The Unexpected Bar Mitzvah

I'm an atheist, and I find this offensive and antisemitic.

Seriously, the only way this movie could be more condescending to the Jewish people would be if Skrewdriver composed the score. This is so bad, it's not even amusing-bad; I feel awful watching it.

As a Jew, I was so offended that I had to laugh. But after thinking about this film's message I found myself compelled to write a review. If you are an evangelical Christian who wants to hear what you want to hear, by all means you will enjoy this very much and give it a 8+ (but you'll have to admit some of the acting is pretty bad especially the overacting of the Jewish father). If you are Jewish, steer clear! This is propaganda made to encourage evangelical missionaries. The film stereotypes Jews, using Jewish symbols in offensive ways, and promotes anti-Semitic thinking. If such a film were made about any other minority, people would demand its removal: think Disney's Song of the South. I give it a 2 because its only redeeming value is that it might serve as an example to Jews and others that anti-Semitism is alive and well.

This whole movie is basically "Friends don't let friends be Jewish."

These people would have happily worked in Hitler's propaganda department making films about how burning them is actually saving Jews from themselves.

Despite the title and the appearance of being about Jewish/Messianic issues, the movie really is more of a treatise on charismatic/Pentecostal doctrines (tongues, healing, etc.). Approaching it with that in mind, it could be informative, especially if you're not familiar with what exactly those beliefs entail. Production-wise, the movie is over-long and the acting can be hit and miss throughout, and the multiple (and often unrelated) messages are heavy handed at times. However, there were definitely some good moments throughout, and several moments of good humor. I'd say it's definitely worth watching, again especially if you're curious about charismatic doctrines.

"Can I be friends with Paul? He's really nice." "Nice Christians are the most dangerous to Jews, Abraham."

Woah this one came out guns blazing with the anti Semitism less than five minutes in, framed under the purview of love and concern that Donald James Parker wraps all of his hatred within. We're given a setup where a Christian boy talks to his father after watching a football game and they marvel at what a wonderful witness for Jesus Tim Tebow is. Then, we immediately jump to another boy in a Jewish family who tells his dad (who is wearing a kippah in his own home) that Tim Tebow on TV told him about Jesus, then that boy is immediately verbally berated by his father, he's grounded from TV, and his father forces him to read a book that will "protect you from religious predators." I mean holy woah, has Parker ever met a Jew? Jews don't generally act like this when their children get exposed to new religious ideas, and they certainly aren't this jumpy over anybody mentioning Jesus around them. That is what evangelicals do. Parker is projecting the way he thinks kids in the Christian faith should be raised onto Jews, but framing it as evil authoritarianism when the Jews do it. In In Gramp's Shoes, there's a scene where a character talks about gramps as a controlling father who just loved her too much to let her be lead astray by non-Christian influences, only in that film gramps is framed heroically as if he was righteous to kick his daughter out of his home for listening to rock music and having a boyfriend, whereas here, a Jewish man not wanting his son to be lead away from the Jewish faith is framed as unreasonable, over reactive, and authoritarian. There is literally no difference in the parenting styles between these two groups, yet each respective film seems to think there is. Parker does not have an ounce of self awareness in his poorly aging body.

Just two minutes later, we see the Jewish kid at the table reading and his dad walks in and he says "hey dad I'm almost finished reading that Holocaust book you gave me." Seriously Donald, you couldn't name literally one book about the Holocaust for this kid to read, so you just wrote him saying "that Holocaust book?" This is low effort even by your standards. And you really think a Jewish parent would reflexively punish their kids by making them read about the Holocaust to protect them from Tim Tebow and Jesus? Just, what?

Also worth mentioning, all of these Christian movies have a low understanding of how dialogue and normal human interactions work, but this one is on a whole new level even by Donald James Parker standards. For example, there's a scene where a kid goes to his best friend's house, but he brings a book about the Holocaust with him (still don't know which book), and he reads this book during the game, at his best friend's house. His friend gets mad at him for reading during the game and understandably asks him "what's up with you," to which he responds "it's just so hard to get fired up about sports now after reading about the Holocaust." Please just try to imagine literally any scenario in which a 12 year old kid would go all the way to his friend's house to watch sports, but bring an unspecified book about the Holocaust with him, and read it in front of the tv at his friend's house during the game. A real kid more interested in reading than watching a game would've just stayed home to read, right? My brain broke trying to imagine any real life scenario in which this would occur. The contrivances employed to make the ridiculous dialogue in this movie work is beyond the moon.

I will give credit where credit is due though, I don't see many anti-Semitic movies where the leading Jewish family is struggling with money and behind on their mortgage, a twist I didn't see coming since I was initially expecting this Jewish father with a son named Abraham to end up being a money grubbing banker. So, way to smash the stereotype, I guess?

Two more post script notes: 1) This is the third time a boy was lead into Christianity by a cute girl he had a crush on from a local church. I don't know exactly what this says about Parker's views on women in the church, but it sure as hell says something.

2) Seriously I thought the Harry Potter culture war in the evangelical church was dead but Parker repeatedly harps on it.