I discovered Selfie Dad when I came across the DVD at Wal-Mart a couple of years ago. I passed it, but found it on YouTube back in February 2022, so I watched it. It wasn't awful, but I didn't fully like it either. It was strictly okay. I'll expand on that shortly.
The plot follows a Dad named Ben. He's a Christian who goes to church on Sunday, literally throws his Bible in the back of his car, and leaves it there until the next Sunday.
He also has a mid-life crisis and struggles at work. To boost himself more, he then decides to become a social media star. After deciding to commit to his faith more, he attempts to apply that to his YouTube like page.
Many of my reviews here on IMDB are about how horrible the bad Christian movies are and how well done the good ones are. Selfie Dad is in the middle of the spectrum here. Selfie Dad has many flaws that Christian movies do, such as a low budget and being overly preachy. Also, none of the actors were AWFUL, but there were only 3 stand-out performances to me. The movie often seemed slow as well.
That out of the way, there were many positives. The movie did in fact have a good message. Mind you, a good message does not mean it was a good movie, but that still is a merit of the movie. The lesson of course was that Christians should be more devoted to studying the Bible and being in devotion to God. I did like the message, and how it was applied to the modern age of technology.
Compared to God's Not Dead's lesson of atheists being God-hating jerks or Loving The Bad Man's lesson of falling in love with your rapist, Selfie Dad's lesson was pretty theologically sound and well done.
Not all of the actors' performances stood out to me- such as the minor characters, but as I said there were 3 stand out performances. 2 of them were from the Christian comedians- Micheal Jr. And Chonda Pierce. The other is the one that made me check out the film. Ben's daughter Hannah is played by Shelby Simmons, a wonderful young actress who is on the Disney Channel show Bunk'd.
The movie also has many comedic parts that are successful in making the viewer laugh. When Michael does a video about Jesus's sacrifice on the cross, he says "Mel Gibson was there, he shared his Passion." This made me laugh out loud, and I appreciated that reference to The Passion of the Christ, one of the best Christian movies ever made.
Karen Ambercrombie, who played Mrs. Clara in War Room (which Michael Jr. Is also in), talks to Ben's wife about the importance of prayer. She then asks: "Have you ever seen the movie War Room?" Mrs. Marcus shakes her head, leans in and whispers: "I don't really like Christian films". This gives Karen's face a mix of shock and disappointment. That reference was also hilarious.
For a final example, Michael Jr. Talks to a Christian friend about Christians who are over-saved, for example ones who only sleep on bed sheets because Jesus is their comforter. That's a homage to his Christian stand up comedy, and I appreciated that.
While there were certainly good elements to Selfie Dad, I'm half and half on the recommendation. Again, I did not hate the movie, but I can't say I liked it either. There were just bits of it that I liked. I'm glad I saw it once, but I'm in no rush to see it again.
I saw this movie on YouTube, and if you are going to see it, I suggest seeing it there or streaming it if possible, rather than purchasing the DVD right away. Selfie Dad wouldn't be my go-to for a recommendation of a good Christian movie, but at most it's worth one watch.
Reverse Recommendations: If you want to see Michael Jr.'s comedic genius at its best, I suggest his special Laughing On Purpose. This 56 minute video is also on YouTube.
To see Shelby Simmon's acting talent at its best, see Season 4 of Bunk'd. Finally, to see a better funny Christian film, I would recommend a movie like Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie or Bruce Almighty.
*Originally reviewed on 4/16/22.*
