Lukewarm

The problem with the movie Lukewarm is that the movie just never picked up it is just as it name says, Lukewarm. I won't say that it is totally predictable, but the movie just drives the nail hard on moral living, leaving behind the fact that a good plot to go with it is just as much needed as the message, or else it would have been better that the message is just preached in a few minutes than you spending over a hour watching a movie, that the message is just a drop in the ocean.

The acting in the movie is not as top notch as you will expect, it is a little shallow, but that is what the movie contains mostly a shallow attempt by some Christian movie makers. I'm a Christian and I do appreciate the fact that many Christian movie makers are taking chances, but it is high time they take this movie making thing to a new level. The silver screen has been a source of negative learning if our Christian movies can't be captivating enough to keep even we the Christians glued, then how is it going to be able to change the heart of those who don't know Christ.

The movie plot is about a couple who were going through a rough patch, Luke the male grew up in a broken home, straining his relationship with his father. While with his girlfriend Luke lost his job and had to find job at a bar, so as to be able to provide upkeep for him and his girl friend as they were living together much to their pastor's disapproval.

Luke's neighbor (Bill Cobbs) is a Christian, who goes about preaching Christ to everyone even those who don't want to hear the news, and he keeps trying to get Luke to come back and be more diligent in Church as Luke's bar job is keeping him from attending service. Things took a turn in Luke's life when Luke's neighbor got beaten to a point of near death after Luke's girlfriend left him out of a feeling that Luke had betrayed her trust.

Lukewarm is more of a soap opera in 90 minutes than it is a full length movie, but its message is loud and clear, let your life and everything in it preach who you are, let it stand for Christ and don't let anything rob you away from fellowshipping with him. Then there is the high road message that Christ taught which is, instead of giving back hate for hate, we should give back love for hate.

I won't say run to the hills and keep away from this movie, it is on an OK level that you can watch especially when you are done seeing all other Christian movies around.

This starts with a preacher warning his congregation that " So many churchgoers today that call themselves Christian are fooling themselves " . Since this preacher has a Southern accent I'm kind of guessing he's an evangelical Protestant ,. Possibly a Baptist so he's probably referring to Catholics and every other Protestant denomination . Probably other Baptists too , especially black ones . Why is it that churches in American gave one church for black people and another one for white people ? The supposed Jesus of Nazarath said " Love thy brother " but no doubt a lot of Christians get around stating that in those daysnobody realised the racial diversity of the human species and loving thy brother is a dogma confined to those belonging to the same race . Probably confined to inside the local prayer meeting group members . Everyone else is defined as a heretic and the worst heretics are the scientifically minded atheists . At least that's the impression I got with LUKEWARM which left me cold . It's Christian propaganda and like the worst propaganda it's so useless it makes the people it's demonising feel superior about themselves

Early in the film the protagonist sees a colleague from church called Thomas knock on the door of a man . The shocking thing is Thomas is black and if a white guy and a black guy are a member of the same church group that strains credibility to breaking point . Thomas has knocked on the door of a man called George who looks exactly like an anorexic Burt Reynolds and is an obvious atheist because he tears the pamphlet up saying " Here's what I think of your God Jesus freak " and slams the door in Thomas face . The implication being all atheists are rude angry people . This might actually be justified because the following conversation indicates Thomas constantly knocks on his door trying to force feed him Christian pamphlets . Right let me get this straight . Thomas constantly knocks on someones door , doesn't take no for an answer and is puzzled why this person is a little bit angry at him . Anyone had these cold calls from India asking you to take part in a survey ? Difficult to politely say no when it happens at least every second day isn't it ? And suppose someone asks someone out for a date , doesn't take no for an answer so decides to keep knocking on their door asking for a date until they say yes . The sex offenders register awaits . Quite rightly too . By the way since the angry atheist looks like Burt Reynolds I wonder if the producers tried to get the real Burt Reynolds for that scene ? LUKEWARM could have done with a relatively big name . Since Thomas is black they could have got Ray Winstone for the role and he could have resurrected the boiler house scene from SCUM ? I would have been more than happy to supply the tool

