This adaptation of Don Miller’s autobiographical book presents him as a Texas Baptist teenager who, out of curiosity and rebellion, makes his way to ardently secular Reed College in Portland, Ore. Once he’s there, he discovers the pleasures of a stiff drink after a hard day and raging hedonism as far as the eye can see — right? Well, not really.
No, this is a rare bird, a sincere movie about Christian faith. Once Don (Marshall Allman) arrives, he befriends an amiable lesbian (Tania Raymonde), starts drinking, engages in extracurricular civil disobedience and argues against religion in class. He also falls for Penny (Claire Holt), a beautiful activist who, it turns out, has more in common with Don than he thinks.
Steve Taylor’s direction is unexciting but solid, relying on the beauty of Portland and his spirited young cast for most of the visual interest.
The big catch is that the movie, while seeking to dispel outmoded notions about Christians, traffics in some glaring assumptions itself, such as the idea that most people who reject God do so because He hurt their feelings.
The one actual debate here is over whether rock-ribbed conservatism is the only Christian game in town. “Blue Like Jazz” is a pleasant film, as well-intentioned as the character Don himself, but it ducks the thorniest questions of faith and dogma while patting itself on the back for realism.