You can't control the Holy Spirt, Man
The problem with Christian music or movies is that for decades it's all been so simplistic, cheesy, and low budget. After 3 albums where every song is about worship it gets stale quick. You need a band that happens to be Christian, not a Christian band. P.O.D. comes to mind. They were a universal success and spread the message outside of the community but that's because not every single song was about God. Same with Kanye West or the whole Hardcore Metal scene of the 90's/2000's. Some songs were about heartbreak or whatever, and some were about faith.
Well, that same approach is why I think "The Most Reluctant Convert" was so good and why "Jesus Revolution" is a close second. They stand up on their own. Even atheists and agnostics can appreciate the storytelling and historical accuracy. There's themes of temptation, overcoming drug use, generational gaps, battling ego, a love story threaded throughout, etc. All things that resonate with the human experience. (The love story was front and center too, so watch this with your wife or gf, they'll dig it.)
Also, the unique angle of talking about how Jesus was a hippie made it stand out from other typical Christian movies. It may irk the Catholic and Orthodox viewers but I still think the comparison is justified. And they're not the first people to make such observations. One of my favorite musicians, a folk punk singer by the name of Pat the Bunny, who went from heroin-junkie misanthropic alcoholic performing as "Johnny Hobo" to an AA going pro faith singer performing in the "Wingnut Dishwashers Union" sings about this similarity here:
Also, the Irish Youtuber, Uberboyo, talks about how Christianity was Rome's woke movement and how Jesus was kinda' a marxist:
I'm no theologian so that's up to you and your family to discuss. But there's lots of great conversation starters and creative explorations of them in the movie. Watch it and pay to do so!
P.S. Kelsey Grammer was part of the secret Republican group in Hollywood "Friends of Abe" and he has a central role in the movie. Another reason to support it.
P.P.S. Apparently Lonnie Frisbee was a closeted homo who died of AIDS. They didn't address that but did a good job of showing him as a multifaceted character. This Freudian overcompensation thing is an issue that's still relevant today. (Milo? Ted Haggard? József Szájer?) In regards to this, I like Kelsey Grammer's line: "God has a history of using flawed people." Good takeaway and yet another great convo starter.
Go support this film if it's still in theaters when you read this. It's on par with "The Most Reluctant Convert." An objective rating would be 3/5 stars but such uplifting movies are rare these days so I gave it 4/5. The other reason I like it is because even though I am not a Christian myself, I am happily surprised with the recent quality of Christian media thesedays.
The problem with Christian music or movies is that for decades it's all been so simplistic, cheesy, and low budget. After 3 albums where every song is about worship it gets stale quick. You need a band that happens to be Christian, not a Christian band. P.O.D. comes to mind. They were a universal success and spread the message outside of the community but that's because not every single song was about God. Same with Kanye West or the whole Hardcore Metal scene of the 90's/2000's. Some songs were about heartbreak or whatever, and some were about faith.
Well, that same approach is why I think "The Most Reluctant Convert" was so good and why "Jesus Revolution" is a close second. They stand up on their own. Even atheists and agnostics can appreciate the storytelling and historical accuracy. There's themes of temptation, overcoming drug use, generational gaps, battling ego, a love story threaded throughout, etc. All things that resonate with the human experience. (The love story was front and center too, so watch this with your wife or gf, they'll dig it.)
Also, the unique angle of talking about how Jesus was a hippie made it stand out from other typical Christian movies. It may irk the Catholic and Orthodox viewers but I still think the comparison is justified. And they're not the first people to make such observations. One of my favorite musicians, a folk punk singer by the name of Pat the Bunny, who went from heroin-junkie misanthropic alcoholic performing as "Johnny Hobo" to an AA going pro faith singer performing in the "Wingnut Dishwashers Union" sings about this similarity here:
So I don't believe in God, but I'm also not an Atheist You know the universe is chaos, but chaos plays favorites And you know lately, I've been thinking about how I love Jesus Because Jesus was a dirty homeless, hippie peace activist And he said, "Drop out and find God" to anybody who would listen While turning water into space bags, turning water into space bags, turning water into space bags with lowlifes and anarchistshttps://genius.com/Wingnut-dishwashers-union-jesus-does-the-dishes-lyrics
Also, the Irish Youtuber, Uberboyo, talks about how Christianity was Rome's woke movement and how Jesus was kinda' a marxist:
I'm no theologian so that's up to you and your family to discuss. But there's lots of great conversation starters and creative explorations of them in the movie. Watch it and pay to do so!
P.S. Kelsey Grammer was part of the secret Republican group in Hollywood "Friends of Abe" and he has a central role in the movie. Another reason to support it.
P.P.S.
Apr 2nd 2023
This review was posted from the United States or from a VPN in the United States.
