It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

The Hess team started their career in a very atypical fashion. With the starting surprise success of Napoleon Dynamite and the continued yet not quite as well received Nacho Libre they made their mark. Their next film Gentlemen Broncos failed to wow me as the first two and showed they couldn't keep producing the same effective comedy as they had before. Don Verdean had a similar issue. The first two thirds of the film didn't even make me crack a smile. In the beginning it mainly poked fun at the world of American Christianity most of which was excellently targeted on the faults, hypocrisy, ridiculousness, and phony parts of organized religion. But to me this came across in more of a bitter/angry sort of way rather than comedic. It just didn't work well and didn't have intrigue, nothing but a bait-less hook. The last third of the movie, on the other hand took a turn for the better. The story became interesting, the writing improved, the continual wit and hilarity that I saw in the Hess's previous projects out poured. While none of the acting was bad, Jemaine Clement as Boaz gave an especially entertaining performance. The beginning gave a bad taste in my mouth, but I'm glad I stuck around for the end.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film. It is uniquely funny, and even totally hilarious when Jemaine Clement lavishes his Hebrew brogue on the viewer. The movie is a universe in itself, and not just the story of one man Donald Verdean, a preacher turned conman. The whole Mid-West or Bible Belt is caricatured in such a way that you can only smile at the fondness contained in the implied criticism. It is never mean. Jared Hess rules! I'd been a fan since NAPOLEON DYNAMITE. I relish the sight of his little tribe, starting with Rockwell and Clement, and the way those guys make you believe in second degree, totally unbelievable tales. Way to go!

"The tireless efforts of Don Verdean will continue to bless millions everywhere." Biblical archaeologist Don Verdean (Rockwell) has started to fall on hard times. He used to speak to packed crowds but now the audience is dwindled. When he is approached by a local pastor wanting to inspire his congregation Don once again begins to find precious holy relics. Wanting to truly inspire Don does something that changes everything. I thought this movie was very very funny. I have loved Sam Rockwell for ever and he was a great choice for this role. The movie was written and directed by the same guy that did Napoleon Dynamite so you should expect that kind of humor going in. The dialog is as witty and ridiculous as is the events but that's what makes this movie so much fun to watch. Overall, stupid and hilarious, if you liked the humor in Napoleon Dynamite then check this one out. I really liked it. I give it a B+.

One of the worst movies I've ever seen in my life. A complete waste of time. Do yourself a favour and avoid this bomb at all costs. The acting was pathetic, the dialogue was witless and the plot, if you could call it that, just ended without an ending. You could pack this loser in dry ice and it would still stink. Just having Danny McBride and Sam Rockwell in the movie should guarantee some laughs, so one can only imagine the Herculean task of eliminating any trace of humour from this movie. Another link in the chain of horrible movies by Jared Hess. Max Verdean was easily the worst effort yet by Hess and that is no mean feat. It was nothing more than 90 minutes of my life that I'll never get back.