Hellen
I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much
KnotMissPriceless
Why so much hype?
Steineded
How sad is this?
boramaster
Oh, I so want to make fun of this, but I can't. It is horrible. Period. I want to stick in a "Halleluja" as snark, but I can't. It is horrible. I want to praise Jeebus, but I can't. It is horrible. Period and EXCLAMATION POINT. Oh lord, I cannot continue this. It is horrible. You must watch this in order to understand where we are at. It is horrible.
tedg
Sometimes a film has such a powerful effect, via such a subtle and esoteric method that you wonder if the filmmaker knew what she was doing.Superficially, this is an expose of a dirty business. It works at that level, because it has so many elements in it that have a cultural momentum of their own:— Fundamentalists are all low class nut jobs who take solace in superstitious nonsense.— Preachers are all con men who use fear and solace, lies and charisma to tease dollars, sex and loyalty out of these goobs.— But the music is often good enough for us to want to be there; the energy is often mesmerizing and mass orgasm is not to be sneered at.But scratch the surface only a tiny bit, and it is hard to know who is conning whom. Our hero is as smoothly glib when in the outer performance as in the inner ones. There is scant difference in how he cajoles us into a story, one that makes no more sense than the one he is exposing. In fact, the magic of this is that there is heavy tension between these two stories. One is a story about an earnest preacher, saving people in performances where he reveals the truth and empowers souls. The other, well it is the same with less strutting. One enfolds the other.We've seen that before. But never have I seen it coming from, initiated and presented by a single soul. No, two should in one body, each believing the other to be an interloping demon. Joe fights Mar . Profound stuff that should be seen before you shape your own story and performances.Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.
thismagicmoment
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!
Lechuguilla
Former child evangelist Marjoe Gortner lays it on the line, presumably, in this riveting true story of his life as a traveling Pentecostal preacher in the early 1970s, long before cable TV and the "electronic church". Gortner, a tall, charming, and charismatic guy talks to a documentary film crew of counterculture hippies about his techniques and tricks of the trade. "If you're going to get into big time religion, this is the game you gotta play ... you work it as a business ... The (preachers) who are successful ... they're just businessmen; they're like Madison Avenue PR men".The camera follows Marjoe as he preaches in various settings, including an old fashioned big tent revival meeting. He shouts hallelujah a lot, prances back and forth in front of his prey, and spews out general gospel gibberish. And, of course, there's the inevitable request for ... "a love offering". At one meeting, he intones, earnestly: "Would you get out your checkbooks tonight; would some of you get out $5 or $10; bring what you would ... come on". After everyone has left, we see him sitting on his bed counting wads of cash.The film's technical elements are fine, although there's a tendency to dwell too long in some settings. We get the idea; truly, we do.To watch these swindlers is infuriating, in that their con is aimed at vulnerable people, those who are in varying conditions of physical and/or mental pain. Most of these victims are low-income, poorly educated folks who cannot afford to throw their money at flimflam artists. Accordingly, viewers must surely appreciate Marjoe's successful effort through this film to expose the motivations and manipulations of these "salesmen".Of course, a performance is a performance whether it's aimed at true believers in some revival tent, or at an audience watching a film documentary. In "Marjoe", Marjoe puts on a good show. But is his message credible? I think events of the last 35 years have shown that, for the most part, the answer is yes ... his message is credible.
