I'm Not Jesus Mommy (2011)

Just perfect...

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Great Film overall

Good movie but grossly overrated

When I read about the film in the Redbox, it reveals information that is not revealed in the film until the last 5-10 minutes. I won't do that per se, but the film is so bad, spoilers won't matter.Full figured Dr. Kimmy Gabriel (Bridget McGrath) can not have a child, but keeps on trying. She is very pro-life and reluctantly accepts a position at a human clone project under Dr. Roger Gibson (Charles Hubbell). She steals a cloned embryo and implants it in herself. The film jumps to seven years later as the world is thrust into a post apocalyptic nightmare as Kimmy and her son David (Rocko Hale) live in a run down tenement living off government MRE handouts.The film has heavy religious messages as both lesion faced Kim and Roger are very religious and frequently read from the Bible and listen to radio preachers. This appears to be a "come to Jesus film" except the "good guys" do nothing heroic to save the day or themselves. Indeed, if anything they appear to be part of the problem which is to make a statement about the condition of human existence.This film is very low budget. The sets are meager. The acting is bad and dialouge has a religious corniness to it. It fails to get interesting until 10 minutes before the final credits and by then you pray for the end.Knowing the "secret" of the film by reading the by-line I couldn't help but think during the film..."Funny. He doesn't look Jewish."Parental Guide: No f-bombs, sex, or nudity. Bridget McGrath cleavage.

The film begins very soft and clean with a female hero who is willing to sacrifice anything to achieve her dream of being a mother while ironically being a fertility specialist. The first part of the film is quite typical, very smooth and simple with good looking people in good looking apartments with nice jobs, cars and all thing things you'd expect from a rom-com, but not funny. But then, once our hero makes a fatal mis-step, the world is thrown in to chaos.A crude graphic comes on screen and we're suddenly pushed "Seven years later," and we jump from sitcom to disaster film. The jump is huge and might throw some viewers off track, but after seeing the film for a second time (and the benefit of research), it is clear now what Juares and Schneider set out to do. The problem is that the film doesn't telegraph it with "Hey, this is a movie based on Revelations," and the sudden theological references require some thinking form the audience that wasn't asked of them in the first act. The break in the film makes it feel like two separate films and based on how deliberate the filmmakers were in setting it all up, is clearly intentional and with purpose. I found myself, the first time I viewed the film, having to quickly readjusted my expectations and get in to the world that was suddenly dropped on top of me.The picture then follows, quite carefully, the theological breakdown of the world as told in the Book of Revelations (or the "Apocalypse" for you Catholic folks). Sores start appearing on some characters, not all, which seem to represent the "mark of the Devil," the Rapture is easily identified in a sort of "Left Behind" treatment of the phenomenon, and despite the last two thirds of the film playing out in confined rooms no larger than your typical 2-car garage, it's engaging. The film is a bit overwrought with symbolism and metaphors that will just fly over the head of the average movie-goer, but that's right in line with the Book of Revelations itself which features purple-headed dragons and whores of Babylon (by the way it's also quite obvious that the USA = Babylon in the film which I found particularity well done).Overall this film is about arrogance and the consequences of doing what you know you shouldn't no matter how bad you want it. Seems simple enough, right? There are only a few signs of "low-budget" film-making during the entire 90 minute show, but nothing that stands out as ridiculous or absurd with exception to a scene where a doctor listens to "Ave Maria" while cutting up one of his creations with an Exacto blade. Overall the piece was well constructed and the filmmakers certainly shot for the moon in their first efforts to make a splash. The skills of the film making team are clearly substantial and they should get a pat on the back for trying to do something so large and complex the first time out.

I saw the film at a screening where the director was in attendance and I understand the film has not been released yet, I'm very curious how it will resonate with audiences, but here's my take on it; First off, if you're offended by mad scientists destroying human fetuses, abuse of Mexican immigrants or the human cloning process in general, you will be fired up by this film.I'll be surprised if this film doesn't end up getting some very negative attention from special-interest groups. That being said, the film didn't have even one bit of profanity, nudity or on-camera violence. Vaughn Juares, the film's director, was in attendance at a small screening I attended and in a Q&A after the film Juares stated that "Man Made" was based on the Biblical Book of Revelations. Seeing the film without that reference I didn't pick up on that right away, but I'm also not a Bible-nut.The film was done with a "Hitchcock-like" approach with off-camera violence and the use of graphic sounds to get the point across. I'm not sure if that's because of Juares' creative vision or if budget constraints played a greater role in defining his approach (Juares mentioned that the film had a very tight budget which was NOT obvious when watching the film - besides no stars in the movie, it looked like a real Hollywood production)."Man Made" is very engaging, it pushes a lot of buttons and it has the potential to start a really heated public discussion.I recommend "Man Made" to anyone who's worried about where the world might be headed.

I recently was invited to an early, private screening of this film by a friend of one of the film makers.I was going to give my opinion of the film, which I thought I had already formulated based on the synopsis; not my taste.The second coming of Christ... through cloning... too far fetched for my blood. That was the opinion that I was building up. I was considering how to voice my opinion, should a Q and A arise. I was prepared.I was wrong.This film is very impressive. Director Vaughn Juares has knocked on out of the park.More impressive than the film is that Vaughn and his wife Bridget McGrath shot this film over the course of 2 years for almost no money. I was blown away when I heard this.This film looks like a Hollywood movie. It sounds like a Hollywood movie. The actors, though nameless, act like Hollywood actors.Don't Hollywood movies cost millions of dollars? This story is very thoughtful and gritty-real. It could happen. For Christ's sake I hope not, though. Vaughn Juares and his writing partner, Joseph Schneider, have proved they know how to tell a story worth the inflated price of a movie ticket.The rumor is that Man Made will film next spring. Watch it as soon as you get a chance.