God’s Not Dead 2 improves if viewed as taking place in a sort of “Twilight Zone” alternate universe where Christians are a put-upon minority—sort of like the 1995 reverse-racism drama White Man’s Burden. Otherwise, it collapses under the weighty delusion that every other belief system is accepted except for the largest religion in the world. In what modern-day America would a Christian teacher in the state of Arkansas find herself before the court for mentioning Jesus in an innocuous, academically sound manner? Certainly not the one where Donald Trump is the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination.
History teacher Grace Wesley (Clarissa/Sabrina herself, Melissa Joan Hart) finds herself in legal hot water after a student asks her a question about Jesus. Suddenly the ACLU—perfectly personified by Satan incarnate, Ray Wise (see “Reaper” for the proof)—is in town calling for her head, despite the fact that the organization would most likely support her were this a real-life scenario.
Fortunately, the yard boy whom Eva Longoria once cheated with on “Desperate Housewives” (Jesse Metcalfe) has gone to law school and come out dressed like a slumpy PI just in time to defend Grace. Concurrently, some characters from the previous movie show up to make sure no one questions the “2” in the title. By some miracle, David A. White’s Reverend Dave makes it onto Grace’s jury; however, his contemplation of shirking his civic duty seems rather un-Christian. And what is the point of Pat Boone?
The movie’s true fault lies in its ultimate timidity. Rather than suppose a real crisis of faith versus Constitution, the filmmakers substitute a situation that from the beginning calls for Grace’s exoneration. The timorousness of the writers stops at their portrayal of atheists, all of whom are sleazy and unctuous (see Wise, Ray). They even throw in a persecutory plot device for the next movie by the ill insertion of the secular justice system subpoenaing the sermons of local pastors.
While that scenario has a basis in reality, the writers lazily refuse to provide a legal precedent for the subpoenas. They also idly continue the “Duck Dynasty” meme to prove who does and who does not fit the movie’s definition of a good guy. This reverse Inherit the Wind is a classic example of preaching to the choir, though one wonders if even the choir will appreciate the obvious pandering. More than anything, God’s Not Dead 2 shows the whole point of the First Amendment to be lost on its creators.
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