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Movies / On DVD / What Would Jesus Buy?
What Would Jesus Buy?

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What Would Jesus Buy? (2007)

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Reviews Counted:53

Fresh:32

Rotten:21

Average Rating:6.2/10

Consensus: WWJB is an eye opening doc about consumerism that manages to be both funny and informative.

Runtime: 1 hr 31 mins

Genre: Education/General Interest

Synopsis: From producer Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me) and director Rob VanAlkemade, “What Would Jesus Buy?” examines the commercialization of Christmas in America while following Reverend Billy and the... From producer Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me) and director Rob VanAlkemade, “What Would Jesus Buy?” examines the commercialization of Christmas in America while following Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping Gospel Choir on a cross-country mission to save Christmas from the Shopocalypse (the end of humankind from consumerism, over-consumption and the fires of eternal debt.) The film also delves into issues such as the role sweatshops play in America’s mass consumerism and Big-Box Culture. From the humble beginnings of preaching at his portable pulpit on New York City subways, to having a congregation of thousands – Bill Talen (aka Rev. Billy) has become the leader of not just a church, but a national movement. Rev. Billy’s epic journey takes us to chilling exorcisms at Wal-Mart headquarters, to retail interventions at the Mall of America, and all the way to the Promised Land on Christmas Day. The Stop Shopping mission reminds us that even though we may be “hypnotized and consumerized,” we still have a chance to save ourselves this Christmas. --© Official Site [More]

Director: Rob VanAlkemade

Director: Rob VanAlkemade
Producer: Morgan Spurlock, Stacey Offman, Peter Hutchison
Composer: William Moses

Reviews for What Would Jesus Buy?

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

The film gets a little heavy handed, but it's an important message.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
11/15/07
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
10/18/08
Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
10/18/08
Boston Globe
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
10/18/08
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
10/18/08
Josh Rosenblatt
Josh Rosenblatt
Austin Chronicle
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: San Diego Metropolitan | comment Comment
10/18/08
Jean Lowerison
Jean Lowerison
San Diego Metropolitan

This funny, yet thought provoking film asks many questions that have plagued consumerism for decades. While much of the ground tracked over is old, it fits perfectly into the modern economic situation.

Full Review Source: Oscar Guy | comment Comment
09/30/08
Wesley Lovell
Wesley Lovell
Oscar Guy

So we need a better movie about this subject. As usual.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
06/14/08
David Bezanson
David Bezanson
Filmcritic.com

The shopaholic wages of sin are...the Shopocalypse!

Full Review Source: NewsBlaze | comment Comment
04/12/08
Prairie Miller
Prairie Miller
NewsBlaze

Reverend Billy is a charismatic presence, even if his shtick is too silly and the documentary too unfocused to motivate any serious change in the nation’s holiday spending habits.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
04/03/08
Mark Keizer
Mark Keizer
Boxoffice Magazine

Seeing WWJB? in a theater is not necessary, although seeing him and the choir hijacking a mall in person would be better than Beowulf in IMAX.

Full Review Source: Las Vegas CityLife | comment Comment
03/17/08
Matt Kelemen
Matt Kelemen
Las Vegas CityLife

Talen runs the risk of losing his purpose amid his performance.

Full Review Source: Colorado Springs Gazette | comment Comment
02/28/08
Brandon Fibbs
Brandon Fibbs
Colorado Springs Gazette

These bits of information could have been shocking in about 1940, 1980 and 1990. But by now, Americans who don't know couldn't care less.

Full Review Source: Charlotte Observer | comment Comment
01/11/08
Lawrence Toppman
Lawrence Toppman
Charlotte Observer

The good reverend and his crew do their best to get busted at assorted corporate shrines (Disneyland, the Mall of America), but their media-driven antics serve only to underline Spurlock's add-water-and-stir approach to political documentary.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
01/03/08
J. R. Jones
J. R. Jones
Chicago Reader

Having illuminated the many dimensions in that vast universe between the flat affect of creative depression and the modish affectation of emo posing, Corbijn manages Control with elegant, understated veneration.

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
12/21/07
Jonathan Kiefer
Jonathan Kiefer
Sacramento News & Review

While the movie may be a good vehicle for Rev. Billy's points, it's too tied to his point of view.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles CityBeat | comment Comment
12/21/07
Andy Klein
Andy Klein
Los Angeles CityBeat

Genuine and meaningful provocateurs like Talen are vital, and his message is a glad one to anymore who abhors the WalMart-ification of America.

Full Review Source: Flick Filosopher | comment Comment
12/17/07
MaryAnn Johanson
MaryAnn Johanson
Flick Filosopher

And as far as sermons go, it’s a good one. You just wish the director had found someone else to deliver it.

Full Review Source: Kansas City Star | comment Comment
12/14/07
David Frese
David Frese
Kansas City Star

An amiable but also angry documentary.

Full Review Source: San Diego Union-Tribune | comment Comment
12/13/07
David Elliott
David Elliott
San Diego Union-Tribune

Obvious or not, heeding Reverend Billy's anti-Shopacolypse gospel could make your holidays a little simpler, sweeter, and saner.

Full Review Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | comment Comment
12/13/07
Paul Kosidowski
Paul Kosidowski
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
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