Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic (2005)

Narrative digressions on sex, race, politics, and more from comedienne Sarah Silverman.

Director:

Liam Lynch

Writer:

Sarah Silverman

Stars:

Sarah Silverman, Brian Posehn, Laura Silverman

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sarah Silverman	...	Sarah
Brian Posehn	...	Friend
Laura Silverman	...	Friend
Bob Odenkirk	...	Manager
Steve Agee	...	Guy in Wings
Jim Bodma	...	Grandma's Friend
Jon Cellini	...	Funeral Attendee
David Derby	...	Bass Guitar Player
Suzannah Fagan	...	Soccer Mom
Robin Goldwasser	...	Harmonies
Dee Kaye	...	Soccer Mom
Jonathan Kimmel	...	Harmonies
Michael Kotch	...	Guitar Player / Keyboards
Kiyano La'vin	...	African American Guy
Ben Matthews	...	Grandma's Friend

Storyline

Sarah Silverman appears before an audience in Los Angeles with several sketches, taped outside the theater, intercut into the stand-up performance. Themes include race, sex, and religion. A handful of musical numbers punctuate the performance.

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Plot Keywords:

stand up | stand up comedian | actress name in title | five word title | reference to adolf hitler | 

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Genres:

Documentary | Comedy | Music

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sarah Silverman based this movie on acts she performed in New York and Los Angeles, according to an interview with NPR (November 9, 2005).

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Quotes

[first lines]
[Sarah Silverman is visiting her friends, who are boasting about their latest creative achievements]
Friend: So then I said, "Shut up, you stupid twat."
Friend: [petting her dog] Oh, my God.
Friend: I know. And then I'm like, Oh, fuck, what did I just do? But then the audience loved it! They went nuts, and she looked like an idiot. Like, they were all like, "She is a stupid twat that should shut up!"
Friend: That's awesome.
Friend: So it felt really good. So that's on the record.
Friend: You'll sell, like, so many more copies because ...
[...]

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Connections

References The Magic of David Copperfield V (1983)

User Reviews

Funny, but not spectacular

I saw this movie on opening night last night with moderately high expectations and not a lot of knowledge about Sarah Silverman. I left amused but disappointed. Ms. Silverman is entertainingly acerbic, but ALL of this movie's strong moments come from her stand-up, and the air completely goes out of the film when she goes into her mediocre, poorly integrated songs and set pieces. (And what's up with her repeating the same punchless lines over and over in her songs?)

In the end, "Jesus Is Magic" bogs down under the weight of its own pretension. It would seem better as an ordinary cable special, especially if you removed the fluff and focused on her stage show. The movie wants to present Silverman as something more than a mere comedian, but unfortunately fails -- the haphazard presentation and (especially) the atrocious-looking digital video (I challenge you to find a single sharply focused object in the entire movie) make it unworthy of a cinematic event.

In other words, it's worth seeing, but wait for cable or DVD.

Details

Official Sites:

IDP FIlms

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 December 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$128,000, 13 November 2005

Gross USA:

$1,324,339

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,343,259

Company Credits

Production Co:

Black Gold Films (II)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

72 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1