Believe Me

The start of the movie was hilarious with some comedy bits but it kinda didn't last more than 25 minutes , then the serious Drama rigid stuff came out.

To be fair it's a nice movie , well written, well casting , the main characters were generally funny. as a good doer myself and activist in charities (so humble, right!! :D ) the storyline sounded a bit more complicated than it usually is. but maybe that's how charities in the name of Jesus works. .. don't know.

anyway,, the movie was acceptable would recommend watching it with family on pizza night :D generally, if you're Christian then you'll be jumping up and down out of faith, but if you're something else so you'll see that 5/10 is good score.

also i gotta say "Max Adler" this guy is gonna be something i'v seen him on "Switched at Birth" before and he's got a real talent, and here he was the comic whiff that the movie needed.

I personally really enjoyed Believe Me, but it won't have as much appeal to everybody. Much of the humor in this movie comes from the main characters trying to blend in with Christians, but if you aren't part of this type of Christian culture, some of the jokes won't make as much sense or could completely fly over your head. I'm pretty heavily involved with a college ministry, and so are my friends I watched this with, and most of us thought it was hilarious, largely because things they point out that are totally true about a lot of Christians in their 20s at this point in time, and much of it is ridiculous. However, I could easily see some Christians being offended by some of the humor.

That being said, there are still some points that will be funny to most audiences. Max Adler's character Baker is one of the funnier parts of this movie, and his interactions with Miles Fisher's Pierce are gems. Nick Offerman provides laughs, though his role is a small one. These aren't the only parts that general audiences could find funny, but they are some of the standouts.

One area where this movie separates itself from other Christian movies is that it isn't preachy. Yes, there are messages to be found, but you have to pick them out and think through them for yourself. This is not the type of movie that is designed just to make Christians feel good about themselves after watching it (they actually poke fun at those movies in one scene), but instead it takes a look at some real issues that are present inside modern Christian life, and could definitely be enjoyable for other audiences.

While I do believe most people could find some enjoyment in this movie, I would recommend it most highly to Christians ages 16-30 and those involved in ministries which really target that age group.

Believe me is about 4 frat brothers who start a fake charity so that they can make money to wipe off a college loan. If this film was supposed to be a commentary on the current state of US higher education they might have had something. Sadly the main characters are just like the self-entitled privileged jocks that are usually painted as the bad guys in 80s films where the nerds finally have their day, so straight off the bat you hate them. The whole thing kind of sounds like a light-hearted college film, right? Wrong. Before I watched it I figured it would contain all of the classic frat characters and hijinx we have come to love from college films like Animal House, and the preview made it look funny. Wrong again. Sadly the film doesn't know whether it should be funny or serious. It pivots between poorly timed jokes that don't hit their mark and moments where we are supposed to see the human side of these asshole characters -and neither works. If it had stuck to being a shameless comedy (and they cast actors with a concept of comedic timing) then this film might have worked. Instead they tried to give it a serious edge and the lack of commitment doesn't pay off. The premise is flawed to begin with and it doesn't help that the script doesn't do anything to set up how and why the audience should believe these characters have the capability to accomplish what they are doing. The thing stinks of lazy writing, amateur directing and below average acting. Don't waste your time.

No, this isn't a squeaky clean Christian film (but not vulgar either). I don't like the whole Christian genre because I'm a bit of a skeptic and most real Christian movies are way to cheesy and fake for me. But I did think this was a good film. I thought they really nailed the whole "Christian Culture"...studying the way they talk, the way they dress, in a really funny way. Yes, the movie had a "moral of the story" where they saw the err of their ways, but these guys were depicted in a true to life sort of way. I'm not a big churchgoer, but I've gone enough to know how accurate this film was. The movie sort of touched on how easy it is to take advantage of those who wholeheartedly expect the best in people. Yes, it was kind of sad, but in a funny kind of way. But all is well that ends well!

This movie was very well written and directed. It doesn't tell you what to think, but leaves you thinking.

The trailer may cause you to think it is anti-Christian, but it is not. Lecrae is in it (#1 Christian Hip Hop Artist). On the other hand, some people are calling it a Christian film, but it is not (no alter call or come to Jesus moment).

Other reviews- NY Times -"a smart, sly comedy...about the power of platforms".

Indiewire -"…Will Bakke has crafted a hilariously smart religious satire".

Movieguide - "Christian satire done right".

Beliefnet- "Believe Me hits the right notes".

Be prepared to laugh out loud and have a good time.

Best to watch with a clear head as there are tons of little jokes that you might need to watch more than once to catch them all!