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‘They just don’t have to be good’
A gentle, if potty-mouthed, satire uses the Christian movie subculture as the backdrop for a story about friendship
“Faith-based” movies have become a profit center. That may or may not reflect on the people making them; I’d like to think the vast majority of those involved at the creative level are sincere. But one imagines the Hollywood studios that have jumped on distributing such movies, and recruiting churches to buy tickets at group rates, are doing so more for mercenary reasons.
The rap on such movies is that they’re often ham-fisted and simplistic, boiling complex faith journeys into cheesy plot points, and painting in rather bold colors. There’s an atheist college professor! And, because he’s atheist, he’s evil and self-serving and mean to the Christian student in his class! But then, he faces tragedy! And so he turns to the Christian student to help him understand it!
Of course, some people like cheesy plot points. These movies may serve as evangelical comfort food for some folks, and I don’t begrudge them that. I certainly watch a lot of old movies on TCM that are just as cheesy and unbelievable. But I have my doubts that these movies really have as much evangelistic function as intended. If you want to use film to advance a Christian worldview, you…
