If you’re attending Thursday’s benefit for the American Jewish World Service at Jazz at Lincoln Center, you might want to brush up on the Heimlich maneuver.
“Knocked Up” director Judd Apatow has made a video for the event that’s so funny benefit-goers are in danger of choking on their rubber chicken.
To help the organization celebrate its 25th anniversary and honor its president, Ruth Messinger, on her 70th birthday, Apatow gathered a funny and famous cast to riff on the AJWS’s history of helping.
Sarah Silverman is one of the first comedians on camera and wastes no time in pushing the envelope. “Last year, American Jewish World Services gave away more than $22 million in grants” to 34 countries, Silverman says, adding: “That really throws a wrench in the ‘Jews are cheap’ premise. I mean, if you think that’s cheap, there’s no way you’re Asian, because you’re really bad at math.”
Silverman is followed by Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, with announcements for groups like “the Institute for Cher-Induced Erectile Dysfunction” and “R. Kelly’s Fund to Stop Teen Pregnancy Caused by R. Kelly.”
Standup star Gilbert Gottfried notes that AJWS was “one of the first responders” in Haiti. He adds, however, that it has had “no luck in getting Sean Penn circumcised.”
Ben Stiller suggested AJWS reorder its acronym to read “JAWS.” Then, he explains, “you can have JAWS Week” on the Discovery Channel, where he said instead of Shark Week, “it’s all just Jews.”
Apatow’s video also features non-Jews pledging their support, including “Miami Vice” star Don Johnson, who wanders off-message to express his love for women “with long hair and a gentle bosom.”
Apatow describes his commitment to charity work, including this video, as “survivor’s guilt,” adding: “There’s a part of me that is never comfortable with the fact that I’ve done well.” Stay guilty, Judd.
