If I tell you "Blue Like Jazz" is a Christian movie what does that cause you to expect? Talking about movies made by and about Christians you might expect them to be “safe for the whole family,” you might describe them as being positive and uplifting, you might want them to be evangelical or at least preach biblical truths throughout.

I think movies like "Fireproof" and "Facing the Giants" would probably fall easily into that description, and I'm happy to see Christian filmmakers enjoying some success with positive stories. But do they challenge you? Do they make you think about the way you interact with people? If you said, “yes” chances are you're thinking about interacting with like-minded people: other church members, your spouse, or maybe the unsaved in a broad, evangelical sense. There's certainly nothing wrong with reflecting on how you treat these people, but they aren't the only one you need to consider.

If you said, “no” you're probably thinking about interacting about that lesbian who denies a God that won't let her be what she believes she is, that rage-filled dissident who wants nothing to do with you, or that atheist who laughs at you. But maybe you're not seeing the side of a person that believes all Christians hate her and want to destroy her, the history of a guy physically abused by people in the church, or the impression of God made upon someone who has seen Christians say one thing and act contrarily.

There are times when you might not want to have to deal with worldly ideals or have things presented to young minds in your family or the youth group that are going to bring up uncomfortable discussions. Then there are times when you need to graduate from Spirituality 101 and get beyond the Christianity safety bubble. There comes a time when you need to think about why some non-Christians view us the way that they do and how much we have contributed to that. I'm not talking about the ones who laugh at our “outdated” ideals because we choose to not have sex outside of marriage or the ones that call us superstitious because we trust in the power of prayer. I'm talking about the ones who see the Westboro church types singing gleefully about how much God hates them and will dance with joy to see their souls burning in an eternal torment which is never countered in their lives with the simple message that God loves them and Jesus died for them by people who are living like they believe it.

This comes back around to the movie of "Blue Like Jazz" which is based on the book by Donald Miller. Much of the story is not about a guy following God, it's more about a guy running away from Him. The thing is, we need to follow Don's path away before we can appreciate the journey back. The Don of the movie has grown up in the church and has no desire to deviate from the norms of his religion until he is slapped with the reality of hypocrisy close to home.

Disillusioned, angry, and challenged with the notion that he has never faced what the “other side” thinks he abandons his plans for a Christian-based education and heads off to the secular Reed college. Don is quickly presented with the admonition that nobody will want anything to do with him if he doesn't keep his hokey religious beliefs behind closed doors.

As he suppresses his spiritual nature he joins the ranks of his new friends who distance themselves from religion except for the ones who attack it outright. Don becomes like Peter, denying Christ in order to avoid being judged for his association. This isn't about Don's life walking with Christ. He doesn't have the answers, he's not on track. This is about him getting to the beginning of that journey. It's about him breaking away from the the religious restraints of his spiritually anorexic youth and, by running away, finding out who God really is or at least what God really means to him.

I've often said that the person who continues moving forward on the wrong path is making less progress than the person backtracking to find where he missed that divergence onto the right path. Don is not consciously backtracking and has a lot to apologize for when he realizes that he has been ashamed of Jesus during all this time, but he arrives in a place that allows him to break out of the religious clique of his youth so that he can share the reality of God with lost and hurting souls outside the walls of the church building.

I have never read the book, but I saw the movie with someone who has. We both appreciated the message conveyed to us and the challenge to think. I'm a long time fan of Steve Taylor. In fact, as I write this one of his songs has just come up on my iTunes shuffle as if on cue. I consider him to be a spiritually sound voice questioning the religious status quo but doing so with wit and humor not often found in Christian entertainment. He delivers here what I would expect out of him which is one of the main strengths of the movie.

As much praise as I may give the film, it's not perfect. It can feel slow as far as pace without much in the way of framing or cinematography to spice up the visuals. The computer animation, while often amusing, looks more cartoonish than it seems that it should (though at other times the cartoonish qualities fit well). There are scenes with dialogue that could be played out better and transitions that could flow more smoothly. If you find yourself unable to laugh at the humor, which is sometimes irreverent, or unable to get into the characters you could very easily find yourself getting bored. Despite my overall enjoyment of the piece I sometime found myself wishing we could move on towards the resolution a bit faster.

Acting is mostly solid but does have a few downs. I only recognized one face, that of Tania Raymonde who I find adorable in every role. Realizing exactly who she is I appreciate even more her ability to sell her character as authentically as she does. I later realized I also know Jason Marsden, but I know him as a voice actor and have never seen his face as far as I can remember (over the past few weeks I've been watching the "Extreme Ghostbusters" series in which he stars).

For the most part the other actors I've looked up have limited or unremarkable careers so far. There are times when I find the performances lacking. Some of the dialogue could be delivered better and some of the emotion seems underdeveloped. There are other times when I think they nail it. One of the final emotional scenes is exceptionally good in this respect with the way Justin Welborn, whose character hasn't portrayed much emotion at all up to this point, conveys choking up without breaking down into an unrealistic emotional puddle, and the scene really touches me. I don't know the sequence of filming, but it seems to me like Marshall Allman has improved a bit since the opening scenes and adds a lot to the power of the ending.