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In This Section

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The Way of the Blade Local fest cuts a swath through the Japanese samurai genre

The Human Landscape Writer-director Terrence Malick trains his gaze on the settlers of The New World

 

 

In This Issue

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All Different Shades of Black Nashville photographer Carlton Wilkinson celebrates African American beauty

Apocalypse in Alabama Local writer’s debut novel pits love and faith against the forces of evil

On the Road Again Another fictional hero heads across America

The Blues as Vocation Singer-guitarist Susan Tedeschi found her life’s calling playing the blues

The Dark Side

Public Art

Consumer Correspondent

Fisk Investigates Sale of Jubilee Hall “This place will make some great condos”: O’ Leary

 

 

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Reach Out in the Darkness The Nashville International Black Film Festival seeks to reconnect a divided city

America in Black and White Provocateur Lars Von Trier returns with his latest film, ready to yank our chains

CSI: South Korea Asian cop drama reinvigorates the American serial-killer thriller

Watching and Waiting The point of Caché may be elusive, but it’s still a nerve-rackingly effective film

The Fast and the Curious Anthony Hopkins vehicle runs long on charm

All Gore, No Thrills Violent horror flicks don’t need to have a point, but they should at least have a sense of style

Reeling in the Year The Scene’s film critics look back on the cinematic highlights of 2005

 

 

The Author

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Noel Murray

 

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Sarah Silverman’s stand-up comedy concert film Jesus Is Magic opens with Silverman telling a couple of boastful friends that she’s planning a big one-woman show about “The Holocaust…and AIDS.” And damned if she doesn’t do just that over the next 70-plus minutes. But before she hits the stage and gets to the jokes—which, indeed, touch on both AIDS and the Holocaust—Silverman launches into a rambling, rocking opening song about how she’s got to pull her shit together and do this show so she can get back to what she really loves: smoking pot.

Silverman breaks up her stand-up routine a couple more times for little music videos of her own songs, and a lot of viewers have complained that Jesus Is Magic drags when the music starts. They’re dead wrong. Silverman’s catchy, scabrous tunes are what make Jesus Is Magic a real performance film, comparable to Liza With a ‘Z’ or Richard Pryor: Live in Concert (though certainly not as good as either). Silverman’s a funny lady, but she’s not especially dynamic onstage, and without those moments when she gets all dressed up and sings, “I love you more than black people don’t tip,” Jesus Is Magic would just be a string of shocking one-liners.

Because here’s the big secret about Sarah Silverman that the 14,000 magazine profiles of her all have missed: she’s not that relevant. She’s smart and charismatic, and any comic who can make observations like, “If you ever take a shower with your boyfriend, your breasts will be squeaky clean,” is worthy of respect. But Silverman’s coquette provocateur act is based on her being so ironically petulant that her jokes lose any real meaning. Yes, she’s spoofing political correctness by delivering the inappropriate comments of a bigot in the tone of a sensitive liberal, but her jokes only singe and never burn. Since there’s no one really like the character she’s portraying, she’s ultimately only making fun of herself.

Still, Silverman became the “It” girl last fall for good reason—her go-for-broke willingness to pick up a guitar and belt one out. She’s got a strong voice, a flair for melody and a winning smile that can make the line, “No, it’s not cold in here, you’re just dying,” sound kind of sweet.