Salvation

This quirky satire on electronic evangelism charts the demise and subsequent rebound of the Reverend Edward Randall (an excellent performance by Stephen McHattie). Directed by Beth B, an independent filmmaker, Salvation introduces viewers to a lower-class New Jersey family: Jerome, a recently fired hothead; his wife Rhonda (played by Los Angeles punk band "X"'s lead singer Exene Cervenka) as a born-again Christian who has been sending most of her hubby's paycheck to the Reverend; and Lenore, her seductive kid sister. Jerome and Lenore decide to blackmail the Reverend (through the time-honored method recently associated with the Bakker bunch) into offering Rhonda a co-host position on his TV show. Sometimes the satire works marvelously (as when the Reverend, while trying to flee from his upstairs bathroom window, shimmies down a large cross bearing the neon words "Jesus Saves"); but the film--as short as it is--has one distracting drawback: too many music videos. Still, we can recommend this for larger collections. (Provided by and available from at a substantial discount: Ingram Video, 347 Reedwood Dr., Nashville, TN 37217; 1-800-251-5902).