Electric Jesus

John Hughes would be proud of this coming-of-age film set smack dab in the '80s. What makes it unusual, unique and universal for so many is its rich, laughable yet authentic and endearing setting. Electric Jesus centers around a Christian heavy metal band that tours the Southeast in the summer of 1986. This odd mix of testimony, testosterone and teenage life really happened for many in the Western world and this movie accurately portrays this in the background as six underage rockers do their best to make Jesus famous while playing skating rinks, youth group rooms and church sanctuaries with eyeliner, spandex, hair and falsetto vocals. This movie is like a love letter written to Christian heavy metal - an entire subculture and sub-genre that existed and exploded side-by-side with everything else that made that decade so fun. The soundtrack is brilliantly written - both musically and lyrically to be believable and memorable. You'll be embarrassed for liking it, but you'll find yourself singing, "Comman-do for Christ - let's all go Commando!" The lyrical wit and intentional irony won't be lost on you as you laugh your way through the film. Comedy, comradery and nostalgia all fit very nicely inside this film. I dare you to watch it and say you hated it. I've seen it four times now and I can't wait to see it again.

I felt like I was reliving my childhood. I laughed, I cried, I rocked and even reflected. I've seen it twice and would see it again. Love the sound track!

Fun movie that's not preachy. Great young cast pulls you in and makes you feel invested. Good family movie.

Great soundtrack and story that was executed well by the cast but there were way too many plot holes in the storyline. It seemed like there were deleted scenes that would've helped the story along. A more fully developed and tighter script with deeper characters in the band would've made the movie better. Nonetheless it was a very original idea and a fun movie.

ANYONE who likes comedies ( so almost EVERYONE ) will enjoy this! VERY funny and heartfelt movie about a Christian hard rock/metal band who goes on tour in the summer of 1986. Brian Baumgartner (who plays Kevin on The Office ) is the band's promoter. If you happen to dislike or even despise CHRISTIAN movies, don't worry - this is just a really good comedy. And to those who were wondering if this movie throws Christians under the bus-- it doesn't. The movie is made with love and respect but is DEFINITELY not afraid to point out flaws. Often, it is just showing how Christians talked, felt and believed at the time. It has fun with the culture, resulting in plenty of laughs but is not irreverent. You don't have to be familiar with the Christian music scene of the 80s to understand or appreciate the movie but if you are you will find plenty of cool Easter eggs. The songs are really cool and despite the at times ridiculously silly lyrics, they get stuck in your head and you can't help but sing along. The soundtrack is brilliant ( composed by Daniel Smith of indie rock/folk band Danielson). One of my favorite movies!

I had the joy of seeing this film with a live audience at the Nashville Film Festival. This movie is a fun, humorous and charming coming of stage story that follows the tropes of "the muse and artist" like Almost Famous with pointed and clever satire on Christian popular culture, in the vein of "Saved!" The cast are mostly relative newcomers to acting, but create strong and believable performances, while also making room from appearances from veteran actors such as Brian Baumgartner (The Office) and Judd Nelson (Breakfast Club, and others). The dialogue is fun, sharp witty, and the soundtrack music is what the 80s sounds like at it's best, and the lyrics will cause you likely to laugh out loud, if you pay attention. Great story, heartfelt, fun and touching - you will love it.

I'm glad those who actually know and follow Christian music enjoy this film. I really don't recommend it for the secular viewer though. First of all, you have to actually like hard rock. I can only take so much and really can't judge if the Christian version was an especially good take on it. The songs sung by "Sarah" are actually very nice, but blips in the overall soundtrack. In terms of story, there isn't much of one. It's basically a road film with one or two surprises along the way, but a lot of talking about goals and ambitions without a great deal of progress towards them. The moments of sexual/romantic tension are so wishy-washy you're left wondering what the point is. Above all, no character, except arguably Sarah, really grows through the film. Basically, if you don't have a fondness for the underlying genre, this film probably won't do much for you.

