Review of What Would Jesus Buy? (2007) by Erno K — 30 Apr 2008

What Would Jesus Buy follows reverend Billy and his Stop Shopping choir around America in their quest to find the true meaning of Christmas. The subject itself is very interesting and I agree wholeheartedly that our consumerism is getting out of hand, especially come Christmas. The documentary is not well-made, however. There is way too much focus on Billy and his antics, and the fascinating subject is really never explored in any detail. Sometimes little data filters through all the theatrics, like the fact that Disney got some guy's kneecaps busted, because he tried to form a union for his sweatshop workers in Sri Lanka. That kind of info was what I wanted. Instead we get too much singing. The songs are cute and entertaining the first time, but there are way too many crammed into this film.

All the church stuff and preaching was unnecessary in my view. Just simple facts about consumerism in the USA would have made for a much better documentary. For example, the lady that had a closet in her house solely for her dog's clothes was scary. I bet it would have been fairly easy to find more such looneys. This film was more about Billy and his crew than the message they tried to convey. Ultimately, it failed for the same reason most of the documentaries these days do: the maker of the thing has too big of an ego and has to be in every shot. That would make a great documentary in itself. Why is publicity so important to people nowadays?