60
Metascore
16 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonaghTV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonaghSteeped in what may be the ultimate postmodern irony: Talen's impromptu, defiant piece of performance art with political undertones has actually taken on a spiritual dimension.
- 75San Francisco ChronicleWalter AddiegoSan Francisco ChronicleWalter AddiegoThe character isn't just shtick, though. As Billy, Talen has staged many protests in Times Square and anti-shopping "interventions" at retailers, where the managers, to say nothing of the New York police, often have failed to see the humor - he's been arrested dozens of times.
- It’s a wickedly effective indictment of America’s consumer compulsion, our mindless shopping and the multinational corporations controlling it all.
- 70Village VoiceVillage VoiceMuch like Spurlock's hit "Super Size Me," this production is slick, well-paced, and tremendously entertaining.
- 70Los Angeles TimesKevin CrustLos Angeles TimesKevin CrustLoud, proud and cheeky, the film runs roughshod over corporate behemoths Disney, Starbucks and Wal-Mart as it preaches a sermon of simplicity and consumer awareness.
- 67Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment WeeklyThe movie has a sharp point -- Americans shop too much -- but it's a problem that its bellowing hero, always accompanied by his red-robed Church of Stop Shopping Gospel Choir, is so off-putting; a crazy guy who wouldn't sound so crazy if he just didn't act so crazy.
- 60The New York TimesLaura KernThe New York TimesLaura KernAt the very least, the documentary What Would Jesus Buy? might make a viewer think twice about that next purchase at the Gap.
- 60The Hollywood ReporterSheri LindenThe Hollywood ReporterSheri LindenDespite effective moments, VanAlkemade's film is too diffuse. He gives us snippets of the group's spirited performances, but their effect on audiences remains unclear.
- 50New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanNew York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanYou know that deflated feeling you get after you've spent a lot of time and money shopping - and have little to show for your efforts? This disappointing biography, about performance artist Reverend Billy, does an awfully good job recreating it.
- 33The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThe A.V. ClubNoel MurrayIt's neither conceptually bold nor slyly satirical when Billy dresses up as a Southern evangelical and sings made-up hymns about "the shopacalypse."