Not as bad as I expected it to be

Yes, it's pretty much "perfect" Christians vs. oh-so-wrong Atheist, but it lacks most of the Jack Chick hatemonging ways so prevalent in most Christian themed films. Yes, it has the big cliché of the Atheist being an Atheist because he's sad and lonely, or being sad and lonely because he's an Atheist (what's commonly known as the "Hollywood Atheist" trope, very prevalent even outside specifically Christian movies) but at least Daniel Baldwin's portrayal was that of a human being and not a grotesque caricature, thus avoiding the straw man factor. Compare this to the ideologically speaking polar opposite Inherit the Wind. That movie is much nearer my own points of view (as an Atheist myself) but I hated that the fundamentalist Christian bad guy was played by Fredric March as a disgusting, pompously full of himself glutton. That makes the debate biased from the get-go with no room for the thinking person to make up their mind, not because March's character has a point or lacks one, but because we're repulsed by his characterization. In contrast, Baldwin's character here is that of a normal human being, even kinda sympathetic. This is actually nothing more than a loose remake of How the Grinch Stole Christmas (they even call Baldwin a Grinch a couple of times), but as it turned out the Grinch was ultimately not that bad of a guy, and neither is Baldwin.

Still not a great movie, and Inherit the Wind is still much better cinema, but it was kinda pleasant and a step forward for Christian movies if they want to get a little respect and not keep being the csource of ridicule and hilarity.

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