The B-movie studio The Asylum has put out some of the most cheap, tacky, and just plain bad B movies in the past several years. I have learned to avoid their movies, unless they come on TV for free and I have nothing else to do. (And even in those circumstances I don't like their movies very much.) I'm not sure then why I decided to give "Sunday School Musical" a whirl, though maybe it was because it was made though their Faith Films division, and I was curious to see how they would make a squeaky clean religious movie.
Well, I watched it. I was expecting the worst, though I have to admit that it wasn't as bad as I expected. Like all Asylum movies, the movie looks pretty cheap in most aspects, though the photography and lighting is surprisingly professional. The songs are instantly forgettable after they finish, though they are somewhat pleasant to hear while they are being belted out. The cast is filled with amateur actors, though they act in a low key manner that makes their performances relatively painless to witness.
The script is both pretty predictable and seemingly has some linking scenes missing, though the writing thankfully does not hit viewers over the head with religion, instead focusing mostly on good values that you can approve of whatever your faith may be. The script is also somewhat slow in unfolding the story (and is executed in a somewhat "soft" manner that may have you wishing that there was a bit more bite), but has a few positive attributes, like portraying interracial relationships as no big deal.
In the end, while "Sunday School Musical" is far from a great movie, viewers regardless of their faith will probably find it somewhat better than they were expecting. Though I think the people who would really appreciate it would be, of course, people who are pretty religious.
