By: debbie lynn elias
Since the early days of film and Cecille B. DeMille, the relationship between man and religion has been one of both reverence and respect, as well as, irreverence, with the world having a place for both to sit side by side. And while I have the utmost respect and admiration for the classics such as “The Ten Commandments”, “The Robe” and “King of Kings”, just to name a few, I equally welcome and embrace a skewering comedy like “Pass the Ammo”, “Dear God” and now, SALVATION BOULEVARD. And while there are many who may find disfavor with George Ratliff’s SALVATION BOULEVARD, and quickly pray to God for Ratliff’s own forgiveness and salvation for poking such delicious satiric fun at the big business of the evangelical super church and fanatical followers, I, on the other hand, will be thanking God for giving us George Ratliff and this laugh-out-loud, fire and brimstone comedy filled with wry wit, dark humor and a performance by Pierce Brosnan that is, without a doubt, the best of his career.
Pastor Dan Day is a man with a vision, yes a vision, I say. With more good looks, charm and charisma than grains of sand in the deserts of Sinai, Day is the founder and leader of the Church of the Third Millenium. With global tv and radio programs, books, lectures and dozens of other ventures guaranteed to make millions for Day, his real goal is to create the City on the Hill; his own Camelot or even better, his own Sodom and Gomorrah. His followers are the devoutest of sheep, blindly believing each and every word that comes out of Day’s mouth. Most of the flock have not only been reborn as Christians, but reborn in life. Take Carl Vanderveer for example. Poor Carl. The truest of Dead Heads (aka Grateful Dead follower), Carl’s life was just one big blur of rock concerts, partying, drugs and alcohol; that is until he was saved, saved by a lovely Christian gal named Gwen and her own savior, Pastor Dan and the Church of the Third Millenium. Carl cleaned up his life, was given a job in the church. He even married Gwen and now has a Doubting Thomas teenaged step-daughter who, while having religion shoved down her throat by her mother, thinks, feels and rebels like any teen. And not the brightest bulb in the box, Carl is the perfect person to be Pastor Dan’s poster child for what this church can do for you, how it can save you. Plus, it helps Pastor Dan stay close to his most faithful follower, Gwen.
But life is not a bed of roses for Pastor Dan. His faith and church are constantly being attacked and tested, primarily by leading scholar and atheist, Paul Blaylock. Following a well received debate filled with fire and brimstone from both sides of the podium, Day and Blaylock meet to discuss a business proposition of Blaylock’s. Day has Carl in tow who has also been ordered by Gwen and her equally devoted and meddlesome father to pitch a business plan to Day and Blaylock for a multiplex theater within the City on a Hill. Excited by Blaylock’s idea that the two write a book together (which will “make millions), Day starts playing with some antique guns on the coffee table. Sadly, one goes off, shooting Blaylock in the head and sending him into a comatose state. Now Day can’t go to the police and tell them what truly happened. His plans for City on a Hill would be ruined. No. He needs a fall guy and who better than the unknowing Carl.
Facing his own moral crisis when Day doesn’t go immediately to the police, Carl surreptitiously reports the shooting only to find Day is working the system to make it look like a suicide attempt. Believing that the truth must be told, Carl quickly finds himself running for his life as Day’s corrupt police force and hired henchmen come out with guns blazing in a cat and mouse manhunt that finds Carl’s only allies a fellow Deadhead security guard named Honey, his steo-daughter and, of all people, his gung-ho father-in-law. And as the hunt for Carl intensifies, Day also begins to feel the pressure of his crime when he starts receiving phone calls from none other than an “unknown” Satan.
I have to say, I am disappointed with SALVATION BOULEVARD – disappointed that we didn’t get more screen time with Pierce Brosnan and Ed Harris going head to head! They are fantastic! These two bring out all the fire and brimstone of the ages and you can see that each was just relishing, drooling, over these over-the-top religious pontifications and come-to-Jesus arguments!
Now, having said that, I haven’t seen Pierce Brosnan this deliciously brilliant since his days as Remington Steele and years later, “The Matador.” Hilarity just oozes from him with his nuanced physical and vocal inflections. And of course, some snake oil is also oozing out of that character Pastor Day. Brosnan just explodes in this role with zeal, energy and great comedic timing. And his sleazy lustings for Jennifer Connelly’s character! You can’t help but laugh.