Electric Jesus is a coming-of-age road movie that chronicles the rise and fall of fictional Christian rock band '316'. The band members, all teenagers, decide to embark on a national tour to 'make Jesus famous' after grappling with their own spiritual priorities and the opinions of their parents and pastors. The 'make Jesus famous' refrain will be immediately familiar to a subset of folks with experience in evangelical churches and is one of many references to that brand of church culture in the film. The religious elements of Electric Jesus are handled with nuance and a clearly intimate understanding of the source material, though I often felt that the named references were occasionally laid on a bit thick and won't mean much to folks who don't have a very specific background. Especially the recurring Amy Grant shenanigans. The tour, proposed and organized by used-car-salesman-esque (though perhaps they were going more for skeevy tent revivalist?) band manager Skip Wick (Brian Baumgartner), is initially a small potatoes venture hitting skating rinks and youth meetings. Skip's interactions with the band are fun to watch as the tour continues. Stowaways, hormones, and big breaks knock the narrative around a bit until a climactic final show. The musical performances are excellent. The songs are well written and engineered, with catchy hooks and clever lyrics that accurately reflect the ideological temperament of these sorts of groups. The actors are actually the ones doing the performing, which was put to brilliant use in a scene featuring mixing board sabotage. (Correction: Not all of the actors actually play their instruments, so props for fooling me there.) Off-stage, the band members are serviceable actors with great chemistry. Sadly, most of them are underdeveloped as characters. They're always around but we don't really get to know much about them, with the relationship between the band's sound guy and a stowaway pastor's kid occupying far too much focus for a movie about a rock band. The epilogue could've been removed in favor of an extra scene or two of the band members. I'd have loved to have seen a Spinal Tap-esque approach to this project, with the band members and writers developing a massive amount of shared lore/fiction, internalizing it all, and then filming as if they'd truly lived those lives. I understand that not everyone has the luxury of 4 years to develop such a thing and the ultimate aim of the filmmakers may have been elsewhere. The film was enjoyable and visually pleasing, the music is still rattling around in my brain, and it was great seeing this subject matter presented with heart and understanding. As a survivor of awkward Christian youth culture, I'm thrilled. As a mockumentary fan, I'm a bit disappointed. Still, there's nothing like this and it's worth seeing.

This one was a little genre-defying at first but you quickly realize it is a SERIOUS film that takes it's subject matter and characters seriously, but it is also a comedy with some genuine laugh-out loud moments populated by some refreshingly relatable and genuine characters surrounded by a rather good soundtrack. DO NOT dismiss this as a low-tier "faith based" film, even though almost all the characters are Christian. The scenes know just when to cut away so it is not preachy but instead both showcasing what the life of a Christian is like while allowing audiences to get a good hint at the message the scene is showcasing, even though the message is not being pounded over your head. It is neither mocking of religious folk nor caving to portraying them the way most faith-based movies do. These multi-dimensional characters are VERY HUMAN, with their own flaws. That get put into realistic situations. You understand why the characters are the way they are and the choices they make without exposition-heavy scene after scene to explain it. The plot is not predictable so you will be entertained by the character's surprising choices (and both surprising & sometimes not surprising consequences) that develop throughout the story which culminates into an extended epilogue that is heart-warmingly emotional without being sappy. And yes, Brian Baumgartner ("Kevin" from the office) does have a substantial role... think Tom Hanks role in "That Thing You Do" except we get to know this multi-dimensional character here a lot more. However, the performances from his fellow actors are equally top-notch so you will very quickly be invested in all these characters instead of remembering Baumgartner is one of the only recognizable stars (which is a testament to all the actors ability). To me, it's much better to get drawn into a story & characters than to stop & think to yourself "these are great actors" (which ye can do after the movie is long over). While there is no traditional big stadium with huge audience scene, the filmmakers stretched the million dollar budget to make it seem like a film with a much bigger budget but the story & characters are so enthralling, you probably won't care what the budget is as the production values service this story very well. It's not the greatest movie ever made, but it is not a bad movie at all. It has all the ingredients that make a good film.

It was a great twist on the rock n roll road movie. But the poor writing and directing doomed an otherwise promising movie. The main actors did great with what they had, but it was clear they were held back by the script. The bit parts were for some reason given to non-actors and they stuck out like a sore thumb. The "real rock club" scene was melodramatic nonsense based on a caricature of what the writer/director must have hear rock clubs were like. It seems apparent that he's never been to one. The band drama at the end (no spoilers) was painfully forced and out of character. It just filled the "something bad happens here" screenplay worksheet that the writer seems to have been using.