In the spirit of the first three
Thou Shalt Laugh films,
Thou Shalt Laugh 4 provides some great stand up comedy… that’s actually clean!
Thou Shalt Laugh 4 is a collection of stand up comics doing comedy in a church for a Christian audience. It’s hosted by John Tesh… not exactly my style. Maybe I’m just a little young, but he’s not on any of my iPod lists.
Several of the comics really delivered… and a few didn’t. So just be ready with the remote control; you might find yourself skipping a comedian… or two.
Here’s my review of each comedian:
Rex Havens: He started the whole thing off. Really bad choice to start. I think a lot of people will bail out on the whole DVD after three minutes of his routine. I’m a big standup fan. This just wasn’t worth but a chuckle or two.
Joe Wong: Joe was really funny, but his pacing was
very slow. He used the slow pace as a tool for laughs, but I think some people will grow impatient and hit the skip button. Too bad. He’s actually quite funny.
Dana Daniels: Dana is a magician with a parrot. Really funny with some great gags. He looks like he’d be fun live because he interacted with the audience real well.
Isaac Witty… wasn’t. Yeah… he was just okay. A little witty at times, but he also needed some work on pacing, and many of today’s younger generation will just think he’s weird.
Michael Jr.: Michael was the best of the bunch, hands down! He was smooth and confident and seemed a notch above the rest. I’m gonna be looking him up and seeing if he has more material available.
Taylor Mason: This is his fourth appearance in the
Thou Shalt Laugh series of DVDs… and possibly he should have quit at three. My three kids are all fans of Taylor and his puppets from the past, and all three thought he was boring in this one.
It’s too bad really. A few of these comedians showed great talent. They were just joined by a few real duds. The good thing about this DVD is that it’s chaptered by each comedian. You’ll find good use out of your CHAPTER SKIP FORWARD button during this film.
SHOULD KIDS SEE IT?
Sure. Totally clean.
Conversation Starter
Three Simple Questions (with Answers You May Be Looking for):
- What are some of the messages or themes you observed in this movie?
- How do you suppose we—as serious Christ-followers—should react to this movie?
- How can we move from healthy, Bible-based opinions about this movie to actually living out those opinions?
Jonathan McKee, president of The Source for Youth
Ministry, is the author of numerous books including the new
Should I Just Smash My Kid's Phone?, and youth ministry books like
Ministry By Teenagers,
Connect: Real Relationships in a
World of Isolation, and the award winning book
Do They Run When They See You Coming? Jonathan
speaks and trains at conferences, churches and events across North
America, all while providing free resources for youth workers and parents on his
websites,
TheSource4YM.com and
TheSource4Parents.com. You can follow Jonathan on
his blog, getting a regular dose of youth culture and parenting help.
Jonathan and his wife Lori, and their three teenagers Alec, Alyssa and Ashley live
in California.
