Spirit, Body & Soul

Keep your abdominals tight...and praise the Lord. That's the message behind this Christian aerobics workout video which combines low-impact aerobics with on-screen and voice-over scriptural quotations. A trio of female instructors take viewers through a warm-up, three aerobic sets, a pair of cool down sessions and a relaxation segment (which has no instruction, just a ballerina dancing to an original song entitled "Peace Be Still"). The instructors are ringed by a series of diaphanous curtains, which the camera repeatedly cuts behind for visual effect (which makes the viewer feel as if he or she is looking through gauze), and the camera moves too much in general (the more editing and camera angles in an aerobics tape, the more the instruction suffers). On top of this, the voice-over scriptural sound bites are strange: one non sequitur, which is repeated over and over in a robotic tone, as if this were a technopop concert, is "if any man be in Christ." There are more nourishing programs out there for the spirit, the body, and the soul. An optional purchase for those who feel they need a religious aerobics tape. (R. Pitman)