I can only hope that this movie signals the emergence of a newfound levity and self-deprecation among Christians, particularly among the “Evangelical” wing (of whom I consider myself a member). Perhaps this will equal the skewering brilliance of South Park’s Faith+1 without the sardonic edge—we’ll see. You can watch all 6 of the original shorts here. Best quote so far, “She has a real heart for God. . . and for fundraising.”
From a review found here :
Jesus People , a Christian-made parody of evangelicals, was created by professional comedy writers and actors in Hollywood. The film is a feature-length version of a six-episode online series that debuted early in 2008 on Independent Comedy Network (ICN), sort of a “minor league” for shows hoping to make the jump to the bigs—traditional TV or, in this case, film. It’s currently on the 2009 festival circuit; it will screen at the Gospel Music Association’s annual celebration week in April, and will likely be released on DVD in the late summer or fall.
The Jesus People online series—a web hit, with more than 500,000 views—tells the satirical story of Cross My Heart, a Christian dance-pop band-in-the-making. The four-person, coed group—an homage to Christian dance-pop classics like Jump 5—includes an aging CCM pop star trying to resuscitate her career after a sex scandal (played by Edi Patterson), a newbie Christian party girl with a wild streak (Lindsay Stidham), a goody-goody fundamentalist with a fondness for God’s wrath (Damon Pfaff), and a token minority member who plays the sympathetic everyman (Rich Pierrelouis). The cast also includes the group’s pastor/manager/entrepreneurial handler Pastor Jerry (Joel McCrary), and an impressive array of guest stars from across the comedy spectrum, including SNL‘s Victoria Jackson, The Office‘s Kate Flannery, Will & Grace‘s Tim Bagley, and Waiting for Guffman‘s Deborah Theaker.
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6 responses to “For Your Weekend Viewing Pleasure–Jesus People: The Movie”
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LOTS of Christopher Guest in there.
This is my new favorite past time, Jesus People. THANKS for the heads up. Now I’m gonna pitter my whole weekend away. 🙂
‘You’re all living such victorious Christian lives, I didn’t want to admit how dysfunctional my upbringing was.’ Art imitating life.
Glad to see V. Jackson is back…she is an outspoken Christian. Here she is on TBN, I believe she is responding to her former SNL partner, Julia Sweeny, who is now an outspoken atheist. http://tiny.cc/JfMG0
Awesome, Jady. Thanks.
I found myself torn watching this. I didn’t know whether or not to laugh or cry. While it is funny it is also tragically sad.
True, Jake, true.