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SARAH SILVERMAN on 'JESUS IS MAGIC'
Contributed by Michael J. Lee, Executive Editor
for Radio Free Entertainment
November 2, 2005
In her part-standup/part-song-and-dance concert movie Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic, comedienne Sarah Silverman uses her trademark brand of humor to deliver bits on rape, disease, race relations, 9/11, religion, and the Holocaust. (You know...All in a day's work.) In this interview, the comic talks about using potentially sensitive subjects in her routine.
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The Interview
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MEDIA: What were you hoping to accomplish by making this movie?
SARAH: Get famous. No, ummm... [pauses] Yeah, get famous.
Do women give you a hard time for making jokes about rape?
I'm sure there are people that don't appreciate it. You know, all these topics...I'm certainly not making fun of rape. I just happen to have jokes with rape in it. But if I was a woman recently raped, I probably would not appreciate the trivialization of rape by me. [pauses] But I always say, if you take the "e" off of rape, you'll see it gets a bad rap! Right? No, that's terrible. I don't think it's funny. It just was funny because it's totally not funny. Sorry.
Now that you've used a lot of your standup routine for this movie, you're working on new material, yes? How is that going?
I'm basically starting over. But one thing about standup is that 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. I mean, a lot of times, people...like one time, years ago, some guy was writing an article...and he was interviewing me. And he was like, "I went to see Dom Irrera two nights ago. He was great. And then I saw him the next night, and he did the same show." And it's like, "Why are you being in charge of writing this?! You think Richard Pryor did a new show every night?" It's something you hone over a long period of time, and you dump stuff and you add stuff.
What are some of the topics of your new material?
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.
What do you say to people who are offended by your act?
I never defend my material, because it's just not for me to defend. If somebody else wants to defend my material, that's fine. But it's so subjective, comedy. And if you don't think it's funny, it's definitely going to be offensive.
When you bomb with an audience, can you ever get them back?
I often can't get the audience back.
So what do you do?
Lately, I've just been giggling. [laughs] Nervous giggling.
Have you ever been worried about getting your ass kicked by someone who didn't appreciate your jokes?
Well, there were a couple of times I was escorted out the back door of the Improv. But usually, no, because I don't fight them on it.
How do you handle those types of situations?
I try to be as comforting as possible when people are mad. "I completely understand, I'm so sorry." If you are offended by it, or you don't think it's funny, you're right. That's what makes it (dare I say?) art. [laughs] Because it's totally subjective and people are hearing it in the context of their own experience. I can't cater my standup 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 or something.
Is comedy being jeopardized by political correctness and puritanical conservatives?
Well, my hope is that it's gotten so extreme that there's always a backlash. So I think that we could be on the cusp of a really good time in America. I'm hoping, because it's absurd. [laughs] Someone was just asking me, "Why don't you do political jokes about George Bush?" But it's like, what's the point? It's a joke. It's already done. He wrote it, you know? It's just not interesting.
Is it true you won't make "fat jokes" about women?
I think nothing's off limits if it's funny enough--if there was that perfect thing that was so great. I kept 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)...Fat jokes about women bum me out, I think because all women are fat women inside, you know? In America, anyway. And also because fat women are seen so differently. Like fat men still deserve love, you know? So it's terrifying. And I think, probably, women can relate to that same fear. But that said, I would never tell my comic friends or anybody, "Don't do that" or "That's offensive." Never. If something's not my cup of tea, I would really be a hypocrite to scoff.
Did you ever have a problem with obesity?
No. But it's a constant struggle...I mean, 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. I wear like bermuda shorts and a t-shirt. It's terrifying.
Growing up, did you have a different outlook on humor as those around you?
Within the cocoon of my family, I wasn't some sort of outcast or weird compared to my sisters or parents. They're all weird. I mean, my dad was one of those dads who thought it was hilarious to teach his daughter swear words. Like the first thing I said was, "B*tch b*stard damn sh*t." And my dad taught me, and it was hilaaaaarious! But I got such positive reaction at such an early age because I said these swears that my dad taught me, I think it probably fed into something that damaged me in this way.
What was your bat mitzvah like?
I wasn't bat mitzvahed. Not a religious family. My sister is a rabbi, but she got into it on her own. We were not bat mitzvahed. We went to temple once a year, and my dad let us bring a book to put inside the prayer book.
Do you think you can get away with saying some of the things you say by being cute?
I like to think of myself as "hot-larious." Ummm...I don't know. Maybe not. Listen...I'm cute, but I'm totally "approachable cute." In two articles, they called me coltish. And I know that it's a nice way of saying "horse-faced." [laughs]
Have you ever done a bit that ran the risk of alienating even your biggest fans?
Probably. But if I say yes, you'll say which one, and I can't think of one. But I [bomb] all the time, because you try new stuff. You have to try it in front of an audience. And sometimes there's a resounding no. [laughs] But depending on how much you love it personally, you keep trying it until there's no fighting it anymore. You have to drop it.
Have you ever watched old tapes of yourself and regretted a routine you've done?
I don't really look at old tapes. And I love looking at myself. But what I do is I TiVo things, and then it becomes so old on my TiVo it gets erased, and I don't have it anymore. But I don't know. Not really. In the movie, there's something my mom begged me to take out. And I totally understand. And I would have taken it out, but it was kind of too late, and I liked it. But I totally understand what she's saying. I say "totally" a lot. It's not very deep-sounding.
What did she want you to take out?
It won't be anything you would guess. It's like after the credits, when it's just the outtake kind of stuff, and I was in that '60s thing, and I say I look like Marlo Thomas after she just saw her dad underneath a glass coffee table with a girl taking a sh*t on it. 'Cuz, you know, there's that rumor that Danny Thomas was a "plate man." I don't know if it's true or not, but if you go to Canter's Deli, the Danny Thomas is the #2. But [my mom] was like, "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!" And I agree with everything she says, and I feel terrible, and 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. [shrugs] But what are you gonna do?
Thanks for your time.
Thank you.
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