Faith-based films tend towards the dramatic, so if you’re a Christian looking for a comedy movie for your family to enjoy, your choices are pretty limited. Fortunately, you’ll soon have a new option – Altar Egos.
Desperate to see their church grow, Pastor John (Robert Amaya) and wife Betsy (Erin Bethea) do the unthinkable and change their church Christmas pageant. Flabbergasted, elderly choir director Mary Margaret (Sallie Wanchisn) leads the choir to boycott. Facing termination, Pastor John resorts to disguising himself as an old man to bridge the generation gap, win over Mary, and lead the choir back to the church. When he discovers that the wounds run deeper than he first suspected, Pastor John must learn to love the unlovable or risk the ruin of his church and family. Also stars Victoria Jackson.
I was excited to get a advance screener to preview the movie while my daughter and her husband were in town visiting. Our son-in-law is a minister, so we all know how true to life the story foundation is. Unfortunately, though, while the beginning and end are about the very real issue of churches resisting change, the middle of the movie goes off in outlandish directions that while sometimes funny, is often so outlandish that all we could do was shake our heads and wonder what on earth they were thinking.
The movie includes a talented cast. Robert Amaya and Victoria Jackson are their usual comedic selves. Erin Bethea is authentic as the pastor’s wife. But the real stars of the show are Sallie Wanchisn, the choir director, and Max Morgan, Pastor John’s son. Not only are their characters a little more complex than the rest, but they each play their role with a naturalness and depth that grounds the movie despite the silliness of the plot. I couldn’t believe this was a first role for Max. He’s a natural talent and I look forward to seeing him in future projects.
My biggest complaint with the movie is the many montages that do nothing to enrich the plot, and several that are just ridiculous, like the senior citizen square dance that suddenly morphs into a pop music dance off.
In the end, we all agreed that if you’re looking for brilliance, this will probably not fit that bill. However, if you’re looking for mindless comedy to relax with at the end of a stressful day, then pop in Altar Egos and enjoy. It’s a fun little movie. It releases September 5, 2017.
Want your own DVD copy of Altar Egos? Comment below and share your favorite movie that stars Robert Amaya, Erin Bethea, or Victoria Jackson. One winner will be chosen at random on August 19.
Thank you to LEV3L for allowing me the opportunity to be a part of this promotion.
Max Morgan was the highlight of the film for me! Hoping to see him in many more films!
He’s got a great future in store for him, that’s for sure.
My favorite movie with Erin Bethea would be either “This is Our Time” or “The Redemption of Henry Myers”. They are both so good I can’t decide! 😊
I like both of those, too.
Shucks…I was so excited to see Victoria Jackson was in it (She was in my very first faith based short and such a talented actor) Hope it finds its place in the hearts of the audience.
Oh, it’s a fun little movie. We all watched it until the end because we wanted to see what happened, so that’s a good sign.
Congratulations, @thegreenroom5757! You’re the winner of the DVD.
If you’ll send me your mailing address, we’ll get that out to you. Thanks!
Robert Amaya was hilarious in “Courageous”!
I know. I love him in that movie.