Believe Me offers a fresh, bold satire of Christian culture. Writer/Director Will Bakke is responsible for the documentaries One Nation Under God and Beware of Christians. It was during a national tour to promote the latter film that he conceived the idea for Believe Me. Bakke and his friends became self-aware and saw so many humorous things in Christian culture that they felt they had to make a comedy to call out their fellow Christians.
Growing up in the church, I was immersed in that culture. I remember things like the film’s Christian clothing company – naively named “Cross Dressing” – with shirts that say “F Satan” and “Abstinence is Bad-A.” (Incidentally, that is an actual company and those are actual shirts.) I was particularly amused by the analysis of worship postures such as “The Gecko” and “The Shawshank.” These are just some of the many elements of Christian culture satirized in this film, which should prove humorous to Christians and non-Christians alike.
While I recognized (and, unfortunately, identified with) many of the eccentricities of Christianity that are portrayed in Believe Me, there is more to this film than just satire. Believe Me is actually trying to convey a much deeper message. The film’s premise is that a group of broke college graduates decide to fool countless Christians by posing as a fake charity and asking for donations. Their reasoning is that when people go to charity events and donate money they don’t actually want to do good, they just want to feel like they are doing good.
Believe Me asks its viewers to think about why they believe what they claim to believe. Too often Christians are guilty of following after a cultural mindset rather than following after Christ. At some point, even though our original intentions may have been noble, we can lose our focus. Christopher McDonald’s character Ken is a perfect example of this. As the leader of the organization Cross Country, Ken wants to help his charity become the most effective charity in the nation. This itself is a great accomplishment. However, it soon becomes evident that Ken cares more about achieving this title than about honesty or integrity. This is a dangerous attitude, and unfortunately it is found far too often in churches today.
It can be easy to get caught up in a popularity contest among churches. The temptation to be the “most effective” ministry is a goal which can lead to our downfall. It takes the focus away from Christ and his commission to the Church and puts the focus on ourselves and our own measurements of success. McDonald’s character Ken is a good reminder for us to not lose focus and to remember the reason why Christ founded the church.
The strength of Believe Me lies in its ability to help Christians ask some very tough questions of themselves. This begins right at the film’s opening, as the title “Believe Me” fades away and the middle letters “lie” linger just a little bit longer. The main character Sam presents a lie to the Christians every night at his charity events. He says a lot of good things, but he does not really believe them himself.
This brings up some of the film’s biggest questions: Why do we Christians believe what we do? Is it because we want to get an emotional high? Is it because we believe the words of a charismatic preacher? What if that preacher turns out to be a fraud? Does that invalidate everything that he or she preached? Where does our hope lie (not where should it lie but where does it lie) – in Christ or in our leadership?
Christian satire is not easy to pull off, as evidenced by the limited number of attempts. (2004’s Saved! comes to mind as one of the more recent tries.) Bakke and his fellow filmmakers said that they chose the comedy genre because it makes their convicting message easier to swallow. In this case, I agree. Believe Me is an entertaining film which utilizes satire effectively to poke fun at Christian culture, but it also holds a deeper message which can help us to analyze why we believe what we believe.
You might also find these reviews of Believe Me helpful from:
Christ and Pop Culture (interview with writer/director Will Bakke)
Christianity Today
