Church People (2021)

**_Christians can be funny too, often unintentionally_** A popular youth group pastor at a megachurch in greater Los Angeles (Thor Ramsey) struggles with the assembly losing the point with their perpetual gimmicks while possibly romancing the pastor’s daughter (Erin Cahill) and dealing with an unexpected girl from his past (Andriana Manfredi). “Church People” (2021) is a fun satire with snappy dialogue related to the typical happenings at a large, popular fellowship. Ramsey works well as the protagonist with winsome Erin Cahill offering quality support, along with Manfredi. The only other flick I’ve seen Erin in is "Boogeyman 3” from 13 years prior; she’s reminiscent of Karen Allen. Meanwhile the senior pastor (Michael Monks) is reminiscent of Jack Hayford, who passed away a couple years after this was released. Stephen Baldwin is on hand as a ‘weird’ greeter with the uncanny gift of the word of knowledge. There’s a great joke involving him near the end. The flick really won me over at the midpoint with the laser tag sequence and the hilarious meeting of the two females. As for the climax, it revolves around self-crucifixion and is actually moving. The movie runs 1 hour, 36 minutes, and was shot at Calvary Community Church in Westlake Village, which is in the high country 25-minutes northwest of Malibu, a 45-minutes drive from Hollywood to the east. GRADE: B