Electric Jesus

After a blistering performance at a church camp talent show, Christian hair metal band 316 is introduced to a flashy promoter with a plan. Glad-handing, Lord-loving Skip Wick (Brian Baumgartner) wants to take the band on the road—promising the boys a jam-packed summer of Christian rock gigs and a shot at making a real record in Nashville. Complications arise when a woebegone pastor’s (Judd Nelson) daughter, 16 year-old Sarah (Shannon Hutchinson), stows herself away in the band's RV. Once discovered, Skip must keep recalcitrant Sarah along for the next couple of weeks on the road—which turns out to be plenty of time for the talented girl to emerge as the band’s muse, head-turning opening act, and Erik’s first love. Writer-director Chris White wears his heart on his sleeve in this hilarious and often wistful semi-autobiographical love letter to a time just before — or perhaps during — the loss of innocence for both the characters and the church culture of which they were a part. Following in the tradition of the very best coming-of-age stories, ELECTRIC JESUS evokes both the pain and delight of the past and leaves one to wonder, “What was all that really about anyway?”