As someone who has gotten a peek behind the proverbial curtain of the Christian music industry several times since starting this site in the mid-1990's, I did find some of the moral struggles of the band members to be quite on the nose.
At the risk of spoiling the story for you - and even promotional plot descriptions for the movie have specified that this is the story of a band who doesn't make it - the reasoning for why that may be never really feels realistic.
While the grittier aspects of the story weren't unwarranted, I never felt like the ends justified the means. While watching the movie, I still felt like it was little bit more of a cynical view of the Christian rock ministry lifestyle. In a way, it felt like a mockery or satire, but it also seemed like it could end up being a sincere throwback to the Christian hair metal era. When I first saw the trailer for Electric Jesus, I felt like it was unclear what the intentions of this film were. Still, I was impressed by the name-dropping the characters do throughout the film, and the little details, all the way down to a band member wearing a Die Happy t-shirt, or hearing the names of acts like One Bad Pig, Petra and Idle Cure. However, a lot of liberties are still taken throughout the story to remind those with even a basic knowledge of Christian music in the 80's that this isn't exactly a true story. There's enough authenticity brought to the story about what Christian rock music was like in the mid-80's, that it almost feels like this is a true biopic about a real band. The story then flashes back to some weeks before as the teens entertain a youth group and Erik reflects on meeting and getting hired as their sound technician.
The opening scene of Electric Jesus shows 316 playing in a bar and getting cussed out while being encouraged to get off the stage. Erik, played by Andrew Eakle, accompanies the band as their new sound guy - a well-meaning teen who believes he can help 316's mission to "make Jesus famous." It's an admirable goal with pure intentions, but, sadly, Electric Jesus sets out to prove that good intentions often aren't enough. The story follows a group of teens in Columbia, South Carolina in 1986, who make up a hair metal band called 316 and suddenly get the life-changing chance to go on a mini road tour. Movie Reviews (Main) > Movie Reviews (Main)Įlectric Jesus is a new music-driven indie film that feels cut from the same cloth as Blue Like Jazz, with a dash of Bohemian Rhapsody.Indie Reviews (Main) > Indie Reviews (Main).