving the impression of watching a warped tour version of Sesame Street. The taped show, part of a successful comedy venue tour displays the sassy and controversial comedy writer and actor Sarah Silverman with all of her shitzpa. Her stand-up routine is a shtick that merges a deceptive naivety, a child’ innocence, a trophy wife’s intelligence, a fifth avenue Saks insensitivity with a wealth of pots shots against gender, race, sexual orientation and age. Auntie Sarah even has the balls to drag victims of 9/11 through the mud for a second time.
Laughable because one can’t imagine anyone putting such crude thoughts into words, it’s also Sarah’s ability to playfully present herself as this angelic figure with grotesque after thoughts and while her observational fact and fiction humor normalizes everything that is shocking – what the whole concert lacks or perhaps what this comedian is incapable of doing is offering true insight. Just the playful mention of rape catches the viewer off guard, but there is something missing in how the jokes get carried, they remain standup skit form instead of becoming significantly poignant. The same can’t be said about her comic timing – which she has got down to an art form.
Silverman is perhaps the funniest woman in show business as we speak – and though she chooses to go places where not many dare venture into, there is this impression that she only touches the surface – reluctant to truly taking a risk. The branded humor for grown, liberal adults, is a laugh per minute (at least in the stand up portions) but this isn’t a marathon gut buster nor a must buy once it hits the DVD stands. For fans of stand-up, one-liners and of course the Sarah Silverman faithful this will get the job done, and may be a calling card that will most likely lead to bigger and better things to come.
