Jesus to His followers: “Ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.”
Well, not yet. In America, there is often something different going on. Gwyneth, the chief character in Christian Mingle (2014), signs up with Christian Mingle, an actual dating website for born-again folks, and meets regenerate Paul Wood, becoming infatuated with him. This she does despite being secular and unchurched (she just wants to meet a decent guy)—a fact she hides from her beau-to-be lest he reject her. Lest he reject her!
The pretense proceeds apace, and there are funny moments—Mingle is a low-key comedy—but Gwyneth can’t keep it up. It’s a sure thing, even so, that nature has trumped the act of refusing a devout person. Now it is time for spiritual awakening to trump nature. The movie has less to do with Gwyneth’s romantic problems than with God’s pursuit of her.
Corbin Bernsen wrote and directed this picture, and in terms of religion it is very unsubtle. Further, the denouement and the part before that are not as satisfying as what precedes them. . . I will write about the acting and more after I see Christian Mingle a second time. Wait for the next post.