It’s only natural that the more people complain that a film is greatly offensive, the more we get intrigued enough to want to see it. Even more so when the whiners are the ultra-conservative religious who are up in arms about a comedy satire group that put their spin on celebrating the Baby Jesus’s birthday. Well, actually it’s his 30th Birthday but his family are still living in a manger as the furniture that Joseph makes for a living is …….how can we say this nicely? …..crappy!
The First Temptation of Christ is a 45 minute TV Special by Brazil’s Portos dos Fundos Comedy Troupe (it stands for Back Door) on the country’s ‘You Tube Channel. They caused a real stir last year with their previous film The Last Hangover a crude, but hysterically funny parody of The Last Supper.
Once again it’s all very bawdy, completely manic, desperately offensive, and deliberately blasphemous which we unashamedly loved without reservation. Yes, it is all very lowbrow and has plenty of cheap jabs at everybody including God. It also takes a perfect swipe at the country’s homophobia as this Jesus in not only gay but he’s just brought along his new flamboyant boyfriend who he picked up in the desert where he had gone to ‘find himself’
God has been posing as Jesus’s Uncle Vittorio, but much to Joseph’s dismay he now wants to tell Jesus the truth. God always had the hots for Mary and now wants her to have another baby but this time the old fashioned way.
Meanwhile the Three Wise Men are really pissed off about having to come back every year and would much prefer to be on a beach in Mykonos. They are skimping on the gifts now. Instead of myrrh they pluck flowers by the roadside and Melchior has brought his famous ham and cheese sandwich, forgetting that the Jesus family are all jews.
God at least brought an angel wing cake, announcing that no angels had been harmed in the making. That provokes a rather Joseph to remark that joke was so old and that even Moses had used it. They are only serving water at the party as Jesus hasn’t learnt how to change it into wine yet.
The whole thing is undeniably crass and at the end even takes aim at other religions when Jesus dreams of having conversation with Buddha, Shiva, Haile Selassie and a Lizard Man who claims to be a friend of John Travolta. But that for us is part of the joy, for anyone that self-righteously uses their religion simply as a stick to hit others over the head are fair game when it comes to having a laugh at their expense.
To view both trailer in English and the Film itself go too www.netflix.com
P.S. If you really hate it (but why?) you could always add your name to the 1.4 million you have petitioned Netflix to get it banned
