New Faith Based Comedy Skewers The Crass Consumerism Of Evangelical Media

Call it a buddy flick with a religious twist.

“Faith Based” is the story of two slackers who set out to cash in on evangelical Christian media by making a low-budget film about the first prayer in space. 

“Why do all these Christian movies have to be bad?” asks Luke, played by “Funny or Die” veteran Luke Barnett . 

“They don’t have to be bad,” film executive Jane (Margaret Cho) says. “They just don’t have to be good.” 

Barnett, who also wrote the film, told HuffPost he’s not mocking the religion itself. 

“This isn’t a movie making fun of Christianity,” he said. “It’s a commentary on the consumerism of Christianity. And at the end of the day, it’s a buddy comedy.” 

Barnett said “Faith Based” is a movie about friendship and finding purpose while also exploring “an industry we find incredibly fascinating.” And it’s not just the film industry that gets the treatment. “Faith Based” also nails contemporary Christian rock with the song “I Hung A Cross,” about how size matters when it comes to faith:

“Faith Based” was directed by Vincent Masciale, costars Tanner Thomason and features Jason Alexander of “Seinfeld,” Lance Reddick of “Bosch” and comic/actor David Koechner of the “Anchorman” films. It’s available starting Friday via VOD , and currently has a 95% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes .