Do you want to see ‘What Would Jesus Buy?’?

What Would Jesus Buy? (2007)

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All Critics
Top Critics

Average Rating: 6/10
Reviews Counted: 57
Fresh: 32 | Rotten: 25

WWJB is an eye opening doc about consumerism that manages to be both funny and informative.

Average Rating: 5.8/10
Critic Reviews: 15
Fresh: 9 | Rotten: 6

WWJB is an eye opening doc about consumerism that manages to be both funny and informative.

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liked it
Average Rating: 3.4/5
User Ratings: 2,732

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Movie Info

Bill Talen is a New York-based activist and performance artist who since the late '90s has won notoriety for his character Rev. Billy. Rev. Billy is a wildly charismatic street preacher and self-appointed leader of the Church of Stop Shopping, who began his career speaking out against the gentrification of New York City, the forced renovation of 42nd Street, and his favorite symbol of the evils of international marketing, the Disney Store. Since then, Rev. Billy has expanded his targets to

PG, 1 hr. 30 min.

Documentary, Faith & Spirituality, Special Interest

Directed By: Rob VanAlkemade

In Theaters: Nov 16, 2007 Limited

On DVD: Apr 22, 2008

Box Office:$0.1M

Mammouth Releasing

What Would Jesus Buy? Trailer & Photos

Cast

Critic Reviews for What Would Jesus Buy?

All Critics (61) | Top Critics (16) | Fresh (35) | Rotten (25) | DVD (4)

The good reverend and his crew do their best to get busted at assorted corporate shrines (Disneyland, the Mall of America), but their media-driven antics serve only to underline Spurlock's add-water-and-stir approach to political documentary.

January 3, 2008 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader

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J. R. Jones

Chicago Reader

Top Critic

What Would Jesus Buy? is must-see viewing for anyone who thinks of Christmas as just a mall and its night visitors.

December 6, 2007 Full Review Source: Washington Post

| Comment

Ann Hornaday

Washington Post

Top Critic

WWJB? encourages viewers to think outside the big box of super stores such as Wal-Mart.

December 6, 2007 Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer

| Comment

Carrie Rickey

Philadelphia Inquirer

Top Critic

Fake collar or not, he makes a pretty good preacher.

November 29, 2007 Comment

Colin Covert

Minneapolis Star Tribune

Top Critic

It's a wickedly effective indictment of America's consumer compulsion, our mindless shopping and the multinational corporations controlling it all.

November 29, 2007 Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune

| Comment (1)

Jessica Reaves

Chicago Tribune

Top Critic

If Gary Busey ever played Elmer Gantry, he'd look like Reverend Billy, the real-life fire-and-brimstone preacher who embarks ''on a mission to save Christmas from overconsumption."

November 28, 2007 Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly

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Gregory Kirschling

Entertainment Weekly

Top Critic

In WWJB, we don't really feel like we get to know anyone that well, not even the primary subjects of the film: Billy and his choir.

June 12, 2010 Full Review Source: DCist

| Comment

Ian Buckwalter

DCist

This funny, yet thought provoking film asks many questions that have plagued consumerism for decades. While much of the ground tracked over is old, it fits perfectly into the modern economic situation.

September 30, 2008 Full Review Source: Oscar Guy

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Wesley Lovell

Oscar Guy

So we need a better movie about this subject. As usual.

June 14, 2008 Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com

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David Bezanson

Filmcritic.com

A tongue-in-cheek documentary questions the degree to which America has commercialized Christmas.

May 2, 2008 Full Review Source: Mount Desert Islander

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Kam Williams

Mount Desert Islander

The shopaholic wages of sin are...the Shopocalypse!

April 12, 2008 Full Review Source: NewsBlaze

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Prairie Miller

NewsBlaze

The shopaholic wages of sin are...the Shopocalypse!

April 12, 2008 Full Review Source: NewsBlaze

| Comment

Prairie Miller

NewsBlaze

Reverend Billy is a charismatic presence, even if his shtick is too silly and the documentary too unfocused to motivate any serious change in the nation's holiday spending habits.

April 3, 2008 Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine

| Comment

Mark Keizer

Boxoffice Magazine

Seeing WWJB? in a theater is not necessary, although seeing him and the choir hijacking a mall in person would be better than Beowulf in IMAX.

March 17, 2008 Full Review Source: Las Vegas CityLife

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Matt Kelemen

Las Vegas CityLife Source: Las Vegas CityLife

Talen runs the risk of losing his purpose amid his performance.

February 28, 2008 Full Review Source: Colorado Springs Gazette

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Brandon Fibbs

Colorado Springs Gazette

These bits of information could have been shocking in about 1940, 1980 and 1990. But by now, Americans who don't know couldn't care less.

January 11, 2008 Full Review Source: Charlotte Observer

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Lawrence Toppman

Charlotte Observer

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for What Would Jesus Buy?

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I love Morgan Spurlock and Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping! Think they're doing good work."What Would Jesus Buy" is a documentary that examines the commercialization of Christmas in America and the negative effects it has on American consumers as well as the sweatshop workers who produce most of these

December 4, 2008

Remi Logan

Super Reviewer

This is an eye opening documentary revealing the psychotic addiction American consumers seem to have no control over. Although quite silly at times, this film really does open your eyes to the crazyness of the situation. I highly recommend viewing because not only is this documentary informative, it's entertaining too!

November 6, 2010

DJ Jackson

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