According to Ratliff, “In the script [Pastor Dan] was written more based on a Rick Warren, a kind of American populist pastor. The Ed Harris character was more of a Christopher Hitchens. The [casting agents] presented Pierce Brosnan as someone they wanted to go to. I thought about it and I thought about it and the guy is just so damn charming that it’s kind of perfect. Many pastors all have that charm. [Pierce] is someone you can just believe and watch and love. It was his charm. He suggested Greg [Kinnear] based on “Matador”. I love “Matador” and that’s what I thought up until [SALVATION BOULEVARD]. Now this is my favorite Pierce Brosnan performance. He’s just fantastic. And Greg’s the best straight man and then this is even harder. It’s the passive protagonist which no one can do. The great silent actors pulled that off and not many other people have done it.”
And talking about Greg Kinnear. Even Ratliff is thrilled with Kinnear as Carl. “He’s wonderful in this. It’s hard to convey all that without saying words. He’s such a physical comedian.” Serving as the passive protagonist, Kinnear is endearing. Befuddled, flabbergasted and at a loss functioning outside of his Dead Head comfort zone, he is quite sympathetic as the floundering Christian fish. Where the problem arises, however, is his chemistry with Jennifer Connelly. They have none. But, on the slip side, he and Marisa Tomei as Honey are a dazzling delight. And again, another situation where I wish we had more of these two on screen together! I find it ironic that Kinnear is once again facing off with God in a film. He previously starred in “Dear God”which I thought was a really cute charmer.
Jennifer Connelly is extraordinarily insane and shall we say, zealous, in her performance of Gwen; so much so that it almost borders on annoyance. She pushes the over-the-top religious psycho babble to a point beyond hilarious. For Ratliff, his favorite scene in the film is a car crash in which Gwen arrives on scene to find that Carl had been driving with Honey. In a jealous rage, she flies at Tomei’s Honey. In what Ratliff believes was divine intervention, there were technical difficulties shooting this scene which forced Connelly to be “in holding for almost five hours. To exacerbate that, she spent her time in holding in this stress yoga position. When she came out on set, the sun was going down. It was an exterior. And Jennifer came on set and the crew literally ran away from her. She would have clubbed someone if anyone got in her way. [guffawing] I looked at her and was like “great! Let’s do this!” I didn’t talk to her. I got everyone in position and just sort of moved her there. And it was just magical.”
A great performance is turned in by Jim Gaffigan as Day’s right hand henchman, Jerry Dobson. You can’t help but laugh each time he’s on screen.
Based in the book by Larry Beinhart, George Ratliff was called on to do the screenplay and direct. According to Ratliff, “The book is like a pot boiler/thriller that starts out with this atheist professor who’s been shot. And it’s kind of a whodunit. At some point, in the process of writing it, I realized it would be much more interesting if this were a comedy. They’re just such funny characters. A lot of the book is still there, it’s just now all funny.” The story is so rooted in the reality of over-the-top cultish evangelism, such as Reverend Victor Paul Wierwille’s The Way, Jim Jones cult, “The Rapture” – life today puts “Elmer Gantry” of old to shame. SALVATION BOULEVARD captures it all with this great dry comedic darkness. You can’t help but salivate at the insanity of the concept knowing it’s rooted in reality….and then the dialogue and performances just drive it all home. Sarcastic cynical bible thumping at its finest! And let’s not forget the twists and turns of a whodunit that the story takes along the way.
Subplots involving immigration and bringing cheap labor from south of the border to build a golden city in the north are pretty funny, and accurate (as is the whole City on a Hill joke). One of the greatest bits of humor comes from Yul Vasquez’ storyline as Mexican real estate developer Jorge Guzman de Vaca who serves as a tempting Satan who can either help or hurt Day or Carl depending on who pays his price. Adding to his comedy is costuming which was designed by Vasquez himself and costumer Lynn Falconer – a burgundy/red velvet-looking suit like Satan and his phone calls always lighting up in red as “unknown” with a mysterious voice at the end of the line, really drives home the humor of the message of good and evil. Again, shortcomings are minimal screen time of Brosnan and Harris, and Kinnear and Tomei, as well as a short shrift on Ciarin Hinds subplot as Gwen’s father.
But Brosnan and Kinnear – they just takes the bull, er, the Bible, by the horns, and run straight into the bright light of the comedic gods. Fun and funny, say “Hallelujah” and “Amen” for SALVATION BOULEVARD!
Pastor Dan Day – Pierce Brosnan
Carl Vandermeer – Greg Kinnear
Dr. Paul Blaylock – Ed Harris
Honey Foster – Marisa Tomei
Gwen Vandermeer – Jennifer Connelly
Written and Directed by George Ratliff based on the book by Larry Beinhart.
