Jesus Revolution: Bring the 2023 Movie to Your Home

Discover how you can enjoy the Jesus Revolution movie from the comfort of your own home. Keep reading for information about the show and thoughts from a Catholic family.

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Themes for movies tend to be rather cyclical at times. What my eldest son calls “cape shows” have grown extremely popular since Iron Man hit the big screen. There have been years when horror flicks were especially abundant.

In the past few years, there has been growth in faith-based movies. Several of them our family has been fortunate to review.

Talking with friends and family (or watching their Facebook pages!) has shown me they are not only becoming more commonplace, but people will see them multiple times in theaters. If they still love the story, they often purchase the movie on DVD or Blu-Ray.

Jesus Revolution, released in early 2023, is one of those films.

The movie stands out as a must-watch in 2023 due to its compelling story of faith and redemption, powerful performances, and cinematic spectacle. It offers an inspirational and uplifting experience that resonates with audiences of all backgrounds.

Many thanks to Kingdom Story Company for providing a sample of the product for this review. Opinions are 100% my own.

Synopsis of the Jesus Revolution movie

Jesus Revolution is a powerful film about Jesus’ radical love for His children and the impact His love has on us! This movie is based on a true story.

In the 1970s, young Greg Laurie (Joel Courtney) is searching for all the right things in all the wrong places: until he meets Lonnie Frisbee (Jonathan Roumie), a charismatic hippie-street-preacher.

Together with Pastor Chuck Smith (Kelsey Grammer), they open the doors of Smith’s languishing church to an unexpected revival of radical and newfound love, leading to what TIME Magazine dubbed a JESUS REVOLUTION.

Jesus Revolution comes to Blu-Ray/DVD on April 25, 2023.
Instead of waiting, you can buy Jesus Revolution on digital now!

Thoughts on the Movie

I really try to go into a screening with tampered expectations. I would much prefer to be wowed than to expect the moon and find the end result disappointing.

I’ll start by saying that the plot, characters, and settings of the story are done quite well. The soundtrack captures iconic songs of that time period and even the cinematography helped give the vibe of the times.

Through the use of flashbacks, you can see how troubling Greg Laurie’s life was before he had his conversion. The recreation of the baptisms in the Pacific Ocean helps to show the scale at which this movement occurred. You also get a glimpse of the struggles that Lonnie Frisbee had, including his parting ways with Pastor Chuck Smith.

Having watched The Chosen with Jonathan Roumie as Jesus with some sort of accent, it was a little strange hearing him in this role as Frisbee, a hippie street preacher. There was also the initial feeling that Kelsey Grammar is way older than Smith would have been in the late 1960s and early 1970s. But, I soon got past those internalized hiccups and was able to appreciate their acting in these particular roles.

What could disappoint some viewers is that there are not a ton of scenes of Frisbee, Laurie, and Smith preaching. Of the three, Laurie had the least screen time as you see him get a taste of preaching to youth. When the movie concludes, you do see actual footage (silent) of all three men in the years after the movie’s plot concludes. This includes Laurie’s Harvest Christian Fellowship, a megachurch he founded in 1973 that is still thriving.

By not diving deep into preaching, the focus is more on the historical context of the revival and the flood of new believers. From watching the film, viewers might be inspired to dig deeper for themselves into what the Good News of the Gospel is and how it applies to their lives.

Through that invitation to dig into your beliefs, you may also be inspired to then evangelize in your community. Living here in the Bible Belt of America, I can say that a few churches do this well. Friends in our Christian homeschool group gather to prepare and then hand out Bible tracts, just like you see Laurie and his now wife, Cathe, do with Frisbee.

Sadly, the Catholic Church often struggles with evangelization. I get it. No one wants to be a target. There are some environments or times when I find the Holy Spirit calling me to be silent. Yet, there are more ways to help bring people to Christ than those shown in the film.

To those on the fence about sharing your faith in the world, I offer the advice often attributed to St. Francis of Assisi: “Preach the Gospel at all times; when necessary, use words.” In other words, live your Christian faith in ways that reflect the Gospel. You never know how is watching and how it may impact them.

I am looking forward to using some of the resources offered for Jesus Revolution with my family or possibly a group from church.

Win a $10 Amazon Gift Card

One lucky Day by Day in Our World reader will win a $10 Amazon Gift Card. You could use it to purchase the movie or maybe get some snacks for the family for when you watch it at home.

Entries are via the widget below. You must be 18 years of age or older and live in the United States. The selected winner will be emailed from daybydayinourworld@gmail.com and have 24 hours to claim their prize or another winner will be drawn.