I am a fan of stand-up comedy. I’ve even done stand-up myself. It’s a subject I have some experience with, then. One thing I can tell you… comedy is extremely subjective. What I find humorous might leave you cold, and vice versa. It’s just the way comedy works.

The premise with Thou Shalt Laugh 4—and indeed the entire Thou Shalt Laugh series—is a little different. They’ve tried to pick comedians for a particular audience. The emphasis is on “Christian comedy” which near as I can tell means “the comedians don’t curse.” That really seems to be the only hard-and-fast rule. I’d presume that the comics might in fact be Christians also, but it’s hard to know for sure.

And that frankly is my beef with the idea of “Christian comedy.” I mean if all we’re going to do is leave out a little bad language, what’s the point?

In my opinion, the best comedy does challenge us. It’s not just about laughing, but about getting inside our natural defenses and causing us to look at a situation from a new perspective. I’m not sure that watering things down really accomplishes much apart from a few chuckles. But maybe that’s just me.

My personal soapbox aside, you’re probably wondering if the comedians on Thou Shalt Laugh 4 are funny. The answer is at least a qualified yes. As I mentioned earlier, comedy is subjective so at best this is a mixed bag.

Comedian/magician Dana Daniels is by far my favorite in this group. I laughed out loud through most of his act. He was the only comic that you could tell flew without a script a times, improvising as he went and having a good time doing it. Not far behind was Michael Jr. Michael is understated but I like his style of humor.  I should also mention that host John Tesh manages to toss out a few jokes in between acts also but frankly, I’d have preferred to see him at a piano.

For me personally, it went a little downhill from there but Isaac Witty was the only comic I found truly cringe-worthy. The other acts were at least entertaining but for some reason Isaac just rubbed me the wrong way through his entire performance.

So, despite my grumping about regarding the idea of “Christian comedy” I still found something to like here. If the idea of “salty language free” comedy is something that appeals to you, chances are good you will find some entertainment value here as well. And if you enjoyed the previous three installments, then there really isn’t much question.

Thou Shalt Laugh 4 isn’t rated but the comedy here is absolutely free of foul language and about as family friendly as comedy gets.

Courtesy of the film’s producers, Michael screened a promotional copy of Thou Shalt Laugh 4.