What Would Jesus Buy?

The buying frenzy season of Christmas has recently past, but this documentary hopes to send a message to American shoppers: Stop shopping. Performance artist Bill Talen (in his get-up as Reverend Billy) along with his wife, Savitri D, and his gospel choir, the Church of Stop Shopping, have made it their mission to prevent the “Shopocalypse” by traveling cross-country, going to the streets and stores (including Wal-Mart and the Disney Store, with the ultimate destination being Disneyland itself) to convince shoppers that peace and love, not material goods, are the key to happiness. Produced by Morgan “Super Size Me” Spurlock, What Would Jesus Buy? is an unbiased look at how out of control consumerism has become, with growing credit card debt and the exploitation of Third World labor. The movie is entertaining and moves fast, but the message is muddled, especially with the semi-mockumentary look of the feature, not helped in any way by Reverend Billy’s huge pompadour, crazy outfits and evangelical ranting.

Shelf Talk: Having received major media attention before last year’s Christmas season in such media outlets as CNN, Newsweek and ABC News, What Would Jesus Buy? was primed to make some noise in the winter months. However, releasing in mid-April won’t do much to help its chances, unless it is positioned to play off of Spurlock’s name. Customers also will have to be convinced that it’s a serious documentary and not the zany direct-to-video comedy suggested by the gospel choir and burning cash register pictures on the box.