Thou Shalt Laugh

Everybody Loves Raymond star/flaming neocon Patricia Heaton emcees this night of Christian-only comedians, if only to prove how unemployable she’s become. No topic is off limits here, unless it acknowledges the existence of human genitalia—expect plenty of riffs on the vagaries of Christian bookstores and pastors whose sermons go on too long (we’ve all been there). Up-and-comer Michael Jr. is able to milk a few profanity-free laughs, but the rest of the comedians perform the miracle of making Dave Coulier seem both dirty and funny. Good intentions aside, this is strictly Rupert Pupkin-grade material, although it’s somewhat comforting to know that contemporary Christian comedians are just as befuddled by joke structure, improvisation and simple comic timing as their secular counterparts.