Thou Shalt Laugh

Wow... It's hack comedy at it's finest. Christian comedy doesn't have to be pointless and glib to be funny. The best comedy comes from pain and the Bible is full of F'd up painful stories. Let's just say you won't be hearing any Sodom and Gomorrah jokes. It's produced by the blue collar comedy guy, so take that for what it's worth.

On a positive note, there's all kinds of funny in the world and even the kind that's not intentional can spark a laugh. So if you like that kind of funny, this video is for you. And it's definitely safe for the whole family to watch. It's cardboard served with a side of a vanilla yogurt. If diversity doesn't offend you, you even get a black comic, a lady comic, a young comic and even a Hispanic comic. Cause hey, there's room for everybody in Jesus's house (yeah it's filmed in a church).

I reviewed Eddie Murphy Raw here, giving it 1/10 stars since all his "jokes" were crude. We need more comedy films like Thou Shalt Laugh. It's consistently gut-busting hilarious and I have seen it 3 times entirely since my birthday-10 months ago! Everyone in the family should see this, Christian or not. Micheal Jr and Jeff Allen are the best in my opinion. Some comedians ARE better than others but are all good in there own right. There are a few others of these-I will have to purchase them when I get a chance. They are all Christian comedians but you don't need to be religious to get the jokes. And if your sense of humor MUST have dirtiness-Micheal Jr talks about breastfeeding. Thou Shalt see this-and THOU WILL LAUGH!

This is really good. I liked the fact that it isn't preachy, and the comics are clearly professional. There is no agenda here, just stand-up comedy in a beautiful theater (it might be a church) in the Los Angeles area. I was not impressed with Ms. Heaton's performance, but she's not a comedienne. She's an actress, clearly involved with this release because of her celebrity. Weird, but the best act wasn't even a comic. The last act used puppets, and it's the first time I've ever laughed at a puppet act. He brought people out of the audience and gave his puppets to them and they manipulated while he tried to sync his voice with the puppet mouths. Hilarious. He is worth the price of the DVD by himself.

When one chooses to pick up a "comedy" video, one hopes that laughter would be the only element pushed. One would also hope that if it were a variety program such as this, that the host would further gel everything together providing us with even more laughter and moments of enjoyment. That is not the case with Thou Shalt Laugh. Everything, I repeat, everything was placed in a bizarro blender and cheaply served on paper plates. The humor, from every comedian that decided to walk upon the stage, was horrid. I found myself laughing at none of the jokes -- I was unable to relate (spiritually or otherwise) to the entire gist of the program. I was at a loss with the cheap designs, the ill planned introductions by Heaton (who obviously read the cue cards and collected her paycheck), and the boredom felt by both the audience and performers. Michael Jr. is a prime example of feeling out of place, giving us a feeling of being out of place, and how the camera just seemed to linger on him even further ... thus leading further into the errors of this program. Fairness.

Fairness needs to be present when doing a film of this nature. The audience will respect the program further if each comic has the same amount of time and material. To me, and probably to others, it looks bad when one comic is allowed twenty minutes, while the next is only allowed five. Obviously director Cooke saw that the talent wasn't as strong as he liked so he cut others off, while demonstrating favoritism to the others. Boasting the next Blue Collar crew, Cooke tries -- too hard -- to reenact that same environment and sensation, but instead of transforming a bunch of unknowns into superstardom, he falls flat on his face. What made Blue Collar work was the fact that it was headlined by one already established comedian, and then two (JUST TWO) smaller ones. That allowed us to get to know the comedians, to get comfortable with their rhythm and style, before making a judgment. Alas, that was not the case here. The viewers are bombarded with one comedian after the next without any sign of acceptance or enjoyment. Sure, there are the cliché images of those viewers laughing, but Cooke tries to out do us yet again by only showing the same three people in a nonconsecutive loop. Eventually, I found myself smiling at the fact that I recognized the same old audience members, and felt more of a connection to them than to the actual comedians. Again, this was just another breaking point to an already blunderous ordeal.

I think where this film utterly failed was that it boasted the greatest and sub-performed with the follow-through. One of the taglines to this film was, "seven of the funniest Christian comedians on Earth", so with that said, laughter was to follow. Blue Collar was funny because a full range of audience members could relate. If you were not a redneck, sipping your Miller Lite from a koozie with your favorite Segar album boldly printed on the foam, than you at least knew someone that fit the mold. That element is where Thou Shalt Laugh missed the mark. It didn't appeal to a general audience. There was no profanity in the delivery of the jokes, the overall tone of the film was G at best, but there just seemed to be something lacking. From a puzzle perspective, things didn't fit together at all from the beginning to end. The host was a distraction from the main attraction which boasted big stars of which could not deliver. It was sad moment for Christian comedy, not because they didn't try (because they did), but because it was horribly constructed, falsely delivered, and held together with the worst cohesiveness possible, unfunny jokes.

Overall, anyone can tell a clean joke – but should they be considered a Christian comedian? I think these comedians could have taken it to the next level, but instead (staying on par with the theme of the film), they performed below average and watched as unsuspecting audience members uttered forced laughter and painful responses. Nothing in this direct-to-video release worked. Heaton was a waste of money and talent, Cooke's direction was horrid – almost to the point of "home-movie-ish", and the comedians – as I repeat again – just were not funny. I would think that would need to be a big element to this film, but alas, it was not. I do not suggest this film to anyone, unless you are in desperate need of a good night's sleep. I applaud Christian comics, but I believe what was demonstrated here was utter blasphemy.

Grade: * out of *****

I guess some people think comedy has to be crude to be funny, but I'm not one of them. I thought this was hilariously funny, and I laughed so hard my stomach hurts, especially at the improv puppet session at the end of the show. I couldn't stop laughing. All in all, I give it a 10 and hope to see more of these wonderful comedians soon. They all had a terrific positive message that was both entertaining and relevant. However, I suppose if your sense of humor is on par with your average teenage boy, I.E. bathroom humor and penis jokes, then no, this definitely isn't for you. But if you're looking for some good clean laughs that the whole family can enjoy, then I highly recommend this movie.