Courtesy of Lionsgate
Have you heard the good news about our Lord and Savior, Kelsey Grammer? A whole lot of people did this past weekend, as ticket buyers piled a hefty $15.5 million atop the collection plate for the new film Jesus Revolution. It also landed the an A+ from CinemaScore, the polling body that grades films based on how satisfied their audiences are—making this the historic fourth film in a row from Jesus Revolution’s director to do so.
The former TV’s Frasier portrays pastor Chuck Smith, another engaging orator on a mission to heal and enlighten the masses through the word of his velvety baritone voice. In the late ’60s, he runs a musty SoCal church turned upside-down by an unexpected deluge of flower children seeking peace and love of the Christly variety.
Of course, their hippy-dippy ways are at odds with Chuck’s squaresville traditionalism. With time, he finds it in himself to accept their folk-rock and long-hairedness; Chuck eventually becomes a figurehead for the nascent “Jesus freak” movement, which peaked with the 1971 Time Magazine cover giving the film its title. It’s a wholesome, inspiring tale, though the most gripping part comes after the end, when you go home and read the “Controversy” section of the real Chuck Smith’s Wikipedia page.