Believe Me - Es ist nur Sünde, wenn man erwischt wird

This movie was very well written and directed. It doesn't tell you what to think, but leaves you thinking.

The trailer may cause you to think it is anti-Christian, but it is not. Lecrae is in it (#1 Christian Hip Hop Artist). On the other hand, some people are calling it a Christian film, but it is not (no alter call or come to Jesus moment).

Other reviews- NY Times -"a smart, sly comedy...about the power of platforms".

Indiewire -"…Will Bakke has crafted a hilariously smart religious satire".

Movieguide - "Christian satire done right".

Beliefnet- "Believe Me hits the right notes".

Be prepared to laugh out loud and have a good time.

Best to watch with a clear head as there are tons of little jokes that you might need to watch more than once to catch them all!

This movie was SO funny! I absolutely enjoyed watching it! I love the way it pokes fun at religion and makes you think about it. It was entertaining and thought provoking. For sure one of my new favorite movies. The cast is also incredible. Nick Offerman is one of my all time favorite actors and to see him in this made it that much better. And the fact that Alex Russell is in it doesn't hurt. He plays his character flawlessly and his looks aren't bad either. The cast, director and writers did a phenomenal job on this film. I highly recommend it to people of all walks of life. I don't know anyone who wouldn't find this move entertaining. GO SEE BELIEVE ME!

So, is this movie set in 1998 or earlier? Because if it's set in modern times, then these four lads wouldn't have had a prayer of convincing anyone of their Christian and charitable intentions.

It's interesting that none of the Christians or college students pulled out their smart phones to use Google or Facebook or Twitter. I guess they couldn't because the movie would have ended right then and there. Just one Facebook photo of these a-holes at a frat party drinking, chasing girls and beating up pledges would have killed their whole "Christian" fakery.

But of course Christians and college students do use social media, so the whole premise of this film is silly. No million-dollar tour--and particularly not a Christian evangelical tour--would use an untested group of four as the center of their presentation. These guys would be scrutinized and vetted seven different ways from Sunday. (Oh, I forgot, the tour manager did see them one time at some cheap college frat party and kind of liked their lame presentation, totally copied from another lame presentation.) Imagine the scandal if one of these dudes tried to seduce little Mary Lou Holypants while high on Jesus. It would destroy the tour. (To its credit the film did raise this point when the tour manager told the music director that a pastor was a little too loose in the pants a few years earlier and almost destroyed their entire mission.)

But then again, why let the truth get in the way of a bad story?

Believe me is about 4 frat brothers who start a fake charity so that they can make money to wipe off a college loan. If this film was supposed to be a commentary on the current state of US higher education they might have had something. Sadly the main characters are just like the self-entitled privileged jocks that are usually painted as the bad guys in 80s films where the nerds finally have their day, so straight off the bat you hate them. The whole thing kind of sounds like a light-hearted college film, right? Wrong. Before I watched it I figured it would contain all of the classic frat characters and hijinx we have come to love from college films like Animal House, and the preview made it look funny. Wrong again. Sadly the film doesn't know whether it should be funny or serious. It pivots between poorly timed jokes that don't hit their mark and moments where we are supposed to see the human side of these asshole characters -and neither works. If it had stuck to being a shameless comedy (and they cast actors with a concept of comedic timing) then this film might have worked. Instead they tried to give it a serious edge and the lack of commitment doesn't pay off. The premise is flawed to begin with and it doesn't help that the script doesn't do anything to set up how and why the audience should believe these characters have the capability to accomplish what they are doing. The thing stinks of lazy writing, amateur directing and below average acting. Don't waste your time.

No, this isn't a squeaky clean Christian film (but not vulgar either). I don't like the whole Christian genre because I'm a bit of a skeptic and most real Christian movies are way to cheesy and fake for me. But I did think this was a good film. I thought they really nailed the whole "Christian Culture"...studying the way they talk, the way they dress, in a really funny way. Yes, the movie had a "moral of the story" where they saw the err of their ways, but these guys were depicted in a true to life sort of way. I'm not a big churchgoer, but I've gone enough to know how accurate this film was. The movie sort of touched on how easy it is to take advantage of those who wholeheartedly expect the best in people. Yes, it was kind of sad, but in a funny kind of way. But all is well that ends well!