Review: 'Jesus Revolution' tells a fascinating story of a '70s Christian youth movement, but chooses the least interesting person to relate it

There are three real-life figures at the center of “Jesus Revolution,” and it’s the movie’s misfortune that only one of the three is still alive today — because he’s the least interesting of the three, and he’s the one through whom we see the other two.

Directors Jon Erwin (who has captured the Christian drama market with his brother Andrew) and Brent McCorkle dive into the Christian scene in Southern California in the last 1960s and early 1970s. It was a time when, as a backlash to the “tune in, turn on, drop out” ethos of Timothy Leary and the Haight-Ashbury crowd, a fair number of young people found their high of choice in Jesus.

The story starts with Chuck Smith (Kelsey Grammer), a Baptist minister in a sleepy, under-attended church in Costa Mesa, Calif. His rebel daughter, Janette (Ally Ioannides), on a dare, brings home a hippie — a charismatic preacher of the gospel, Lonnie Frisbee (played by Jonathan Roumie, who portrays Jesus in the series “The Chosen”). Chuck is dubious of Lonnie at first, but soon recognizes that his interest in Jesus is genuine, and could bring in a new generation of parishioners.

The early going is rough, particularly when Chuck’s older church members threaten the pastor with his job for embracing the ever-growing ranks of young, barefoot worshippers. (In one of the nicest scenes in the movie, Chuck responds to the complaints about the dirt being tracked into the church by doing the most Christ-like thing he can think of: He washes the young people’s feet.)

Threading through the rise of Chuck’s Calvary Chapel and Lonnie’s prominence as a faith healer, and the clash that threatens to undo the movement, comes our third player. That’s Greg Laurie (played by Joel Courtney, from “The Kissing Booth” and its sequels), a teen who drops out of military school and follows his bliss — and a cute girl, Cathe (Anna Grace Barlow) — through the hippie community, but finds the drug scene a dead end.

At his lowest point, Greg finds Lonnie, and becomes part of his following. Greg becomes a youth leader, drawing comic-book flyers to spread the good word, and assisting Chuck and Lonnie. Finding Jesus also leads Greg to finding Cathe again, and lets him hope they may make a life together.

The script, adapted from Laurie’s memoir by Erwin and Jon Gunn (who also co-wrote “American Underdog,” the Erwin Brothers’ biographical drama about football star Kurt Warner), also details Greg’s hard relationship with his mother (Kimberly Williams-Paisley), depicted as a bleached blonde alcoholic who clings to her son because the other men in her life cut out on her. It’s a thankless role, but Williams-Paisley finds some genuine moments of grace in it.

“Jesus Revolution” has its highs and its lows. The best parts include Grammer’s low-key performance as Chuck, accepting early Lonnie’s arrival as a chance to spread God’s word, and Roumie’s portrayal of Lonnie, which hints at the darker strains in his backstory. (The movie sidesteps how Lonnie died; Google it.) The negatives mostly are the parts of the story involving Laurie, from the melodramatic mother drama to a bland romantic subplot.

The Erwins know how to present a strong, Christian-based story that doesn’t fall back on the lazy storytelling of “miracles” — “American Underdog” wasn’t afraid to make its Christian characters fallible, and their documentary “The Jesus Music” (which covers parts of the history shown here) was admirable for telling the human stories in the Christian music world. One wishes that, in “Jesus Revolution,” they could have showed a little more faith in their subjects.

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‘Jesus Revolution’

★★1/2

Opens Friday, February 24, in theaters everywhere. Rated PG-13 for strong drug content involving teens and some thematic elements. Running time: 120 minutes.