Documentaries
are the most forgiving independent films in terms of critical praise. There is
less of a need for production values in the medium, and even home movies can be
turned into compelling entertainment if the subject is intriguing enough. Films
can be made without much of a crew or even a concept of what the film will be
or what it has to say, and a lot of the time keeping the camera running is all
that is needed for the personal drama to unfold naturally. Bible Quiz is made by Nicole Teeny, and it is no surprise to find
that one of teens at the center of the storyline is a Christopher Teeny.
Bible Quiz is a perfect example of
the directionless ease with which documentaries are made, never feeling
technically competent with a filmmaker that has no clear intent or point for
the making of the film. It is only through the unrequited love of a central
character that eventually takes center stage in the film’s narrative. If it
weren’t for the awkward seventeen-year-old Mikayla at the center of Teeny’s
film, this would be a rather pointless and dull documentary about a very small
Bible quiz competition.
The film doesn’t even look at the
larger aspects of the Bible Quiz Championship, which is a larger error in the
amateur filmmaking. Although this is a national competition with a
diverse group of teams from churches around the country, there is practically
no time spent looking at any church other than the two entirely white churches
of the Northwest. Despite the title, this is not a movie about the Bible Quiz;
it is a film about the specific meaning that the Championship to a single girl
with a crush.
The reason that Mikayla is in the
competition memorizing entire books of the Bible is predominantly for her urge
to spend time around one of the top bachelors in the Bible Quiz world.
Apparently the teen girls at this church have a list. JP is clearly
uninterested, because all of these teens have an unhealthy fear and avoidance
with their own hormones and urges. One sequence has an 18-year-old girl giving
a creepy number of names to proudly label her complete avoidance of contact
with the opposite sex. Among them are “lip-ginity,” “hand-ginity,” and
“feet-ginity.” One girl remarks that she lost her “hand-ginity,” but that it was
holding hands during prayer, so she didn’t think it counted. In a country which
offers up Miley Cyrus as a role model to our young teens, this is a complete
opposite extreme.
JP appears uninterested in any
romantic relationship with Mikayla or any other girl from the very beginning.
For him, any romantic relationship is described as more of an inevitable
obligation rather than an urge or temptation he will eventually give in to for
the right girl. Affection with the opposite sex is non-existent, though he is
suspiciously quick to hug and embrace his male friends, particularly
Christopher Teeny. This is a film about
the embarrassment of feelings that these teens are never allowed to feel normal
for having. Mikayla is clearly crushing hard on JP, but still will not allow
any desire for physical contact. Even a hug between them feels like a sin in
this environment.
It would have been easy to take these
extreme viewpoints and highlight them as the point of Teeny’s film, but her
obvious connection to the characters leaves us with little point or message in
the actual portrayal of the Bible Quiz. The movie instead shifts all focus to
Mikayla, and the second half of the film is much more about her crush than any
competition.
Entertainment Value:
6/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 4/10
Historical
Significance: 2/10
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