MERCY RULE and why "Christian" entertainment generally sucks

I MERCY RULE is a movie starring Kirk Cameron and his family. It is rated G because there is no sex, violence, or foul language in it. More importantly, it doesn't feel like it's missing those things.

BROTHER WHITE, unfortunately, is far more typical of entertainment directed at professing Christians. It's clichéd throughout, and bears no resemblance to biblical Christianity. It makes a big deal about being a "Christian film", but it ultimately tells a story that could be -- and has been -- told by anyone.

Don't get me wrong; MERCY RULE is not a perfect film. There are some obvious directorial tricks, and the daughter's part in particular seems larger than it has to be. But it is a very good one. BROTHER WHITE is not. It just feels like a Christianized version of a secular movie.

And that seems to be the problem with most of the entertainment industry for professing Christians. It just churns out what everyone else likes, sanitized and with a thin veneer of Jesus on top. It's almost as if they were saying, "We know you'd rather watch or read or listen to X, but here's a version without cussing or boobs."

We claim to worship the source of all creativity, so the world has the right to expect more from us than insipid imitations of popular trends. Our ideal has shifted from excellent to good enough, and that's not good enough.