Review of Blue Like Jazz (2012) by Bill M — 12 Apr 2012

I really enjoyed the book the film is -- at least, in theory (many changes from the book were made) -- based on. I was fully expecting to leave the film not liking the movie as well as the book, since that is typically the case with books-turned movies. That was particularly true with Blue Like Jazz. My disappointment more lies in the fact that what I liked best about the book -- a guy openly and honestly wrestling with his Christian faith in the face of real life, and in a community of some other believers -- gets almost entirely lost until the final 5 minutes of the film.

I also disliked the over-the-top reinforcements of evangelical Christians as puppet-wielding, backwards, cheese-balls whose clergy either sleeps with its congregants and/or its congregant's children. Christian get enough of that from non-Christians; they don't really need Christians like Don to pile on. My memory of the book was there was a tiny bit of that, but it was much more subtle. It felt like a central theme in the film.

All that said, I did like the redemptive ending. I just think had the film held truer to the essence of the book -- and didn't strive so hard to be liked by everyone -- it could have been far, far better.