Jesus Revolution

Jesus Revolution is a 2023 American Christian drama film directed by Jon Erwin and Brent McCorkle. Based on the autobiographical book of the same name co-written by Greg Laurie, the film follows Laurie (Joel Courtney), Christian hippie Lonnie Frisbee (Jonathan Roumie), and pastor Chuck Smith (Kelsey Grammer) as they take part in the Jesus movement in California during the late 1960s. Anna Grace Barlow and Kimberly Williams-Paisley also star.
The film was theatrically released in the United States on February 24, 2023, by Lionsgate. The film received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $53 million worldwide against a production budget of $15 million.
Plot
In 1968, a stern yet respected Southern California pastor, Chuck Smith, realizes that his church is slowly dying and that he is unable to connect with the younger, live-free generation of hippies. One day, his daughter, Janette, gives a ride to a colorful hippie hitchhiker named Lonnie Frisbee, who says he is traveling around and telling people about the ministry of Jesus. Smith, at first suspicious of Frisbee, eventually warms up to him and welcomes other hippies to his church and his home. Lonnie introduces Chuck to a band called Love Song, who proceed to perform a song in his living room. They join forces and start a successful movement to evangelize hippies and others.
Meanwhile, high-school student Greg Laurie runs away from his Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps class and joins a girl named Cathe who "turns him on" to a Janis Joplin concert, with Timothy Leary preaching the value of drugs for self-discovery. However, Greg sees that various hippies are dangerously irresponsible; Cathe's sister gets sick from a drug overdose. When watching a movie, Cathe gets angry at Greg for not caring about how dangerous drugs are and breaks their friendship.
At the hippie campus, Cathe is listening to Lonnie preach; Greg then comes over and they reconcile, ending with Cathe telling him she found a church and he should come visit. Greg and Cathe find solace at Smith and Frisbee's ministry, though Cathe's uptight parents are not enthusiastic about Greg.
The ministry explodes in popularity, being seen as a "Jesus Revolution" or "Jesus freaks", and even sparking a Time magazine cover in 1971. However, Lonnie eventually leaves for Florida after having disagreements with Chuck Smith. Greg offers to take over a ministry branch in Riverside, and eventually marries Cathe and becomes a famous pastor himself; creating the Harvest Fellowship. Smith and Frisbee are remembered as founders of the widespread Calvary Chapel movement, and more generally as leaders in the Jesus movement.
Cast
Joel Courtney as Greg Laurie
Jackson Robert Scott as young Greg Laurie
Jonathan Roumie as Lonnie Frisbee
Kimberly Williams-Paisley as Charlene, Greg's mother
Anna Grace Barlow as Cathe
Kelsey Grammer as Chuck Smith
Nic Bishop as Dick
Nicholas Cirillo as Charlie
Ally Ioannides as Janette Smith
Julia Campbell as Kay
Mina Sundwall as Dodie
DeVon Franklin as Josiah
Charlie Morgan Patton as Connie
Jolie Jenkins as Pilar
Shaun Weiss as Vietnam Vet
Production
The film was announced in June 2018, with Jon Erwin and Jon Gunn writing the screenplay, Gunn directing, and Greg Laurie, Kevin Downes, and the Erwin Brothers producing. Jim Gaffigan and Joel Courtney signed on in the lead roles in June 2020, although Kelsey Grammer eventually replaced Gaffigan. Filming occurred in Mobile, Alabama in March 2022, with several other scenes being shot on-location in California.
Release
The film had its premiere at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles on February 15, 2023, and was theatrically released in the United States on February 24, 2023, by Lionsgate. The film was released internationally, starting in Singapore on March 23, 2023, with Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, and others set for the subsequent months.
Home media
Jesus Revolution was released for VOD on April 11, 2023, followed by a Blu-ray and DVD release on April 25, 2023.
Reception
Box office
In the United States and Canada, Jesus Revolution was released alongside Cocaine Bear, and was initially projected to gross $6–7 million from 2,475 theaters in its opening weekend. The film made $7 million on its first day (including $3.3 million from previews from the days leading up to its release), raising weekend estimates to $14 million. It went on to debut with $15.8 million, finishing in third place. In its second weekend it made $8.7 million, continuing to outperform expectations, finishing in fifth place. In its third and fourth weekends the film made $5.1 million and $3.5 million, respectively, to pass $40 million and briefly become the highest-grossing Lionsgate movie since 2019. The film eventually passed $50 million.
Critical response
The film received mixed reviews from critics. Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A+", giving director Jon Erwin the most films to earn the grade (following 2015's Woodlawn, 2018's I Can Only Imagine and 2021's American Underdog). Those polled by PostTrak gave it a 97% positive score, with 89% saying they would definitely recommend the film.
Joshua Encinias of MovieMaker attributed its positive reception among audiences to "high production values and a storyline that works even if you don’t care about Christianity." Rahul Malhotra and Simbiat Ayoola of Collider noted that Christian media is an "underserved audience", that "the production company did its due diligence to create buzz", and "despite mixed critical reviews, Jesus Revolution has proven to be rather popular with its target demographic." Michael Foust of Crosswalk gave it 5 out of 5 stars, writing that "although the script carries the film, the cast makes it believable." Noting that Jonathan Roumie is best known for his portrayal of Jesus in The Chosen, Foust added, "it doesn’t take long to put that in the back of your mind and imagine him as Frisbee."
Dennis Harvey of Variety gave the film a positive review, saying the film is "polished and persuasive without getting too preachy." In another review, James Berardinelli said that "Jesus Revolution takes a fascinating period of American history – the hippie movement and its associated fallout within the Christian community – and transforms it into a bland, TV movie-of-the-week experience." Film Threat writer Alan Ng gave the film an 8/10, saying, "I associate three things with faith-based films: bad acting, an outrageous, overly positive message, and a shoe-horned sermon. Thankfully, this film avoids all three elements." Nell Minow of RogerEbert.com gave the film 2 stars, pointing out that the film skips details like one of its real-life characters' substance abuse and homosexuality, and quoted Jack Kornfield saying "after the ecstasy comes the laundry." Kathy Schiffer of the National Catholic Register noted, "If you're old enough to remember the 1960s and '70s, you'll find Lionsgate's upbeat new film Jesus Revolution to be a walk down memory lane... As a mainstream Christian film, it focuses on a feel-good faith message, which is more than welcome amid today's culture."
References
External links
Lionsgate films
American drama films
American films based on actual events
Films about evangelicalism
Films set in California
Films set in the 1960s
Films set in the 1970s
Films shot in California
Films shot in Mobile, Alabama
Hippie films
Jesus movement
2020s English-language films
2020s American films