Prière de m'épouser

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 decided to watch this movie as a joke. Sometimes going into a movie knowing it's bad will sometimes help brace for the train wreck. But no foreknowledge of this film could prepare you for how bad it is. On the nose dialogue. No empathy for any characters. Forced changed. Forced plot. Even the camera work is amateur.

The best types of films are supposed to make you forget you're watching a film. Sadly, for Christian Mingle, you're constantly reminded you're watching a movie. A bad one.

Sadly, only the main character, Gwyneth, was played by an actor with any real chops. How is it that a supposedly faith-based production company can't even get Christians right? Nearly every Christian in the film was portrayed as a one-dimensional cardboard cutout of the secular stereotype. These characters had no humor. They were judgemental and flat out boring. They all came across very cultish. As one who came to Christ as an adult, I can honestly say it may never have happened if the Christians I'd encountered were like those portrayed here.

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.

Another in a long line of cornball Hallmark Christmas movies. Even their Hallmarks Hall of fame movies are no longer the great movies of the past.