Faith Based is a film that I don’t think many folks are aware of, but it has been one I have been anticipating since it was announced. It follows two best friends, Luke (Luke Barnett) and Tanner (Tanner Thomason). While Tanner works at a bar, Luke tries various schemes to get rich quick, none of which are particularly successful. Luke then learns of a way to make money that is seemingly fool-proof, making a Christian movie. Tanner is skeptical of the idea, but as he realizes he is spending so much time working at the bar, and not moving ahead in life, he decides to join in on Luke’s plan.
While I’m not Christian, or even that religious, I have long had a fascination with Christian films, having seen some when I was younger, and later finding myself catching them when I worked at a theater before I even started writing reviews online. They were never that good or well made, in fact many were quite infuriatingly terrible, but there is something weirdly alluring to how these movies exist in their own strange bubble, all serving to essentially preach to the choir in a near literal sense. When you see as many as I have, it’s very easy to pick up on the common threads and tropes, and it’s ripe for parody and satire.
As someone with a bit of familiarity, I was happy to see director, Vincent Masciale, and writer, Luke Barnett, get a lot of the details about these movies right. The fact that many of these films deal with characters in some kind of life-or-death situation, the use of certain buzzwords in titles, the casting of some kind of B/C/D-list actor who is either a Christian or Republican to star. Their premise – a lone astronaut is stuck on Mars facing the threat of aliens, their title – A Prayer In Space, and the big name to attract attention – former 80s action star turned born again Christian, Butch Savage (David Koechner).
As expected, the film starts on a cynical note as the two friends scheme their way into a full on production, even if most of the cast and crew are mostly friends from the bar, or acquaintances they’re asking favors from. However, as it goes on, its humor aims to punch up, largely on the industry behind these movies as opposed to the audiences who genuinely find comfort in them, and the friendship between Tanner and Luke evolves in compelling ways. Tanner begins to make friends with some of the church people, and Luke has to come to terms with his self-serving ambitions, and how it affects his relationship with those around him, not just with Tanner, but even his adoptive father, Pastor Mike (Lance Reddick).
The cast overall is quite strong. Barnett and Thomason have a really great dynamic together, and their comedic timing is excellent. Having Luke be Pastor Mike’s adopted son sounds like it’s a gag that gets old real quick, but they don’t milk it as much as you’d expect, and I found the scenes between Reddick and Barnett to be quite effective, especially since Reddick is giving the silly material 100%. Koechner is not in the film very much, since most of the film is about them struggling to get in touch with him, so he ends up with the least to do here. Jason Alexander also pops up as Nicky Steele, a sleazy financial self-help guru that Luke looks up to. Other players like Danielle Nicolet, Margaret Cho, Richard Riehle, Christoph Sanders, and Carly Craigdeliver all solid work as well.
Now, if you’re looking for an biting and extensive breakdown of the Christian film industry, this is not that. It’s clearly a scrappy, little production, so it keeps its ambitions in check, and for what it’s going for, I found it to be very likable, funny, charming, and well observed. Of course, I would have liked to have seen the film address some of the more toxic elements of some of these Christian films such as the racism, the fanaticism, and misrepresentation of numerous topics like abortion, but that isn’t what the filmmakers are going for. The only thing that doesn’t completely work is the use of mockumentary style bits where characters talk to the camera since the film as a whole isn’t done in that style of filmmaking. I really enjoyed the film, as a comedy about the struggles of filmmaking, as a light jab at the Christian film industry, and as a story about friendship. And frankly, it’s got a lot more heart than many of the films that inspired this.
Faith Based is now out on VOD platforms.