Depending on the configuration of your personal Offense-O- Meter, Sarah Silverman is either one of the fun-niest, most intrepid stand-up comedians working today, or a foul-mouthed punk and serial violator of all that is sacred in this world. “When God gives you AIDS – and God does give you AIDS, by the way – make LemonAIDS,” she tells a sold-out crowd at North Hollywood’s El Portal Theater, where the concert footage that makes up most of “Jesus is Magic” was shot (the movie also contains a few so-so skits and some irreverent music videos). LemonAIDS is about as PC as Silverman gets in a comedic repertoire that includes riffs on race (“The best time to have a baby is when you’re a black teenager”), her own sexuality (“I was raped by a doctor, which is a bittersweet experience for a Jewish girl”) to role models (“Strippers … if only for the fact that they wax their (butts)”). At times laugh out loud funny, occasionally cringe-inducing, “Jesus is Magic” is a bold statement from a woman unafraid to emulate the example of controversial forebears such as Lenny Bruce and Richard Pryor.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 11, 2005. Read the original PDF.