JBB's Final Thoughts Episode 43: Jesus Revolution: Truth Seekers Part 1

I saw the trailer to Jesus Revolution, a movie about the beginning of the Jesus Movement in 1970s Southern California Jesus movement and having some familiarity with the subject and era I thought, this should be interesting. Here’s my spoiler-free take on the movie.

Also please check-out my blog that talks about “Faith Issues”: In Bad Faith

“Jesus Revolution: Truth Seekers Part 1” from JBB’s Final Thoughts by Joe Bustillos. Released: 2023.

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Credits/images:

music: Social Blindness – 22K by Smart Sound Music
JBB’s DRP (Daily Reflection Prompt)
All images and screen grabs by Joe Bustillos ©2023 except where noted
Jesus Revolution, Image Stills, https://jesusrevolution.movie/
God Awful Movies (podcast), https://player.fm/series/god-awful-movies-1262692
TTA Podcast 279: God Awful Movies, 2016-06-14, https://youtu.be/4r-GT4OgblA

Episode Notes/Script/Post:

Joe Bustillos here.

If one has a nuanced understanding behind a tale, Truth is often stranger than Fiction. But that doesn’t deter movie makers from putting their own spin on their subject matter. As a recovered Jesus Freak from the 1970s Southern California I was curious what spin the makers of Jesus Revolution were going to take. Let’s just say, Christian Cinema has a reputation for outdoing Hallmark when it comes to formulaic plots, mustache-twirling villains and wonderfully unrealistic portrayals of “reality” (just ask the guys at God Awful Movies). But in this case, the story of the beginning of the Jesus Movement in Southern California in the late 1960s/1970s felt firmly grounded. They focused on two main relationships, between Pastor Chuck Smith and Evangelist/Hippy Lonnie Frisbee and the beginning of the relationship between high school students Greg and Cathe.

jesus revolution: Chuck Smith & Lonnie Frisbee

Comparing this movie to recent bio-pics like Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) or Rocketman (2019), I commend the makers for not setting up any straw-men villains and for not having something overtly supernatural as a pivotal element to the story. However, make no mistake, Kingdom Story Company is a Christian studio, so the Bible gets quoted a lot and the characters are quick to pray over every situation as if that’s what everyone does.

Having some familiarity with the story I was intrigued at what they would include and where they were going to end this story.

Here’s a snippet from the trailer/Click the link below to watch the trailer…

I love Lonnie Frisbee’s line to Chuck Smith, “You’re gonna need a bigger church…” (Play “Jaws” music in the background). Speaking of music… I find that the use of Doobie Brothers’ tunes interesting because there is such a great catalog of actual Christian music from the era to pick from. My friend, Debra, commented that maybe they selected popular mainstream music from the era to help the general public get a feel for what would be in the movie based on the music they already know. That’s an interesting thought. So then, who is the intended audience for this film and who should see this film?

Jesus Revolution: Lonnie "You're Gonna Need a Bigger Church" — ***Jesus Revolution: Lonnie “You’re Gonna Need a Bigger Church”***

I probably represent an unusual Venn Diagram as someone who was a teenager in Southern California in the 1970s, went to home bible studies with the Catholic variant of the Jesus Freaks (Catholic Charismatics), learned to play guitar and write music with born-again friends, studied religion at a Catholic university and then at a Protestant Fundamentalist university (getting a Bachelor’s degree in Biblical Studies at the latter). Then I got a second B.A. in journalism. Anyway, intended or not, I knew I had to see this movie, but as noted, I’m weird that way.

Are you someone who grew up in Southern California in the 1970s, was your life somehow touched by the Jesus Movement? I would imagine that anyone calling themselves Evangelical or Christian with an interest in their own history would want to see this movie. I have no idea if someone with no connection to Southern California or the 1970s would be interested and I’m curious if young (as in less than 40!) Christians would be interested in this story. It is a well told story, but I can’t imagine that anyone outside of the Evangelical/Southern California/1970s combination is going to be interested in this movie. Even though Deb qualified for two of the three elements, I doubt that she would have seen the movie if I hadn’t invited her to join me.

Are you thinking of seeing Jesus Revolution? Right now it’s only available in theaters, which is why I’m rushing to post this podcast, so that you can see it before it possibly disappears. It should eventually be available to rent or buy from Amazon, Apple and other services. I know that there are Christian online outlets that will rent, stream or sell a copy of the movie as soon as possible. I’m curious who will watch it and what their opinions might be.

As noted in the title of this podcast episode, this spoiler free observation of the movie is primarily to to share that this movie exists and hope that some of you see it so that we can talk about it. In a few weeks I hope to post a part 2 deeper examination on the movie. Until then, this is Joe Bustillos with JBB’s Final Thoughts saying, Enjoy (and please subscribe to this podcast, wherever you find it or the video version on YouTube). Thanks.