Salvation Boulevard (2011)

Set in the world of mega-churches in which a former Deadhead-turned-born again-Christian finds himself on the run from fundamentalist members of his mega-church who will do anything to protect their larger-than-life pastor.

Director:

George Ratliff

Writers:

Douglas Stone (screenplay), George Ratliff (screenplay),

Stars:

Jennifer Connelly, Greg Kinnear, Pierce Brosnan

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jennifer Connelly	...	Gwen Vandermeer
Greg Kinnear	...	Carl Vanderveer
Pierce Brosnan	...	Dan Day
Ed Harris	...	Peter Blaylock
Jan Radcliff	...	Moderator
Ciarán Hinds	...	Jim Hunt
Jim Gaffigan	...	Jerry Hobson
Marisa Tomei	...	Honey Foster
Isabelle Fuhrman	...	Angie Vandermeer
Mary Callaghan Lynch	...	Bedelia Hobson
Christine Kelly	...	Tabitha
Randy Ryan	...	Duane the AV Guy
Mike Eshaq	...	Ahmad the Security Guard
Julia Glander	...	Protest Leader
Michael Maurice	...	Officer Bill Peale

Storyline

Set in the world of mega-churches in which a former Deadhead-turned-born again-Christian finds himself on the run from fundamentalist members of his mega-church who will do anything to protect their larger-than-life pastor.

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Plot Keywords:

pastor | security guard | gasoline | belief in hell | car accident | 

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Taglines:

For Carl, salvation turned out to be a tight squeeze!

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some language, violence, drug material and brief sexual content

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 July 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Agios me to zori

Filming Locations:

Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$9,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$7,208 (USA) (15 July 2011)

Gross:

$27,445 (USA) (19 August 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mandalay Vision, 10th Hole Productions, Cineric

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

Although throughout the film, Ed Harris's character is called Paul Blaylock, even including the 'where are they now?' montage at the end, in the end credits he is shown as Peter Blaylock.

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Quotes

Peter Blaylock: Where does religion come from? It comes from fear. Belief in the supernatural arose to protect us from the frightening unknown. Whether it be volcanoes, thunder, lightning, earthquake, death, evil, somewhere along the line the supernatural became God, and the unknown became Satan.

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Connections

Features Legend (1985)

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Soundtracks

"I'm Drunk and Real High (In the Spirit of God)"
Written by Ada Richards
Performed by Ada Richards

User Reviews

Creative dark comedy that's not afraid to jab at the Big Guy Upstairs

I gotta hand it to writer/director George Ratliff for being so bold. I'm not just talking about offending audiences. I'm saying if God does exist, then there's certainly a hot seat in store for Georgie Boy.

Actually I'm kidding. "Salvation Boulevard", while being unapologetically one-sided, isn't so offensive that religious folks can't laugh about it. I'd like to think it pokes fun at the hypocrisy of certain religious leaders, not religion itself.

But what do I know. I'm pacifist and yet I enjoyed Deathwish 1 thru 5.

Right off the bat, "Salvation Boulevard" gets points for its wacky, original plot. A celebrity televangelist, played by Pierce Brosnan, and a recently-converted (but thoroughly confused) ex-Deadhead, played by Greg Kinnear, get wrapped up in an unintentional crime against an atheist (Ed Norton). Due to a series of panicked, bad decisions, it just keeps getting deeper & deeper for both of them. Our hero, the Deadhead, is sort of an Everyman character who muddles his way through the madness without ever seeming to comprehend what's going on. Conversely, Brosnan the televangelist thinks he's in control, but his situation (and his moral fiber) rapidly unwind as he starts suffering from delusions that the Devil is hot on his trail.

Adding to the fun are some equally wacky characters: Marisa Tomei as the flaky retro-hippie girl, Jennifer Connelly as the insanely obsessed follower, Jim Gaffigan as the even-MORE-insanely obsessed follower (I'm talking "Terminator" obsessed), Yul Vazquez as the comically sinister Mexican crime boss, and a host of others thrown in.

"Salvation Boulevard" is a roller-coaster dark comedy that reminds me of the unknown gems "Grand Theft Parsons" (about 2 guys who decide to steal the body of famed musician Gram Parsons) and "Leaves of Grass" (about a hillbilly and his yuppie brother who get wrapped up in a crazy drug caper). And of course there's the classic oldie "Fletch Lives" (where Chevy Chase takes on a questionable TV ministry). All of these films are worth a watch and should get some lols out of everyone.