Church People

This faith-based comedy is best for faith-based viewers. Church People is a movie centered on the wild premise of a megachurch that seems to have lost its way as it found fame and success. It wants to take it one step further by presenting a live crucifixion of the youth pastor so that the church attendees can have a more direct experience of what Jesus Christ endured on the cross. The idea of a violent, bloody, and painful death of, first, the youth pastor lead character and, then, of an enthusiastic teen who volunteers when the youth pastor absolutely refuses, is offset by attempts at comedy, usually Joey Fatone making up songs on the spot in a style hearkening back to his NSYNC days. It's a gentle satire of the character types in megachurches, what happens when the marketing and merchandise for sale in a megachurch overshadow the message the megachurch is supposed to be communicating, and clueless parents (played in a cameo by Chynna Phillips and William Baldwin) who give their kids a little too much leeway. There's also a cameo from the "MyPillow Guy."

Those who aren't megachurch attendees and/or faith-based people may not enjoy this. The crucifixion premise is truly bizarre, the comedy either falls flat or quickly grows tiresome (i.e., Fatone's singing), and the megachurch character types aren't relatable if you're not going to a megachurch. There are moments that might feel a bit heavy-handed for the nonbelievers. The climactic scene is a bit overblown and melodramatic, no matter how much one believes in the message being delivered.