Christian Review Magazine Issue 3 - March 2015 | Page 18

W

hen Sam (Alex Russell, The
Host) finds out that he owes
over $9,000 dollars for tuition,
he comes up with what he thinks is a great
idea to make a quick buck – start a fake
charity and scam gullible Christians out of
their money. So Sam and and his three
college buddies, Pierce (Miles Fisher, Bad
Sports), Tyler (Sinqua Walls, Power), and
Baker (Max Adler, GLEE), start “Project Get
Wells Soon”.

Title:

BELIEVE ME
Rating:

Starring

Alex Russell, Zachary
Knighton, Johanna Braddy,
Max Adler, Sinqua Walls,
Miles Fisher, Christopher
McDonald, Nick Offerman,
Lecrae
Written by:

Michael B. Allen, Will
Bakke
Directed by:

Will Bakke
Genre:

Drama, Comedy
Running Time:

93 minutes

MPAA Rating:

PG-13

Production Company:

Riot Studios
Reviewed by:

Leah St John
Release Date:

Out Now : DVD, Blu-ray,
VOD
18 > CHRISTIAN REVIEW MAGAZINE

Soon after the charity’s inception, the guys
accept an offer to go on a national
preaching tour in the hopes of making a
hefty profit. While on tour, they have to
deal with many things including keeping
their fake charity a secret, a suspecting
worship leader (Zachary Knighton, Happy
Endings) with a HUGE ego, a love interest
(Johanna Braddy, Video Game High School),
and their own consciences.

“Give in a way that reflects
the faith that you claim.”
For want of a better description, Believe Me
is a character study on Christians. It is an
interesting and humorous look at “Christian
culture” through the eyes of four outsiders.
Not to give too much away, but while on
tour, the four main characters have to learn
and put into practice some of the
“common-knowledge” ideals and traits
that are often associated with being a
Christian (praying/worshiping the right
way, wearing “Jesus” clothing, not
swearing, acting a certain way, etc).
Ultimately, the film demonstrates the
impact of words, and shows that no matter
how much you buy in to the “Christian
thing” or play the part of a Christian, it’s
nigh-on impossible to imitate or fake
having a genuine faith in the long run –
when it comes down to it, if you had to give
up everything (pride, money, time, etc) to

do what you believe God is leading you to
do, would you?
Thanks to some sound writing from
first-time feature writer/director Will Bakke
and co-writer Michael B. Allen, Believe Me
was a well written film, with funny,
dramatic, and poignant moments. As far as
cinematography, directing (kudos again to
Will Bakke), and editing go, Believe Me is a
great example that a fantastic film can be
made outside of “Hollywood” (the
artistically filmed slo-mo party scenes were
amazing!).
Additionally, this movie contains one of the
best soundtracks I’ve ever heard, period.
Aside from simply being great music, the
placement of the music lent itself to the
overall atmosphere of the film.
The lead actors in the film brought their
A-game, offering some believable and
quality acting, giving their characters real
depth. There were also notable cameo
appearances from rap artist Lecrae, as well
as Parks & Recreation‘s Nick Offerman,
who plays a droll yet still humorous college
adviser.
While it is highly entertaining, brilliantly
acted, and extremely well made, there is a
lot that one can learn from watching
Believe Me. The movie is very thought
provoking, passionately produced, and it
not-so-subtly demonstrates that mere
words can have a huge impact on
someone's faith. But I believe that the
bigger message to be found in Believe Me is
that people should discover Jesus for
themselves, and find their hope in Him, and
not in some new inspirational speaker,
cause, or craze.
Believe Me is a satirical look at Christianity.
It does feature some drama and mature
themes, and as such I highly recommend
this movie for older teen-adult audiences.