This was not a great movie, but it was very good. I LOVED it.
The characters are not wooden cut-outs. Stereotypes are necessary, but the actors here seemed like real people with real good sides and bad. It was sensitively done. Kelsey Gramer was excellent.
As an aside, I was there in 1971, at the crest of the movement. I went to Calvary Chapel to see what all the fuss was about. It was not my particular style, but it was authentically spiritual. I was a college junior at the time. A friend of mine and I went numerous times as we did a term project on what we observed. We had fellow students pass out surveys of the Jesus Freaks (not pejorative, as that was what they called themselves). Others spent nights in the communes. We wrote a term paper on our research that got published in a sociological journal in February of 1972 (after it was blessed and breathed on by our professor).
I found the movie to be a trip down memory road. It was an accurate portrayal of the Jesus Movement. It was strangely uplifting. I recommend it to anyone even slightly interested.
Thank you, oldplayer. Very interesting. Is your term paper available to see anywhere? Yes, I do hope a LOT of people see this movie!
Did you happen to meet Joe Focht? He’s pastor at Calvary Philly and was in the early days of the movement. Traveled with him and his church to Israel.