Posted by Mr. Beaks

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The first time I encountered Sarah Silverman was on The Larry Sanders Show, where she was playing a bi-curious comedy writer taking swings for the other team with Mary Lynn Rajskub. ; I admired her daring. ; Actually, that’s bullshit; I thought it was hot that she was making out with another chick. ; I later found out that Rajskub was dating Jon Brion at the time, which struck me as a coincidence because I was a big fan of his music at the time. ; As for Silverman, she was lithe, brunette and Jewish – a fairly dead-on description of most of the girls I’ve dated for more than a month (slim pickin’s, but, I think, not insignificant).

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With that paragraph wasted, let’s turn our attention to Sarah Silverman: Jesus is Magic, a concert film with intermittent sketches directed by Liam Lynch, who’s making his feature debut after establishing his cult comedy credentials with The Sifl and Olly Show. ; Though Lynch’s off-kilter imagination is evident in the film’s several musical numbers, it’s Silverman’s scabrous material that carries the day, or, if you’ve a thin skin, incites a coordinated protest. ; The savagery of her act has drawn numerous comparisons to Lenny Bruce, which is sacrilege until you realize no one outside of Dave Chappelle and “Bring the Pain”-era Chris Rock have dared to challenge racial taboos with comparable vitriol over the last ten years. ; The girl’s got moxie. ;

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Last week, I took part in a press conference masquerading as a roundtable and emerged with the following transcript, which exposes Silverman as a veteran comedian who knows how to handle a room full of amateur reporters. ; She bounded into the room with a plucky “Hi, everyone”, sat down in a swiveling chair, and graciously answered our questions, which, depending on the individual, were either thoughtful or flat-out imbecilic. ; Here’s how it panned out:

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(As the recording devices are gradually arrayed before her:) ; It’s like some weird electronic version of (mimics the solitary slow clap that turns into wild applause).

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Does anyone ever give you a hard time for making jokes about rape?

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Um, no. ; I’m sure there are people that don’t appreciate it. ; I’m certainly not making fun of rape; I just happen to have jokes with rape in it. ; If I was a woman recently raped, I probably would not appreciate the trivialization of rape by me. ; But I always say if you take the “e” off of “rape”, you’ll see it gets a bad “rap”. ; Right? ; (Pause. ; Some laughter.) ; No, that’s terrible. ; I don’t think it’s funny; it’s just funny because it’s totally not funny. ; Ew.

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I haven’t seen your live show, but, from what I understand, having seen the movie I really have seen your live show. ; Can you talk about how people who’ve seen your live show might see this coming out and say, “Oh, let’s see this”, and then get the same thing?

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What do you mean “the same thing”? ; You mean the same material?

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(As if he’s sprung a big “gotcha”:) I haven’t seen your live show, but someone told me it’s pretty much the same.

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But I did the live show before I did the movie. ; This is a movie of that live show. ; Now, when I do five or ten minute sets, I’m not headlining anymore. ; I’m basically starting over. ; One thing about stand-up is, when you start over and you’re writing new material, you have to support that new material with jokes that work until you have enough new material that’s solid that you can drop those jokes off. ; That’s the way comedy works. ; I don’t mean that in a condescending way. ; One time, years ago, some guy was writing an article for New York magazine – he was interviewing me – and he said, “I went to see Dom Irrera two nights ago, and he was great. ; Then I went to see him the next night, and he did the same show.” ; I was like, “Why are you in charge of writing this? ; Do you think Richard Pryor did a new show every night? ; It’s something you hone over a long period of time. ; You dump stuff and you add stuff, and—“

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(But he won’t let up!) ; I guess what I was getting at is that your fans presumably have seen your show, and if they go to see this movie they presumably know all the jokes before they happen.

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I don’t know if you were ever into comedy albums or anything, but the comedy albums I had I listened to over and over again. ; It doesn’t wear off. ; Good stand-up, and I’m not talking about myself – when I would listen to Woody Allen or Steve Martin comedy albums, I’d listen to them over and over again. ; I knew every beat, the cadence of every joke, and I wasn’t disappointed when I pressed “play” again at the beginning. ; A lot of times, you do new material and people want you to do [your old bits]. ; You can’t please everybody. ; You have to find a balance.

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What’s some of your new stuff.

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I don’t have any. ; (Laughter) ; It’s hard, because I’m doing all this publicity; I did all of this new stuff [for a Los Angeles Times reporter], and she’s quoting all of this stuff that is in its infancy. ; It has a long way to go, but I’ve been doing stuff about Kabbalah and Scientology, and a little more racial stuff for good measure.

