Coexist Comedy Tour

The original concept for this documentary—directed by horror schlockmeister Larry Brand—was to bring six comedians of different religious faiths together on stage for one night of religious-themed standup. That high-minded gimmick—to “unite the world's religions for a few moments”—is supposed to be a sort of “can't we all get along” testing ground to see if some common ground could be found amongst a Christian, a Muslim, a Hindu, a Jew, a Buddhist, and an atheist. But then the Christian comic drops out, and Brand intercuts the painful audition process for the Christian substitute with the live onstage acts of the featured comedians. Not surprisingly, much of the humor stems from poking fun at each others' faiths: “I don't have anything against Muslims,” says the Buddhist comic, “but I wouldn't want to fly with them.” The biggest surprise turns out to be that the Jewish comic is actually angrier and more profane than even the atheist. Although the original “experiment” of bringing these faiths together in some symbolic or meaningful way never quite comes to fruition, the strong material from each comedian here (including a guest appearance by seasoned pro John Fugelsang) makes this well worth watching. Recommended. (M. Sandlin)