Prière de m'épouser

My first impression is, "how far has Lacey Chabert fallen!?" before I realize that she didn't fall much, because she was never really much of a star.

My second impression is, "how many platitudes, stock characters, and predictable 'twists' can one movie hold?"

My third impression was "I wonder if the male lead has a bunch of women dismembered and stashed in a freezer in his basement, because he looks like the type who would." Not to mention the fact that I think he was wearing a rug, in a movie that pretends to be all about being (or becoming) true to oneself

My fourth impression was that if an atheist wanted to make a movie to mock Christians, he'd probably end up with something that looks and sounds like Christian Mingle: The Movie.

My fifth impression is that if I were a Christian, I'd resent the heck out of this. The filmmakers seemed to feel that any sort of crap -- predictable plot, D-list stars, idiotic dialogue -- was perfectly fine, as long as they put out a theologically correct message.

I am a Baptist Christian, but I know for a fact that just because it's a Christian movie doesn't mean it's a good movie. The writing is bad, the acting is painfully awful, the humor is forced and unfunny,the characters are shallow and forgettable and it's like watching a bad parody of a Christian film and lastly it's boring. I couldn't watch it all, that's how bad it was. Oh did I mention that the main character is dull and loony(in a bad way). Skip this movie and watch a good Christian film like Ten Commandments or Nativity Story.

Christian Mingle: The Movie is so brazenly artificial and inauthentic that it almost begs to be ignored; not reviewed, not analyzed, and not even discussed, just quietly, humbly passed by as other films nudge it out of the limelight and into obscurity. Criticized in the past were films like Jobs and The LEGO Movie, for allegedly being nothing more than product placement for Apple and LEGO, respectively, despite bearing actual story lines, characters, and thematic depth; on the other hand, Christian Mingle: The Movie is a film so deeply-rooted in insincerity, it disrespects its actors by giving them shallow human characters with not a shred of humanity to be found all in the means of promoting an already ubiquitous dating website. Lord have some mercy.

The film focuses on Gwyneth Hayden (Lacey Chabert), a well-off woman who has worked her way to the top of the corporate ladder, and rather showing the more interesting story at hand here - Gwyneth's clear business success in what looks to be a male-dominated feel - we explore her dating life, or lack thereof. Gwyneth fears the clock is ticking faster and faster, as she's approaching middle-age and spends holiday after holiday alone, only meriting a handful of poor, short-term relationships in her life. After catching its cloying and persistent ads on Television, Gwyneth, despite being a non-practicing Christian, with little knowledge of The Bible and the story of Jesus Christ, signs up for the dating website Christian Mingle, where devout Christians can meet like-minded believers and hopefully find happiness on their way to eternal bliss.

In an act contributing to the new era of "click, meet, marry, die, done," so coined by Gwyneth herself, Gwyneth agrees to meet Paul Wood (Jonathan Patrick Moore), a loyal, good-natured Christian man who clings to his beliefs with his clean and equally good-natured family. Gwyneth admires Paul's niceness and genuine charisma, leading her to try and put on a Christian act to fool Paul and his family that she is a practicing Christian. Gwyneth's methods are appallingly, obviously fake, but Paul's vision seems to be too clouded by the glow of his halo to notice. The two carry out a picturesque relationship together, so long as the conversation steers away from anything remotely biblical, or else Gwyneth turns into a babbling, tongue-tied idiot.

It's impossible to appreciate Gwyneth and Paul as people because they never emerge as more than anything but ridiculous, cardboard cutouts for the length of the entire film. Writer/director Corbin Bernsen seems keen on making this film as cloyingly fake as possible, never offering any sort of real conversation between these characters nor allowing them to grow to be more than wooden caricatures programmed to spout perfunctory dialog and unsubtle website promotions. The only thing more miserable than the romanticism in the film is the abundance of corny jokes, which are so painfully unfunny I can't bring myself to reiterate their stupidity in my review. The less said about them, the better.

There's not an ounce of sincerity in the way the dramatic scenes of the film are handed; typical for low-budget, independent Christian films, there's always overly obvious orchestration or explosive Christian rock thrown in to assure you laugh and smile at the right times and cry at the appropriate moments. Christian Mingle functions with the latter, throwing in catchy but terribly overwrought and unsubtle Christian rock ballads that do nothing but make an already fake, insincere film more phony and insincere.

To those who think the love in Christian Mingle: The Movie depicts anything close to the kind of love or passion found in real life, I got news for you, it can barely market a dating website in a believable manner, let alone begin to understand or depict anything in the way of genuine intimacy.

Starring: Lacey Chabert and Jonathan Patrick Moore. Directed by: Corbin Bernsen.

The 2014 film Christian Mingle, directed by Corbin Bernsen and starring Lacey Chabert, is a lighthearted romantic comedy that wears its faith proudly on its sleeve. While it doesn't reinvent the genre or shy away from formula, it offers a sincere and earnest portrayal of spiritual searching and personal growth. Unfortunately, the film's reception highlights a broader trend in media bias-namely, the tendency to dismiss Christian-themed films as artistically inferior simply because of their religious content.

Watching Christian Mingle, I found myself unexpectedly charmed. Chabert brings warmth and genuine comic timing to the role of Gwyneth, a young professional trying to find love and meaning. The plot, centered around her joining the Christian dating site (yes, the real one), is undeniably quirky. But beneath that setup is a heartfelt story about the discomfort and joy of spiritual awakening. It made me reflect not just on the characters' journeys, but on the human longing for belonging and truth.

What stands out is how the film is treated critically. Mainstream reviewers were quick to mock its premise and tone, often failing to engage with its themes beyond a surface level. This speaks to a larger issue: when a film like Christian Mingle openly discusses faith, especially Christianity, it's often labeled preachy or simplistic-even if similar emotional beats in secular films are praised as profound. There's a condescension that assumes religious audiences can't appreciate nuance or quality, and this bias keeps many honest efforts, like this one, from being judged on fair cinematic grounds.

Is Christian Mingle a perfect movie? No. The production values are modest, the dialogue sometimes clunky, and the characters occasionally veer into caricature. But it is also kind, funny in its own way, and unafraid to talk about faith without irony. For viewers open to its message, it can be surprisingly moving. It made me smile more than once and left me thinking-not about the site itself, but about how people change when they start seeking something deeper.

This film might not be for everyone, but for those tired of cynicism and hungry for hope, Christian Mingle offers a sincere alternative. It deserves better than to be laughed off the screen. The media bias against religion needs to stop!

I sat down to watch this movie thinking it would be a little cheesy, but overall produce a feel good emotion by the end of it. However, throughout the entire movie I cringed at how awkward they made Christianity seem to the public eye. I felt that Christians were portrayed as awkward and exclusive in this movie. The amount of times the family said "Praise God" was embarrassing. Also, the final straw of my aversion toward this movie came during the mission trip scene when the scripture in James is misquoted. James 1:7- 8 is the incorrect passage, it should be James 1:2-3. I will never suggest this movie to anyone unless they want to spend two hours mocking the screen.