You know how Christian-music videos often seem like slightly-off remakes of secular stuff you saw years ago? That’s the exact-same vibe I got from Steve Taylor’s comedy about a church kid from Houston who winds up at Portland’s keeeeee-razy Reed College and has various crises of faith. (It’s likely no coincidence that Taylor was a successful Christian recording artist and music-video director.) Blue wants you to like it for being a quirky, indie-ish coming-of-age story, but it can never quite shake its agenda, and it seems woefully clueless about the secular world, treating the non-faithful as a parade of entertaining freaks. The film was adapted from a popular novel, so if you liked the book — and its message about embracing faith — you might find a place in your heart for this affirming Blue tale.
This article appears in Apr 11-17, 2012.
