'Jesus Revolution' is a dull, sanitized version of the 1960s and '70s evangelical Christian movement in Southern California, starring Kelsey Grammer and directed by Jon Erwin and Brent McCorkle.
As depicted in “Jesus Revolution,” Smith and Frisbee were huge influences on Laurie, a young teen growing up in Newport Beach with a troubled mother . When a comely young gal, Cathe breaks him out of military school, Greg dabbles in the drug-fueled hippie lifestyle, before a few near-death experiences lead him and Cathe to search for something more, a different kind of high.
At the same time, Chuck Smith is struggling to reconcile his concern over the hippie movement with his daughter Janette’s rebellion, and dwindling church attendance. When Janette brings home Lonnie, Chuck initially balks, but soon realizes that the young man’s message is closer to Christ’s than he thought. It also has to help that with his beard, long hair and hand-painted cape, Lonnie looks a lot like the common depictions of Jesus .
The storylines converge when Lonnie brings in Greg, who becomes a young leader in the burgeoning Jesus movement, as the three men navigate the ups and downs that this growth entails. It’s an interesting enough story, with text at the end of the film claiming that it was the “largest spiritual awakening in America” and a Time magazine cover story, “The Jesus Revolution,” woven into the narrative as well.
“Jesus Revolution” is also a completely uncritical portrait of the Jesus movement. Because this is a faith-based film, it simply presents the genesis of this “spiritual awakening” and explosion of these churches, without examining any of the potential dark sides or ramifications of how this evangelical Christian movement has impacted American culture and politics in the decades since.
Sepia-toned cinematography by Akis Konstantakopoulos gives “Jesus Revolution” the sheen of a 1960s-set period piece, and Courtney and Barlow capably hold up their end of the story of two “Jesus freaks” in love, but “Jesus Revolution” is clearly a piece of sanded-down marketing material for Calvary Chapel and Greg Laurie’s Harvest Crusades, with all the burrs of real history buffed out, rendering the film a smooth, but crushingly dull project.
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