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Is it just me or do Christian movies always have terrible acting?

Occasionally, I get started into a movie only to discover that it's a Christian movie intended to convert people. I find they all have one thing in common. The acting is terrible. All this time I've been thinking that it's because they figure they don't need to put too much effort into it because it's the "word of God" but today I began to wonder if it's just because that seems to be the nature of Christian people trying to spread a message. Either way, it's almost like I can spot a Christian movie right off the bat by the bad acting.

Edit: I differentiate between movies meant to convert and depictions of biblical stories. Every movie I've seen that is specifically geared toward converting people has had bad acting. Biblical depictions have usually been good quality. The movie that sparked my comments was Left Behind with Nicholas Cage. Others would include War Room, Fireproof, and Courageous. Another thing they have in common is that they usually don't make it obvious it's a Christian movie. You find out when you're watching.

UpsideDownAgain 7 July 26
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42 comments

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1

Like the Kirk Cameron things?

Even those epic Cecil B films had bad acting but are fun to watch for the over bloated more cowbell panoramas.

Life of Brian is pretty good. But yes, that is satire.

9

The only thing I like about those crap films is writing reviews on them....

I want a T-shirt with that on it!

@JacobMeyers [officedepot.com]

@Lizard_of_Ahaz haha thanks. I’d no idea T-shirt’s had become so easy.

@JacobMeyers Be sure to invert the image before you print it so it comes out right. The software to do that is already in your computer...

8

They can't afford any Jewish actors.

8

For a really long time, I thought they were doing it on purpose...

5

They don't always have terrible acting. Sometimes the acting is a lot worse than merely terrible.

5

I dare anyone to get through a marathon of recent Kevin Sorbo movies without their intestines reaching up to strangle their brains. (I always think it's going to be an old Kevin Sorbo movie and then find he's still paying "god" back for still being alive). OMG.... Don't do it!

Not that he was the best actor ever - but gees....

5

It's not just you.

4

Like with most "Christian" art forms they aren't the brightest or most self reflective of people(if you never think you're wrong you can't get better at anything) and they're usually working cheap, so crap actors who can't get other parts wind up being hired.

4

Yes, the acting is terrible, but the script is worse.

4

Have you ever watched the Hallmark holiday movies? They are very "faith" oriented and I find it weird that they actually do have some decent actors playing the parts (like, seasoned actors) but the movie is still cheesy. Never quite got that.

Any creative endeavor is a reflection of the folks creating it. If you're delusional and shit at critical thinking, your arts gonna suck.

4

The really rigid acting is typical for religious movies with a few exceptions the dogma is too important for them

bobwjr Level 10 July 27, 2019
4

What about The Passion of the Christ? I mean, it's no Kirk Cameron Saves Christmas, but it's still pretty good acting from what I can tell.

4

I can't even think of one I've ever seen that had good acting. Not a one

@NoPlanetB I agree

3

They're not investing a lot of money in the best actors . Those charge millions . Although , I do recall hearing Morgan Freeman , played God in at least one movie .

3

I think you might be right about the awful acting in these portentous movies.

I’m not a grammar nazi but I think your typo is a bit ironic since a some of the Christian movies have to do with what is going to happen in the future (ala left behind)

3

I’ve never seen one....unless you mean some of the old ones like The Ten Commandments, Ben Hur and The Robe....but they were all great movies with great actors in them. I guess that’s not what you are referring to.

3

It's called going through the motions because of a usually bad script.

3

I know some are made by churches so they are limited on their talent.

Millzy Level 5 July 27, 2019
3

christian movies? never touch the stuff. apart from being an atheist, i am jewish. christian ANYTHING is of no interest to me.

g

Is there some bias there? Or do you not watch ANY fantasy. I don’t mind Christian or any other religiously based myths as a story telling device. Who didn’t love Greek mythology in school?

Thanks for chiming in to tell us you have nothing to say about the subject. 😉

@JacobMeyers the ancient greeks don't knock doors or try to convert me or try to put prayer into city council meetings or violate the separation of church and state or tell me i am going to hell or redefine atheism (or judaism for that matter, or jewishness either). so yeah i am a little biased against movies whose purpose is to do any of that. fantasy movies tend not to do that and i can enjoy some of them. if they are trying to convince me they're not fantasy, that's different. movies about christians, that's different too -- as long as the movie doesn't assume everyone is or should be christian. the post wasn't asking about movies about religion (or fantasy). it was asking about religious movies.

g

@UpsideDownAgain you're welcome. any time. of course that's not what i did, but you apparently only want answers that meet your expectations. neither life nor social media is like that. i wasn't rude or anything. i didn't diss your question. i answered it the best way i could. silly me.

g

@genessa Sorry if I was offensive.

@UpsideDownAgain de nada. we'll start over from scratch 🙂)

g

3

Its because they all have the same plot or storyline.

3

I wouldn't know because I never watch Christian movies.

Have been an atheist since age 13.

3

I think it might be the writing.

bingst Level 8 July 27, 2019
2

I actually love books, movies, and shows that take religious themes and ideas seriously. There are not many. In recent years, I loved HBO's "The Leftovers" (three short, spectacular seasons, NOT to be confused with "Left Behind" ) and the Netflix documentary "Wild Wild Country". I'm endlessly fascinated by human psychology, beliefs in groups, complex group dynamics, cults, magical thinking, etc., especially when dramatized and analyzed so very well.

Also, FYI, the second season of "The Leftovers", in my view, is among the absolute best seasons of television of all time--which is all the more remarkable given the first season was based on a book, and the story was essentially wrapped up after one season. Season 2 to my imagination would have been a nonstarter...and what made it even better was how startlingly superb it was. And season 3 built on season 2. (I always love it when creative people surprise me with their talent. It doesn't happen often.)

I loved the leftovers.

2

What gets me is if you look at the trailers on youtube, the comments below must be from the producers' mothers or something. They all seem to be, "What a wonderful movie!" and "I cried at this part" and "What an uplifting message", bla bla bla. No real human person could think that. Any given porn movie has better acting.

2

No, it is not only you. I hasten to point out to you that much of the perceived bad acting is a result of the writing. The films are not intended as a form of entertainment. Their purpose is propaganda and indoctrination. They are written specifically to make one or more phony points that fit the agenda of the church. The writers don't even try for natural sounding dialog. The entire screenplay is designed to make a statement. Many politicians are much more entertaining and make more sense than the average religious film. Oh, and you are right to distinguish between most (not all) bible story telling films (Exodus for example) and the regular fare (God's Not Dead I and II are a couple of gems).

Did he say that made...100 million dollars? WTF?

@greyeyed123 -- Indeed. However, consider that the majority of the audience for the film was either evangelical or leaning in that direction and it makes sense. They have a captive audience.

2

I think they believe they can get away with substandard stuff if they are dealing with a virtuous theme. They do it all the time in my country with anything to do with the Irish language.

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