Imagine a Christian version of the hit show "Whose Line is it, Anyway?" featuring games such as "Jesus Freeze" and asking the audience to provide suggestions such as "favorite Biblical city." It's not the newest release from the Evangelical TV network. Instead, it's the basis for AU grad student Daniel Jones and Dann Sytsma's film "Comic Evangelists."
"Comic Evangelists" follows an improvisational comedy group from a small, conservative Midwestern town to Toronto, where they hope to perform as part of an improv festival. The group members call themselves Comic Evangelists because they try to spread the word of the Lord through their performances. With an atheist and a closeted gay man along for the ride, it's not long until the trip starts to take a turn for the worse.
With all the awkward situations that arise as a result of the conservative Christian views of the group, the laughs don't stop. T-shirts bearing slogans such as "Modest is Hottest" and songs that claim Jesus as their friend because they don't "smoke or drink or cuss" ensure the entire movie is filled with hilarious Christian references and paraphernalia.
Jones said the film is approximately 80 to 90 percent improvisation of the featured group's conception. After some characters and a few stories were developed, minimal writing was done to make the story more cohesive. The informal process in which the story is developed does not come through in the final plot, which flows as well as if it were fully scripted.
The movie is filmed in mock documentary fashion, so the low budget ($50, to be exact) doesn't show in the production, although Jones admits all of the filming was done over existing footage on old tapes. Just 10 hours of film and a year of editing produced this truly remarkable comedy, barely distinguishable as an amateur film.
For Christian viewers that might feel the film is disrespectful of their religious views, it's important to note the comedy is no more offensive than movies like "Saved," which find humor not in fundamental Christian beliefs but in fanaticism. It should also be noted that the improv group Crawlspace Eviction, who stars in the film, is composed in part by conservative Christians, according to Jones.
"Comic Evangelists" was shown on campus Tuesday night as part of SOC week. The film's first big showing was at the American Film Institute's festival in Los Angeles, where it received positive reviews. "Comic Evangelists" was also shown this past weekend at a film festival in East Lansing, Mich.
The movie is currently available on a limited-release DVD, but Jones says a wider release for the mass market should be available this summer. To order a DVD or find out more about the film, visit www.comicevangeliststhemovie.com .
