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Movie Review: 'The Jesus Revolution' Hopes You Won't Look Beyond the Movie

Pay no attention to the story behind the curtain says the makers of the The Jesus Revolution.

By Sean PatrickPublished about a year ago 4 min read
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The Jesus Revolution (2023)

Directed by Jon Erwin, Brent McCorkle

Written by Jon Gunn, Jon Erwin

Starring Kelsey Grammer, Joel Courtney, Anna Grace Barlow, Jonathan Roumie

Release Date February 24th, 2023

Published February 19th, 2023

The Jesus Revolution is a violently mediocre movie. Based loosely on a true story about hippies who found religion in California in the late 1960s, The Jesus Revolution positions, of all people, Kelsey Grammer, as the open armed preacher who welcomes hippies to his church. To say that's not who Kelsey Grammer is publicly is a bit of an understatement, a hippie loving, all-inclusive, kind of guy is not who Kelsey Grammer is and he doesn't really have the range to make you buy in on this persona.

The Jesus Revolution stars Kelsey Grammer as Pastor Chuck Smith. Pastor Chuck's parish is nearly empty. There appears to be about 10 people in his church before Chuck meets the man who will change all of that. After an argument with his daughter, Chuck is introduced to Lonnie Frisbee (Jonathan Roumie), a free-spirited hippie preacher that Chuck's daughter brings home to stay. Lonnie surprises Chuck with his grasp of biblical scripture and the depth of his belief in Jesus so much that Chuck invites Lonnie to speak at his church and invites some fellow hippies to come in with him.

Lonnie is a hit and his recruitment of more hippies to the church starts to bring in major crowds. Among the new believers is Greg Laurie (Joel Courtney), a former military school student turned hippie. Greg left school to chase a girl, Cathe (Anna Grace Barlow), and through her, he ends up at Calvary Church. Falling under the spell of Lonnie, Greg himself will become a Preacher and he and Chuck eventually form a partnership that will grow the so-called Jesus Revolution and grow well beyond what either of them would have imagined.

As for Lonnie, he proves to be a troubled figure. Whether he was on drugs or suffering from mental instability, Lonnie begins to believe that God is acting through him. He starts believing he can heal people and takes on the persona of a cult leader rather than a preacher. This will lead to a falling out between Lonnie and Chuck that threatens the future of Chuck's newly successful church. That sounds far more dramatic and interesting than anything actually in The Jesus Revolution. Sadly, the movie delivers the falling out between Chuck and Lonnie in the least dramatic or interesting fashion.

In the end, The Jesus Revolution is just another puff-piece, another easily digestible marketing tool for modern religion. It's a movie that is intended to burnish the reputations of Greg Laurie and Chuck Smith, and that's about it. The film is competently made, it's shot well enough, edited well enough, it has a professional sheen to it, but, the content is fluffy. It's a glow-up of the actual Jesus Revolution which was far more messy, problematic and quite successful in spite of everything. Today, the members of the supposed Jesus Revolution are far to the right politically and the movie very much downplays that aspect, aside from casting Kelsey Grammer and featuring a scene of Billy Graham preaching near the end of the film.

In the end, The Jesus Revolution is another in a long line of ragingly mediocre religious movies intended to burnish the image of faith leaders. It's a movie that exists to flatter believers and offer an almost completely uncritical look at something that needs a bit of criticism. The film pretends to be about the compassion and love of Jesus Christ but leaves out the fact that within less than 10 years of this 'Revolution,' Chuck Smith went on television claimed that the world was coming to an end because there was too much sin. The movie would have you believe he's this loving, wise, sober figure, especially compared to the more manic Lonnie Frisbee. Lonnie's also deeply problematic, something the movie uses to keep any critical eye off of Chuck or Greg.

Find my archive of more than 20 years and nearly 2000 movie reviews at SeanattheMovies.blogspot.com. Find my modern review archive on my Vocal Profile, linked here. Follow me on Twitter at PodcastSean. Follow the archive blog on Twitter at SeanattheMovies. Listen to me talk about movies on the Everyone's a Critic Movie Review Podcast. If you've enjoyed what you have read, consider subscribing to my writing on Vocal. If you'd like to support my writing, you can do so by making a monthly pledge or by leaving a one time tip. Thanks!

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About the Creator

Sean Patrick

Hello, my name is Sean Patrick He/Him, and I am a film critic and podcast host for the I Hate Critics Movie Review Podcast I am a voting member of the Critics Choice Association, the group behind the annual Critics Choice Awards.

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  • Babs Iversonabout a year ago

    Another fantastic review!!! Left some love!!!

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