A Different Type of Stand Up Comedy..."Thou Shalt Laugh"

On the 8th Day, God Created the Sense of Humor...

The Story:

Patricia Heaton (Everybody Loves Raymond) hosts a night of stand-up comedy by seven of the funniest comics in all of Christendom.

Proof that at least some Christians are humourous!

First, Patricia Heaton is a nice enough actress, but she's not a stand-up.  Or if she is, she's not very funny.  Sorry, I shouldn't judge, but I'm reviewing here!! : )

As for the line-up, the show hits the ground running:

Thor Ramsey comes out with his musings about life.  And how great is it that there is a Christian named Thor?!  :)

Michael Jr. follows with easily the set of the night.  I was laughing my head off with his wry observations and wordplay.  Cerebral like Steven Wright and George Carlin.  Great stuff.

Jeff Allen finishes off with the first three comics of the night, and really, he's the only one who even remotely works God into his act.

And then, it went off the rails for me.

Teresa Roberts Logan came out next, and I found her completely unfunny.  I think she had the shortest set, but it seemed to drag forever...

Until Joby Saad came out.  Dreadful.  I think I started playing Candy Crush or something during his set.

Gilbert Esquivel came out and started to dig out of the unfunny hole, but it wasn't until Taylor Mason came out with his ventriloquist dummies that the show ended on a high note.  His audience participation was a nice touch on the night.

Uneven, but mostly funny night, and it's good for the whole family.

Not a fan of crowd reaction shots in comedy concerts, I don't care who the comedian is.  I don't need to see people laughing hysterically.

: )

Now available to stream instantly on Netflix as of this writing.

Final Grade: C  I'll give a B+ for the first 3 comics... then I lost interest with the next three and finally came back when they brought in the ventriloquist.

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Won't buy it, but I'd watch the beginning and the end again for a quick laugh.

Shaft and Bo Duke Together at Last... "Set Apart"

Do they really raise "Dudes" on Dude Ranches?

The Story:

This is based on the true adventures of Pastor John Gunn (John Schneider) whose goal is to help inner city kids by sending them out to a ranch with his brother Randy and his wife Heidi, played by themselves.  With the help of a mysterious, yet Godly cowboy (Richard Roundtree), maybe these boys will find out there is more to life than drugs and crime.

Remember how I said that it's nice that Christian movies were getting better production values, actors, etc. etc. and were actually starting to hold their own?

Well, this one was made a few years ago, and is sort of that movie that is at the crossroads of the movement.

The acting and storyline are a bit wooden at times, but it's a beautiful movie to look at.

John Schneider has made several films, but his part is very minor so much of the acting is left to the real people, and the kids that are playing parts.

Richard Roundtree, Shaft himself,  is great, but underused as the mysterious cowboy.  The double-edged sword, had they utilized him more, it would likely soften the character.

The storyline also seems a little hokey that the problems the kids are trying to escape literally follow them across the country and pop up for the climax.

Agan, a little cheesy, but these types of films have come a long way in the last half decade, so that's a plus.

Available to stream instantly on Netflix as of this writing.

Final Grade: C

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Pretty sparse.  It's an okay movie, good for the whole family... great background noise if you're working on something that doesn't require too much attention being paid to the film.