Altar Egos Movie Review

Altar Egos is a faith-based comedy movie for your entire family to enjoy.

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. I

Thank you to LEV3L for allowing me the opportunity to be a part of this promotion.