One day I check a DVD out from my local public library, the Clean Comedy Stand-Up Tour (please don't ask me why.) True to its name, the four comedians featured in the broadcast did not swear or discuss anything a young person wouldn't want to talk about with their parents. That's fine to me, but it suffered one problem, it wasn't that funny.
In the comedians' defense, broadcasts of live comedy acts usually lose something from the theatre, but this disappointing. Afterward, I realized why they advertised themselves as "The Clean Comedy Stand-Up Tour," its a handicap. There are famous clean comedians, Bill Cosby and Jerry Seinfeld come to mind immediately, but they never had to go out of their way to advertise their family-friendliness. These four aspiring comedians must have realized they could get a guaranteed audience as soon as they said it wouldn't include jokes about bestiality or Jack Kevorkian. It must have been too easy.
The other trick these guys had to sell themselves? They're "Christian Comedians." A segment of the DVD includes a specially message from the men explaining why they gave their life to Jesus Christ. Something about this doesn't sit right with me, was it necessary to explicitly state they are Christians, especially since none of their material makes reference to the saving power of Jesus Christ and the promise of eternal life? I'm an Episcopalian, and so is Robin Williams, and he doesn't find it necessary to curb his language for the sake of the show. When I was in high school, a laser tag arena opened near my house. The website had a page explaining how they are a Christian business. Christian laser tag? Were they afraid that the evangelical population of the town would think that Laser Tag was the work of Satan, and by having this explanation on their website was the only way to explain the faith behind their business? Jesus should not be a handicap.
The real irony of the Christian Comedy Tour is that the best joke was in the "Deleted Scenes" section of the DVD, which included the naughtier segments: "Some people ask me, 'are you pro-gay?' and I say no, and I'm not amateur-gay either."
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