Movie Review: Blue Like Jazz

Last week I was able to check out the greatly anticipated movie Blue Like Jazz. When I say, "greatly anticipated," I understand that this anticipation was probably mostly coming from me. I even asked a college student who attends a Christian university if he was going to see it... he had no idea what I was talking about. It was at that moment that I realized that I was old and that it had been almost a decade since this book was released during the prime of my Christian angst. Maybe you know what I'm talking about. For me, it was an age of perfect "clarity" on how the old people had screwed up the church royally and that they needed to make way for the revolution. It's funny how aging makes those old failures start to look like pillars of wisdom.

Whether you went through this phase or not, Donald Miller became the voice of honest reflection on the odd subculture that is Christianity.  Having been to several youth group conferences, church camps, and Newsboys concerts, it was nice to hear somebody say in a way that still loved Jesus, "...this is kind of lame."

So when I found out that Donald Miller was allowing one of his books to be made into a movie and that he was going to be part of the creating process... I got excited. At last Kirk Cameron stayed in his apartment above the Seaver's garage and allowed for the possibility of a good movie involving Christ and Christianity to be made. Thankfully, Miller did not disappoint.

For those of you who read Blue Like Jazz, please do not expect an exact retelling. I would actually recommend that you read A Million Miles in the Thousand Years: How I Learned to Live a Better Story. (This book speaks of how Miller had to rewrite and enhance his own story to make the screenplay something an audience would enjoy watching and what he learned in the process.)

The movie, although very different from the book, worked for me. It did a fantastic job of exposing how many Christians become disciples and followers of the Christian subculture (i.e. lock-ins, Christian t-shirts, and calling things we dislike, "liberal") rather than following the Jesus who preached the Sermon on the Mount.  It also does a great job of exposing how running the opposite direction in search of "freedom" can be equally as enslaving.

The movie is by no means an Oscar contender, but it is a great conversation starter. I also laughed a lot. I can imagine many Christians being offended by the movies non-black-and-white approach to life, the language, and the truthful but scathing shots at the Christian subculture, but if you can get passed these things, I think you'll find a movie that speaks a lot of truth and feels real. It's not "fireproof," but it's a movie I'd watch again.

On a scale of -3 to 5 pints ("-3" being the new version of Clash of the Titans and "5" being Shawshank Redemption quality), I give this movie 3 pints! 

Did anyone else see it? Let me know your thoughts.