Ragamuffin Review - The Story of Rich Mullins

              Ragamuffin  Review - The Story of Rich Mullins

I don't normally review movies. In fact the only movies I review are ones that keep me awake at night pondering them and writing about them is a catharsis of sorts. This won't be an in depth review but just some random thoughts.

    First of all, you need to watch the closing credits to get a real feeling for who Rich Mullins was. They include live footage of him interacting during a concert. You can see  his boyish charm, the twinkle in his eyes, his winsome personality. I saw him in multiple venues and he was always very endearing. I never knew of his inner demons, I just knew he was bizarre. The actor that portrayed him was dark, brooding, angry. In fact, 1 hour and 45 minutes into the movie I said to my wife, who had long since quit watching because they didn't play Step by Step, "I wonder when he becomes likable?" He never did. I can't imagine why anyone would ever go to his concert but we ate up the real Rich Mullins concerts. They were fun!

   Second, I'm always bothered by the deconstruction of Christian icons. Couldn't we just remember him for his great music rather than remember him now for smoking, alcoholism, anger issues, unkindness to friends, and daddy issues. The movie focused on these 90% of the time and left me disliking him, not so much because he was flawed because we all are, but because he spoke out against the hypocrisy of the church, the recording industry, etc. and yet he was the biggest hypocrite of all. He would have probably justified it by saying, "The difference is I know I'm a hypocrite. therefore I am a free Ragamuffin" which would sound superior to or on a higher plane than us but actually was just non victorious living given spiritualeeze by an often defeated Ragamuffin mentor.

    Anyway, I wish I hadn't seen it because I will never listen to his music again with the same joy but now with a sense of sadness and despair. Sorry, that's just how it affected me.