Jesus Revolution, 2023.
Directed by Jon Erwin and Jon Gunn.
Starring Joel Courtney, Jonathan Roumie, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Anna Grace Barlow, Kelsey Grammer, Julia Campbell Jackson, Robert Scott, Nicholas Cirillo, Alexia Ioannides, Nic Bishop, Jolie Jenkins, Victoria Paige Watkins, and Matthew Montemaro.
SYNOPSIS:
The true story of a national spiritual awakening in the early 1970’s and its origins within a community of teenage hippies in Southern California.
In 1971 Southern California, Kelsey Grammer plays pastor Chuck Smith who hates hippies just about as much as Red Forman did on That 70s Show. And while Jesus Revolution is not necessarily trying to depict the character that way, the similarities are there, especially in appearance.
Nevertheless, after breaking curfew and running off to a concert, his teenage daughter gets into a fight with him about his dedication to Christianity and the church, only to run off again and, this time, come home with hitchhiking hippie turned spiritually enlightened Jesus lover Lonnie Frisbee (Jonathan Roumie) so that the two of them can have a chat and find some common ground and mutual understanding.
According to Lonnie (who bears a resemblance to Jesus, which is somewhat unsurprising upon learning that is who the actor plays on television), while hippies are drawn to drugs and rock ‘n roll, they do care about God and want to believe. Considering that Chuck’s pastor is dying out, with even the elderly regulars bored by the sermons, it doesn’t take much convincing for him to see Lonnie’s side and for them to join hands, putting together a plan to draw in youngsters and older people alike.
Jesus Revolution is a true story; these are real people, but the scene itself is overplayed and sentimental. There’s no nuance to much of what’s here, and since the film covers so many characters and so much ground, even at two hours, it rushes across stretches, leaving one struggling to buy into the forced and cloying drama.
For perspective, none of the above characters are the central focus. That honor belongs to Greg Laurie (Joel Courtney), a wayward soul who befriends Cathe (Anna Grace Barlow) and goes center rabbit hole of drugs together before tragedies occur that convince them to smarten up and cross paths with the thriving church. As the movement takes off with activities at Pirates Cove, all of these characters become significantly invested in that success at the expense of their personal lives and relationships. These locations and period details have also been handsomely re-created. However, nearly every subplot of Jesus Revolution is so overcooked and loaded with corny dialogue none of it registers as worth caring about.
Originally, I was not going to review this movie since I tend to dislike faith-based films (so if you want to call my bias, feel free, I suppose), but upon noticing that director Jon Erwin was attached, there was a small amount of hope it would be worth watching. He and his brother Andrew Erwin had previously directed the NFL quarterback Kurt Warner biopic American Underdog which balanced football and God effectively. Here, Andrew is missing from that equation (the film is co-directed by Brent McCorkle, with a script from Jon Erwin and Jon Gunn, based on Greg Laurie’s book), and one can’t help but wonder if that’s part of the problem.
However, one positive that could come from Jesus Resolution‘s target demographic is that since the story is about old-fashioned traditionalists connecting with the hippies they once perceived as enemies, maybe it will be a wake-up call for that crowd to stop generalizing and maligning other marginalized communities. Otherwise, this is hokey material that certainly won’t be taking the world by storm and starting another revolution.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
