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Brick Wall Comedy
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We Are Miracles

Sarah Silverman

HBO · 2013 · 53 min

A cheerfully profane set performed for thirty-nine people.

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Sarah Silverman spends this hour weaponizing silence. By stripping away the stadium crowds and placing herself in a microscopic room, she forces her casually vulgar persona into uncomfortably close quarters. The tension pays off. Without hundreds of fans to drown out the quiet moments, she lets awkwardness hang in the air. The strongest stretch of the night is a calculated routine about how rape jokes are actually a “hidden gem” for comedians looking to manufacture artificial edge—a bit that relies entirely on her signature wide-eyed, cheerful delivery of horrible concepts.

Taped in 2013 for HBO in front of exactly 39 people at Los Angeles’ Largo, the hour earned an Emmy for writing. Silverman had long established her brand of playing a deeply oblivious, casually cruel character, and this set refines that voice. She bounces erratically between the mundane and the profane, covering her nighttime cell-phone porn rituals, her 19-year-old dog, and the general miracle of human existence. The night wraps up with an acoustic guitar song that leans heavily on the C-word, a polite and tuneful delivery system for pure filth.

The set list

5 bits

  1. Rape jokes being a hidden gem in comedy.

    Argues ironically that rape victims are traditionally not complainers, eliciting uncomfortable self-examination from the audience.

  2. Women being targeted with vaginal deodorant products.

    Feminist critique of corporate messaging making women feel insecure, suggesting women just use whatever they wash their asshole with.

  3. Dog rescue enthusiasts vs. global orphan adoption.

    Satirizes moral posturing by contrasting people who prioritize shelter dogs over human adoption, remarking that if Africa were labradoodles dying of AIDS it would be solved in a day.

  4. God watching people masturbate.

    Sets up that God sees you masturbating, urges not stopping because he is almost there, before flatly declaring there is no God.

  5. Diva

    An acoustic closing song centered on vulgarity.

How it plays

Tone
Outrageously blue, satirical, awkward, irreverent, and intimate.
On stage
Provocative, sweet yet bawdy, adopting an ignorant or callous persona to smuggle sharp social commentary and taboo subjects into the open.
Pace
Deliberate, intimate cadence described as musical like a jazz soloist, contrasting slow pauses with fast-paced joke delivery.
About
religion, rape jokes, feminism and body standards, pornography, politics, dog shelter adoption vs. human orphanages

What the critics said

Widely praised by critics for sharp, well-constructed joke writing, daring subject matter, and the uniquely intimate small-room format, despite a few controversial risks dividing viewers.

In the room: An ultra-intimate crowd of 39 people whose laughter was tight, tentative, and self-conscious at times as they squirmed through dark topics.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: imdb.com, subpop.com, directv.com, vulture.com, timeout.com, nytimes.com, pastemagazine.com, en.wikipedia.org, www-s1.npr.org.

Backstory

Filmed in the intimate back room of Largo in front of an invited audience of just 39 people.

Details

Released
Taped
Largo, Los Angeles
Runtime
53 min
Where
HBO
Director
Liam Lynch
Honors
Won 1 Primetime Emmy Award (3 nominations total)
Topics
Before
Jesus Is Magic (2005)
After
A Speck of Dust (2017)

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