kyrat Avoided this for a long time because I was afraid this was going to be some religious rant about taking "Christ" out of Christmas sort of lament of gifts overriding the message of Christmas.But while watching a rerun of the show Sliders (episode from 1998 entitled "Seasons Greedings") - I was reminded of this documentary and told it contained a similar message against credit card debt/overspending and equating presents iwht love.I was pleased to see the documentary was more of a satirical take on rampant consumerism, the critique being about buying people's love's with gifts, about the costs (in poverty, body parts, etc.) of the products you buy in Walmart or Disney that are made with slave labor.While some real reverends were interviewed, I was more interested in the fake "reverand" billy whose message resonated quite strongly.NOTE: Submitted to IMDb goof section, 40 minutes into the film they're at the Shattuck Safeway in Berkeley but it's identified in the film as Oakland.

MrMajestik Really don't understand the low ratings of this doc... I saw this several years ago and was touched by its creative message, the enlightenment to our insane consumer society, and if you don't think you are just a pawn of the oppressor then you ARE! Stop buying so much and invest in relationships and values! US has clearly lost it way and this doc points out they hypocrisy in modern consumerist America. Here are some more great docs for those who care: 1) Consuming Kids 2) Affluenza 3) Advertising and the end of the world 4) The Corporation 5) What a way to go: Life at the End of EmpireIf you watch these you may be able to turn the tide on our social, moral, and environmental destruction... What would Jesus Buy? fits right in with them ... "We must become the change we want to see." Gandhi

evening1 Performance artist Rev. Billy hates the consumerism of Christmas, and, like a true missionary, he wants to spread the word --- so he and his choir are all over the back roads of America, trying to avert the Shopocalypse.This entertaining documentary preaches an unpopular gospel: Stop praying to the false gods of Buy Now and Pay Later and find a better way to give a gift. Bleached-blond, white-suited, megaphone-toting Billy, who declares Mickey Mouse the Anti-Christ, is a consummate showman and charismatic leader. I liked his histrionic spiels -- "Everybody's inside a car on the way to a television. We've got an emergency here!" --- as much as I enjoyed his choir's shows in parking lots, malls, Disneyland, and wherever they could find a captive audience. Tidbits about America's spending addiction, and appalling information about Wal-Mart's exploitation of workers here and abroad, underscore the sobering message. What has happened to the humility of Christmasses past, when the celebrants were poor but didn't know it? One man remembered selling bottles and rags so he could make some handmade candles. Another recalled the simple pleasures of receiving apples and oranges along with a few necessities. Now, though, "if you get people small things, they don't appreciate it," says one young woman. What makes this movie sad is that Rev. Billy is NOT preaching to the choir. His jeremiads are often met by a police presence and other signs of hostility. (Did that semi-trailer hit the group's tour bus by accident, or what?) Much like Jesus, perhaps, he tries to bring some insights to folks who are disinclined to examine their own values. (It's stunning to hear a picture-perfect young mother describe how she didn't have the nicer things growing up, so, with her own young children, "I want them to have the name-brand stuff and all the cool toys so when their friends come over they can say they have it.")As the voice-over intones, the average American child spends 40 hours a week with electronic media -- but just 40 minutes speaking meaningfully with his own mom and dad. Regardless of his bona fides as a cleric, Billy's message needs to be heard.

therefdotcom the intention the directors has for this films are quite honorable, but his history of his productions did get me aware that this might not get much to the core like other film makers would do it. keeping his great 30 days TV series in mind but also counting in his MTV production "i bet you will" that opposes his seriousness in any of the matters he documents and also counting in his rather disappointing production "supersize me" i did not had my hopes up high. sadly enough this movie disappointed me none the less. as with "supersize me" after a while i did ask myself what exactly the point of all this was. the main statement gets clear enough after half an hour but the rest of the playtime gets filled with rather pointless stuff and re-repeating stuff that were already shown in this way or another earlier in the movie, so it wears out and gets extremely boring towards the end.