The " All atheists are ignorant , worthless vermin " agenda continues with Luke taking a drive with his atheist friends . Don't ask why an evangelical Christian has atheist friends you're not supposed to question any logic . And what do atheists do ? They like driving around in a car with a couple of chicks who are hotter than Viagra vindaloo who just happened to be in the bar where Luke works because you know all atheists are sexually promiscuous ( I wish ) while gulping down bourbon . Just in case you missed this obvious point Luke needs to then point out is it a good idea to be drinking and driving ? Duh no but this film wants you believe that drunk driving as well as being a slapper is exclusive to atheists . Luke's atheist friend Sam ( He's an atheist don't you know ) then discusses evolution . " Do you know we're descended from apes ? It's survival of the fittest " Obviously the alcohol has affected his brain because he's repeating a common myth of evolution . Homo Sapiens are descended from the same family tree as all the other primates from million years ago . Some of them evolved in to apes and some of them evolved in to us so strictly speaking we're not " descended from apes " Also " survival of the fittest " isn't true either . If a species can't adapt to its environment it will become extinct . " Fitness " has nothing to do with it , it just means some species are more able to adapt to its surroundings " Survival of the fittest " isn't a Darwinian phrase but the war cry of Nazis and fascists and its euphemistic use here seems to be deliberate just to convince the world that if you portray atheists as drunk driving crypto fascists there might be some truth in it . What a disgustingly pious hate filled film

Lukewarm has Jeremy Jones playing a young man named Luke whose attitude toward his Christian faith is in serious danger of becoming Lukewarm. Gradually he's going through the motions rather than living the life he's supposed to.

Jones has some father issues, his father who is played by John Schneider moved away when he was a kid and its soured him on the institution of marriage. Jones is living with his girlfriend Nicole Gale Anderson at a motel without benefit of clergy, an attitude that has his pastor looking down on, for him, curiously he does not remonstrate with the girl.

During the course of the film both are subject to certain temptations and both after some crises of faith decide to make it legal. And young Jones decides he will not be Lukewarm in his faith any longer.

Some nice performances by Bill Cobbs as Jeremy's neighbor at the motel who gets his quota of witnessing in and nearly gets killed for the effort. Also Jason Burkey and Rusty Whitener play a pair of people associated with Jones who wind up in the same cell reexamining their lives.

Sad to say this is a film with limited production values. But it is sincerely made and church audiences will approve.

Forgiveness can make our walk with God steadfast. Praise God!

This movie is amazingly touching. It preaches the gospel in its raw form. I love Tom's resilience and determination to win souls, even that of those that hate him so much. Father, help me to be a true Christian. Awesome movie, well thought out. God bless this ministry.

I'm glad to see more and more good Christian movies like this and I believe true Christians will support these kind of movies rather than secular movies.

It has the combination of the twists of good secular movies and the nature of demonstrating true values of Christianity.

Looked through some of the approved list xtian movies today, don't even remember how I went down that tangent, and the entire lot, all 6, completely suck. Bad acting, stilted script, simplistic plot, treacly music. Give me Bob Guccione's Caligula any day. John Schneider has appeared in real movies/TV - not award winning material all the time, but legitimate entertainment vehicles. He is wonderful as Jonathan Kent in Smallville. Looking at his IMDb c.v. he appears to love this genre, but he cannot save this mess.

The timing in the dialogue is so off, it is almost as though a deaf/mute were setting the verbal pacing. It pulls you out of the movie (something a movie should never do). And the script is exactly the same as every other xtian movie I watched today: poor misbegotten soul starts out Stepford happy, wanders off the path (drinks,drugs,sex), and finally finds redemption, usually through a kindly black character. What's with the black salvation archetype in these works. Believe me, we are not falling for the "we like you so much now, we make you the redemptive savior character" nonsense.