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Has anyone ever waited for you after a show threatening to kick your ass because they really think you are a racist?

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Yes.

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What was the worst incident?

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I learned pretty early to never defend my material. ; It’s just not for me to defend. ; If someone else wants to defend it, that’s fine, but [comedy’s] so subjective; if you don’t think it’s funny, it’s definitely going to be offensive.

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Were you ever scared?

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There were a couple of times I was escorted out the back door. ; But usually no, because I don’t fight them on it.

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I guess I’m afraid that they’re going to fight you.

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I try to be as comforting as possible when people are mad. ; “I completely understand. ; I’m so sorry!” ; If you don’t think it’s funny, or are offended by it, you’re right. ; That’s what makes it, dare I say, art. ; It’s totally subjective. ; People are hearing it in the context of their own experience. ; I can’t cater my stand-up to each individual person’s experience and what they’re going to be offended by; that’s one freedom I’m very lucky I have. ; I’m not on network television, I’m not selling soap, I’m not trying to please people who are selling soap who are trying to please the people who are buying soap—

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(Referencing a joke from the film:) ; Just Fiji water.

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Just Fiji water! ; ;

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Are we in big trouble with the politically correct puritans rising to power? ; (“Rising?”)

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There’s always a backlash, so I think we could be on the cusp of a really good time in America. ; It’s absurd. ; Someone just asked me why I don’t do political jokes about George Bush. ; What’s the point? ; It’s already done. ; He wrote it. ; (Laughter)

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You told the [L.A. Times] that you won’t make jokes about overweight women.

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Nothing’s off-limits if it’s funny enough. ; If there was that perfect thing that was so great, but I keep getting the same question: ; “Does anything offend you?” ; And, when I really thought about it – and I know it’s absurd considering the subject matter of my own material; it’s very hypocritical, but it’s my own feelings – fat jokes about women bum me out. ; I think because all women feel like they’re fat women inside, in America, anyway. ; And also because fat women are seen so differently – fat men still deserve love. ; It’s terrifying. ; Women can probably relate to that. ; That said, I would never tell my comic friends, “Don’t do that! ; That’s offensive.” ; If something’s not my cup of tea, I would really be a hypocrite to scoff. ;

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But you never were fat; it’s just a concern.

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I don’t know about you. ; I mean, you’re skinny.

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No. ; You’re skinny. ; Hello.

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But if you saw… my thighs have been frosted over the years with cottage cheese. ; I don’t know how it happened, but it’s disgusting. ; I used to be able to wear a bikini, then I could wear a one piece; now, I wear board shorts. ; Whatever.

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What was the origin of this project? ; What were you hoping to do for yourself and your career by making this movie?

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Get famous. ; (Laughter) ; When I was doing the show, my friend Steve asked if he could watch the show from the wings, and I said, “Yeah”. ; It was cool to just have him right there like a little secret. ; I did some bits that didn’t end up in the movie, but I did the flicking of the sad tear to the side, and he pretended to catch it and pleasure himself with it. ; I was dying laughing, and the audience didn’t know why I was laughing. ; I explained it to them, and I thought, “This could be a really cool visual thing”. ; It was that one moment where I thought I could see this as a… different kind of movie.

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When you bomb with material as potentially offensive as yours, can you ever get the audience back?

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I often can’t get the audience back.

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So what do you do?

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Lately, I’ve been giggling. ; I did a corporate gig recently in New York. ; I was booked kind of last minute; it was the show opening the new Nokia Times Square Stage. ; The show was Mary J. Blige, Sean Paul and Eddie Griffin. ; I was unbilled. ; They shot it for MTV, and [the audience] was all that MTV seventeen year-old, picture-perfect fake audience. ; I remember saying to one of the producers, “Oh, I’m going to bomb!” ; And he’s like, “Oh, no. ; These are all kids, but in the back it’s all Nokia executives.” ; “Oh, that’s so comforting.” ; I was like, “I’m gonna bomb. ; So what, it’ll be fun.” ; And I realize me and Eddie are booked [to fill in for] when the bands are changing. ; The band is tuning up behind me, but you just ignore it; the audience can’t really hear it. ; I actually did okay for a while. ; Nickelback was on the show – the guy with long blond hair – and I was like, “I met the lead singer of Nickelback backstage. ; She’s beautiful!” ; I had ‘em going, and stuff, and then I got into the bit about writing a letter to Martin Luther King, and the second I said that, they were like, “Uh-uh! ; No way! ; Boo!” ; I just plowed through it. ; I had two friends with me, and was just like (looking off to them while laughing very nervously). ; I just kept going, but it was downhill from there.

