Posted on 01/23/2007 10:39:42 AM PST by Alex Murphy
It's easy to make fun of corny billboards proclaiming the power of Jesus, a Bible study session at a truck stop or an anti-evolution lesson for kids that shows people hanging out with dinosaurs.
It's not difficult to mock a drive-through church, a Holy Land theme park, biblical mini-golf or a skateboard ministry.
There's no challenge in casting a cynical light on teenagers who claim they're "high on Jesus and ain't comin' down!"
Really, it takes more subtlety, understanding, and empathy to make a film that goes beyond pointing fingers and laughing. A better filmmaker could have made much more headway in trying to seriously capture the state of America's cultural-religious divide.
"Friends of God: A Road Trip With Alexandra Pelosi," premiering Thursday on HBO, takes the easy way out.
With smug narration and a condescending tone, the filmmaker - Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's daughter - finds plenty to gawk at outside of her hip metropolitan comfort zone. Nobody sounds more provincial than a New Yorker set adrift in the heartland.
Pelosi, a former NBC News producer, did better on her previous project, "Journeys With George," a documentary about George W. Bush's presidential campaign.
This time her cynical, knowing attitude manages to undermine her project.
An introductory note says the film was completed in November 2006, a few days before the humiliating revelations regarding Ted Haggard brought new, unwanted attention and embarrassment to the evangelical movement.
Haggard is prominently featured in the film, talking about truth, immorality and the "pressure on godly people to be godly." His failure in that regard is a key point in the drama of the documentary.
Smiling broadly, he shows off his New Life Church megachurch in Colorado Springs. Haggard plays the part of the hale fellow, sure of his righteousness.
"Evangelicals, we're everywhere!" he says. And evangelicals in general are particularly happy people, he agrees, because "we've settled some core issues," like everlasting life.
"All the surveys say evangelicals have the best sex life of any other group," he volunteers. "Let's just find out." He turns to a couple of men among his flock and asks, "How often do you have sex with your wife? Every day? And how often does she climax? Every time?"
They josh and laugh. It's the natural order of things, he and his congregants agree.
Later Haggard stands before his congregants, preaching that "moral purity is better than immorality, and telling the truth is better than telling a lie ... that's why secular people are so concerned when the church doesn't fulfill it's own moral standards. Like when a pastor falls into corruption or becomes dishonest or greedy. It's heartbreaking."
This, we now know, was at the time of his liaisons with a male prostitute in Denver. The on-screen graphic updates viewers on the specifics of the Haggard heartbreak: Haggard admitted to his congregation, "I am a deceiver and a liar. There is a part of my life that is so repulsive and dark that I've been warring against it all of my adult life."
Haggard's need to bring up the subject of sex on camera is baffling in light of the revelations about him that followed this production. Critics of the evangelical church won't be able to resist feelings of glee. Still, Pelosi's attitude is equally distracting and disturbing for viewers.
Talking to members of Cruisers for Christ, who show their vintage cars while proselytizing, she blurts a typically demeaning question: "So, do you think the Holy Spirit is here in this Burger King parking lot?" It's too cute, too loaded. Her attitude is annoyingly superior.
Still, the facts are chilling. A pompous Jerry Falwell attests to the political power of the movement- 78 percent of evangelicals supported George W. Bush. Falwell asserts, "Hillary (Clinton) will find out in '08" that no candidate can win without them."
The Rev. Mel White, a former Falwell ghostwriter turned gay Christian activist, notes sadly, "They're declaring war on gay people."
The war continues, with little desire for understanding on either extreme.
As many reservations I have with megachurches, it's pretty obvious this is going to be an unfair hatchet job.
The Republican candidate just might find out the same.
Two particlar people that I just loved: the black woman pastor in the drive through church, and the pastor who is putting up crosses all over the country (he wants to place 5 of these large structures in each state--they cost him 25k each).
While there is a bit of smugness, Pelosi does have a winning personality...I do not think this is a hatchet job. She gives these folks time to talk. She is no Borat.
The one part that I winced a bit at (although I marveled at the cleverness of their arguments) was the anti-evolution stuff. The part that I cheer is the anti-abortion segment.
I do not think this will have the effect they think this will have...
I agree wholeheartedly with you. I think Christians will be encouraged with the faith and joy of the people interviewed in this show. It pumps you up to see that the Holy Spirit is alive and thriving all across this country, especially with the youth. It seems obvious that after the revelations about Haggard came out they edited the show to include as much Haggard footage as possible in order to put Christians in a bad light. However, the rest of the Christians come off so positive and joyful that the sins of Pastor Haggard are completely overshadowed.
Ms. Pelosi is a talented documentarian, and the Haggard pre- and post-script did not ruin anything. Certain people put in positions of trust and power are just not up to the responsibility. Happens everywhere.
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