Review of Blue Like Jazz (2012) by Jesse M — 17 Jan 2014

It's funny, I had serious issue with the caricature depiction of Baptist Christians that plagued this film only to discover that a complaint hurled at the movie by the critics was that it featured caricature depictions of liberal arts' colleges.

So we've already established that the depictions are caricatures on both sides. It's format even tells you when the climax is and it's dramatically weak. Seeking to fulfill living out the human experience, the movie depiction doesn't even feature one of the paramount aspects of the book: "The most important lesson of my life was that my life wasn't about me" (paraphrase). That's nowhere to be seen. This movie is all about the self-importance of how the characters feel with only Penny's character providing somewhat of a moral standing, and of course, that is drenched in the post-modern cliche of missions work of working with the poor being the highest good.

Basically, this film is stupid. It's not without charm, but it's all about this self-seeking character who only helps other people because it gives him fulfillment in the human experience. For a movie that wants to be the new face of Christianity, it is markedly devoid of God or what His desire for us, and instead focuses on man and what we want for God.