Sadly Over-hyped

Dreadfully Boring

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

Child prodigy evangelist Marjoe Gortner exposes the itinerant Pentecostal church tent revival circuit as a total money-grubbing scam after having a crisis of conscience and deciding to pursue an acting career in the wake of finishing one final tour across the country.Directors Howard Smith and Sarah Kernochan do a remarkably vivid and compelling job of painting an intriguing and provocative portrait of a hugely likable and charismatic, yet deeply conflicted and cynical person who's more than happy to reveal such tricks of the trade as talking in tongues, making people pass out by claiming to channel the spirit of God and touching their foreheads, and collecting donations for worthy charitable causes as the complete shams that they are. Moreover, one not only has to admire Gortner for having the guts and integrity for coming clean about his being a slick phony, but also you even feel sorry for Gortner considering that his strict and overbearing parents forced him at the age of four to become a child preacher -- the archive footage of precious toddler Gortner officiating a wedding is simply incredible! -- and even abused him if he didn't do their bidding (they also eventually made off with all the money he made for them!). In addition, Gortner sure puts on one hell of an electrifying show as he preaches fire and brimstone sermons to the gullible God-fearing masses that he's contriving to bilk out of their hard-earned cash. A mesmerizing depiction of a sly huckster.

Do yourself a favor and queue this movie in Netflix. It's exactly the kind of great documentary I was hoping it would be. Much better, actually since I wasn't expecting it to be so funny! As for some of the comments here expressing sympathy for the so-called victims in the churches, please consider the possibility that we are all responsible for our own spirituality. I think Marjoe was right on when he said he wished they all could see that they don't need someone to put on a big show for them to connect with God.I felt like the movie did have a transcendent effect, just to have witnessed Marjoe's way in the world. He was just as connected spiritually as he claimed to be under those revival tents, only in a way that the confines of that particular religious culture could never really recognize or acknowledge.Kudos to Sarah Kernochan for making the film and also, it should be mentioned, for being the first female director to win an Oscar!

I guess Catholics are the only ones who can really be charismatic. Anyways. Totally great, powerful and engaging documentary. Thanks to the IFC Center in Manhattan for bringing out for a brief run.Marjoe the person was totally excellent. Such a charismatic performer. That's what this film was was really about for me. The man gave an amazing performance. It's surprising to hear how lightly he takes the church, but the way he turns the act on, it hardly seems to matter. A reasonably thoughtful person with a powerful presence. He does seem incredibly sincere and impassioned compared to some of the current Lakewood Church, etc. zombies.A fascinating period piece as well. It's funny to see the speaking in tongues, etc and the sometimes quite unfortunate early 70s garb.. I guess I went into it assuming the 'tent-revival' as a sham (and Christianity more generally as bunk and/or theater) which have been a bit more a radical concept 30-odd years ago and in certain circles. Kind of ties Pentacostalism and the circus together quite nicely. A terrific documentary.

Filmed before the televangelism phenomenon, this film, part biography, part expose, details the rise, fall, and self-exposure of Marjoe Gortner, a one-time child evangelist who became a church tent preacher. This film details the seamier side of what Gortner calls "the religion business", and even earned Gortner a number of death threats.A rare find, if you can locate it, but a worthy viewing.