Electric Jesus - The Movie (I know, a bit late)

Sooooo......I just bought the bluray for this, and it was a LOT of fun.

As someone who was in youth groups as a teen and saw a lot of these types of bands come thru, it totally brought back a lot of fun (and some not so fun) memories.

"Re-dedications" ..lol...yep...movie nailed it. Kids were constantly doing it. They would get hyped up with one of these bands when they came around, re-commit themselves, then fall away a month or two later, just to do it all over again at the next concert that came in. I used to joke with the youth pastor that they kept counting the same hands for "# of kids saved" at each show.

And yeah, there were been plenty of bands that got caught up in the fleshy things of touring.

Anyway, for the most part, the kids were likable. The story was compelling, and the ending I thought was very touching.

Besides, how can you NOT like a movie where they sing "LET'S ALL GO COMMANDO...Commando for Jesus Christ"

Wasn't a bad flick. 7/10

I've still never seen it.  For some reason I keep forgetting to watch out for it.

Staybrite wrote:

I've still never seen it.  For some reason I keep forgetting to watch out for it.

Now you have no excuse:
https://tubitv.com/movies/669059/electric-jesus

The bluray is on the way.

deathisgain wrote:

Staybrite wrote:

I've still never seen it.  For some reason I keep forgetting to watch out for it.

Now you have no excuse:
https://tubitv.com/movies/669059/electric-jesus

Cool!  I will add it to my Tubi list and the first night the wife works I will give it a watch.

Ok I watched the movie last night and it left me kind of confused.
I couldn't tell if they were making fun of 80's Christian rock and metal or if it was supposed to be some kind of tribute (albeit a humorous one)... or if it was just supposed to be a coming of age tale around some young Christian adults.  It was definitely a well written story even if somewhat amateurishly acted (but not at all bad, or even unexpected for an indie film).

It probably doesn't help that I did not grow up in the church at all.  For those who did grow up in the church what did you think?  Did you feel like they were making fun of you, or just poking a little fun at some the church culture at the time (while probably celebrating a more innocent time)?

I only watched part of the Commandos for Christ video.  It came across as a mockery to me so I haven't bothered with the movie.

Xid wrote:

I only watched part of the Commandos for Christ video.  It came across as a mockery to me so I haven't bothered with the movie.

 That was my take too. I know it was only meant as a bit of fun, but I didn't like that song at all (even though the music was good).  So, I've steered clear of the movie.

I know a lot of Christian artists were involved with making and promoting the movie.

If you grew up in a youth group that was part of the big Charismatic movement in the late 70s and 80s, you more than likely saw every single thing about this movie as being something you witnessed or experienced. I know I did.

And for the record, I grew up to look back at the charismatic movement as a major joke. There was so much hypocrisy, so much craziness, so much paranoia, etc etc. The adults of that era were off the wall, thinking the devil's hiding in every little thing, and so many of the kids were just brainwashed religious zombies.

Hypocrisy is one of the major threads of the human condition.  I grew up in the charismatic movement, too.  I saw nonsense, twisting of scripture, arrogance and hypocrisy.  I also saw people get healed, filled with the Holy Spirit and come to know Jesus.  I saw genuine believers that "oozed" Jesus.

If we dismiss something because of some bad eggs, we have to dismiss everything.

Back to the movie:  It's one thing to poke fun at the tactics used, it's another to mock someone's ministry.

AtomicFan wrote:

I know a lot of Christian artists were involved with making and promoting the movie.

If you grew up in a youth group that was part of the big Charismatic movement in the late 70s and 80s, you more than likely saw every single thing about this movie as being something you witnessed or experienced. I know I did.

And for the record, I grew up to look back at the charismatic movement as a major joke. There was so much hypocrisy, so much craziness, so much paranoia, etc etc. The adults of that era were off the wall, thinking the devil's hiding in every little thing, and so many of the kids were just brainwashed religious zombies.

Xid wrote:

Hypocrisy is one of the major threads of the human condition.  I grew up in the charismatic movement, too.  I saw nonsense, twisting of scripture, arrogance and hypocrisy.  I also saw people get healed, filled with the Holy Spirit and come to know Jesus.  I saw genuine believers that "oozed" Jesus.

If we dismiss something because of some bad eggs, we have to dismiss everything.

Back to the movie:  It's one thing to poke fun at the tactics used, it's another to mock someone's ministry.

That's one thing I wish was a little clearer in the end.  I mean it would have been just fine to find the humor in what happened in your youth (especially since you are trying to find out who you are... even though you probably don't know it).  However, I wish they would have made the ending a little clearer.  It's one thing to chuckle at your youth in church, but if the ending moral is that "we all grew up and outgrew that whole childish Christianity thing".  I'm not at all cool with that being the moral of the story.  But if one or two of the characters drifted away from faith, I guess that is realistic.  Sad, but realistic.  I guess I would have liked to see the main character's faith be represented as still solid, but maybe that's just my hang-up.  It was definitely an interesting and entertaining film.

I thought the one guy went on to become a worship leader with some mega church? I believe it was the lead singer?

I knew people like the lead character when I was that age. They felt that every single thing they said or did had to be evangelical..lol.. that's why I love the girl telling him at the end that they didn't need to "make Jesus famous", that he was already famous.

I thought it was a great ending.

Though I didn't understand the sister, when they were talking about the first time they all met, saying she was the boy crazy one. When they first met she was super young....it was the middle sister that I thought was the boy crazy one.

AtomicFan wrote:

I thought the one guy went on to become a worship leader with some mega church? I believe it was the lead singer?

I knew people like the lead character when I was that age. They felt that every single thing they said or did had to be evangelical..lol.. that's why I love the girl telling him at the end that they didn't need to "make Jesus famous", that he was already famous.

I thought it was a great ending.

Though I didn't understand the sister, when they were talking about the first time they all met, saying she was the boy crazy one. When they first met  she was super young....it was the middle sister that I thought was the boy crazy one.

Yeah, that was a great line.  And I do remember them saying the lead singer had gone on to be a worship leader at a mega church.  I'm guessing more than a few Christian artists did that in the real world.

Those pillorying the film, you don't get it. It's a realistic portrayal of the brokenness of man (including that of some Christians) and the sovereignty of God.