Review of Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic (2005) by Michael A — 17 Oct 2009

I can't think of another movie I've seen in recent memory where I tried really, really hard to like more than this one. And most of it lies behind the fact that I know what Sarah Silverman is capable of and I enjoy her brand of comedy. But between you and me, this movie sucked.

I went through all five stages of grief from denial (no, that unfunny musical number did not just happen) to acceptance (yeah, this movie blows) in a matter of 70 minutes. The musical numbers themselves bring this movie down not only in terms of its quality but it ruins the flow of her stand-up routine, and her material is very good. The numbers just feel long, awkward, and inappropriately prissy, and the way it's structured it feels like the stand-up is a short respite for the big musical payoff, which stinks. A stand-up special on HBO or something would have been much better.

The highlights for me were the two scenes that bookend the movie (featuring her sister Laura and \m/ Brian Posehn \m/) , mostly because it reminds me of Silverman's TV program, which is a brilliant show, and not even by comparison. Avoid this movie.