YouthMin: A Mockumentary (2021)

YouthMin is a mockumentary, but not a very good one; after all, it’s impossible to parody or satirize a subject which one does not know. The protagonist, Pastor David Bauer (Jeff Ryan), is the ultra-competitive director of the titular youth ministry; according to him, “turning the other cheek” is overrated – “what if David had turned the other cheek to Goliath”? Or if Daniel had turned the other cheek to the lions? Since David and Daniel, either as real people or fictional characters, predate Jesus, it’s likely that neither ever even entertained that possibility. But maybe that's the joke – a pastor who can't tell the Old Testament from the New; if it is, it’s not funny – unless you find incompetence funny, and you shouldn’t. To put it in perspective, the stars of This is Spinal Tap are a trio of buffoons, but like the actors who play them, they are expert musicians as well. In other words, they are idiots savants, whereas YouthMin’s characters fall exclusively into the first category. Consider a scene where Pastor David gives a brief talk on sexual purity, using a bottle of water as a metaphor; it’s all quite innocent, and in fact the only part of the film that feels authentic (one can imagine a real-life pastor giving a similar speech). But at the end of the lesson, one young man stands up, and he has an erection in his shorts. What the hell? This is never explained – not that there could be a reasonable explanation for it –; it’s just there. Bodily functions aren’t any inherently funnier than ineptitude (if you must do something along these lines, why not have clueless Pastor Dave inadvertently tell a non-PC anecdote to illustrate his point about sexual behavior?). Alas, YouthMin is just as inept behind the camera as in front of it. As I hinted above, the film is shot in a documentary style, but we never have the slightest indication of who is making this documentary, or for what purpose. Several scenes take place in a van, inside of which we see shots from various angles. This would mean that several cameramen travel inside the vehicle apart from the eight passengers – or just one constantly changing positions, which would be equally uncomfortable (not to mention an editing nightmare). What really got my attention, though, is the scene where David catches Thomas (Luke Deardorff) in a compromising position with Steven (Carl Schultz); the pastor immediately assumes, not only that the former is orally pleasuring the latter, but also that Thomas – but not Steven – is homosexual. I find it interesting that David considers the person giving oral sex to be gay, but not the person receiving it. Unfortunately, the movie doesn't care that its protagonist makes this distinction, and I'm not even sure it's aware that he does. All things considered, YouthMin is a gross misfire.

It's super low budget but this film hit so close to home. I grew up going to youth group and bible camp and looking back it was kind of hilarious how it all turned out. Youthmin nails that aspect with a surprising amount of heart.