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But I get off stage, and Eddie Griffin was like, “That was great! ; That was so f-in’ courageous. ; You just say what’s on your mind. ; You’re just like Lenny Bruce. ; Or me!” ; But he was so nice. ; He was like, “These kids don’t know. ; They just listen to buzzwords. ; That’s all they hear.” ; I said, “Thanks a lot. ; That really means a lot coming from you.” ; Because he really has his finger on the pulse of… he’s a famous comedian, but huge in the black community. ; It was really nice hearing that from him. ; I mean, I doubt myself; I just don’t shut my mouth.

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So I say, “I’m going to watch Eddie”. ; I brave the audience, and stand there in front of the stage. ; And maybe one joke in, the band behind the curtain starts tuning up – it was going on all through mine, too – and he was like, “What the fuck!?!? ; Shut the fuck up!!!” ; It was funny, but then he turns back and he goes, “The black man comes on and they’re tuning their instruments! ; Meanwhile, the white girl comes on, and she’s talking about Martin Luther King…”, and the audience is like (imitates their deafening roar of approval). ; Everyone around me is [pointing at me] going, “In your face!” ; And I’m just like, “Oh, my god!” ; He totally sold me out. ; But you know what? ; Even though I can’t fucking believe he did that, I understand the impulse of knowing how hard you can kill with a line that’s just come into your head and is so perfect. ; He knew the crowd was just ready to receive it. ; I understand it. ; And it’s worth it for the story.

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When did you realize you had a different way of looking at the world?

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Um… (long pause), I don’t know. ; Right now? ; During this press tour? ; (Pause) ; Within the cocoon of my family, I wasn’t like some sort of outcast or weird compared to my sisters or parents; they’re all weird. ; My dad was one of those dad’s who thought it was hilarious to teach his daughter swear words. ; The first thing I said was, “Bitch, bastard, damn, shit.” ; (Facetiously, I think:) And it was hilarious. ; But my guess is I got such positive reactions at such an early age because I said these swears my dad taught me, I think it probably fed into something that damaged me in this way. ; (Laughter)

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But were you always so adorable, too?

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I was. ;

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But it’s hard to be offended when you’ve got this pretty white smile.

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I like to think of myself as “Hot-larious”. ;

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Do you think it would work if you weren’t, though?

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I don’t know. ; Look, I’m cute, but I’m totally approachable cute. ; In two articles, they called me “coltish”, and I know that’s a nice way of saying “horse face”. ; (Laughter) ;

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How does it work with you and Jimmy dividing up jokes?

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I never fight over jokes. ; There’s so much that he’ll give me because he could never say it on ABC. ; I’m established enough, I know who I am enough, and write my own stuff enough that I have no problem if he wants to give me a bit that is perfect. ; Totally. ; He’s a great, great writer – so prolific and so far beyond what you can see in the limits of network television.

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Have you ever had a bit that was so out there, so offensive, that even your biggest fans were like, “We’re not laughing at that”.

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Probably, but if I say, “Yes”, you’ll say, “Which one?”, and I can’t think of one.

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Have you ever done a bit that you regretted a couple of years down the line, something you saw on an old videotape?

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I don’t really look at old videotapes. ; And I love looking at myself. ; I TiVo things, and it becomes so old that I have to erase it. ; In the movie, there’s something my mom begged me to take out, and I totally understand. ; I would’ve taken it out, but it’s too late and I liked it.

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Was it the Holocaust part?

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No. ; It won’t be anything you’d guess. ; After the credits, when it’s just the outtake stuff, and I’m looking at a picture of me in [the 1960’s getup she dons for a musical number], off the top of my head I say, “I look like Marlo Thomas after she just saw her dad underneath a glass coffee table with a girl taking a shit on it.” ; (Laughter) ; Because there’s that rumor that Danny Thomas was a “plate man”. ; I don’t know if that’s true or not, but if you go to Canter’s Deli “The Danny Thomas” is the “Number Two”. ; But she was like (imitating her incensed mother:), “Danny Thomas was a great man, and you shouldn’t reduce him to just that! ; He did wonderful things! ; He opened a children’s hospital for cancer!” ; I agree with everything she said, and I feel terrible. ; I do believe that Danny Thomas should be remembered as a great man who opened a children’s hospital and was a great entertainer and family man. ; But what are you gonna do?

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Sarah Silverman: Jesus is Magic opens this Friday, November 11^th in limited New York and Los Angeles.