Jennifer Connelly Movies

Religious satire 'Salvation Boulevard' leads to a dead end

I'm a doubting Thomas about religious satire, a subclass of comedy that is easy to do but hard to do well. Too many movies that skewer faith-healing hypocrites also slaughter the sheep who are hungry for answers.

The lost lamb in the so-so "Salvation Boulevard" is Carl Vanderveer (Greg Kinnear), who tells us in a chirpy prelude that he was a traveling Deadhead when fate led him to the megachurch of the charismatic Rev. Dan Day (Pierce Brosnan). Carl, with the moral support of his desperately spirited wife (Jennifer Connelly) and enterprising father-in-law (Ciaran Hinds), has worked his way into Rev. Dan's inner circle. So when the reverend has a tragic encounter with a famous atheist (Ed Harris), Carl is the only witness — and the potential martyr.

"Salvation Boulevard" was adapted by George Ratliff, whose documentary "Hell House" spotlighted fundamentalist scare tactics, from a novel by Larry Beinhart, whose "Wag the Dog" was in sync with actual events.

But here, the scattershot spoofery never rings true. When Rev. Dan's apostles accost Carl, and when his own family won't believe the easily verified evidence that his life is in danger, we realize we're watching a movie in which the flimsy plot has been reverse-engineered to support a shaky agenda.

The character of Rev. Dan is a particular problem. Brosnan's performance isn't broad enough to score points against the two-faced fanatics on the margins, and it isn't focused enough to make us care when Dan himself is endangered and prays for help. Likewise, the misused Marisa Tomei hits a single note as a friend of the devil.

In truckin' past so many fruitful oases, "Salvation Boulevard" is a bumpy road.

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