Saying that Christians are “just starving for anything comedy,” faith-based filmmakers are making a movie called The Waiting Game, a pro-abstinence film – featuring a cameo from disgraced pastor Ted Haggard – which writer-producer Emilio Martinez says is a response to crass comedies like The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up.
“I love all the Judd Apatow movies,” adds Rich Praytor, another writer-producer on the film. “So we wanted to take something like that into the Christian arena.”
The Colorado Springs Gazette describes the film as “basically a sexless comedy about sex. In it, a lovable loser gets dumped by his bride at their wedding. Heartbroken, he dives back into the dating scene with a vengeance, determined to lose his virginity before he walks down that aisle again.”
Ha ha, yuk yuk. Seriously? The laughs are cringe-worthy – including the one involving Haggard. After the film’s protagonist says he’s sexually frustrated and that he’s “just going to do what I want. It’s not like it’s going to wind up on the front page of the newspaper,” Haggard, crippled by his own sex scandal, overhears the conversation from nearby and says, “Hey buddy, I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
Are we ROTFL yet?
At least a blogger at Friendly Atheist thinks it might be funny – though not necessarily as intended. “The trailer makes it seem like the guy is getting married for the sole purpose of getting laid,” writes Hemant Mehta. “Great moral lesson, right?” And then: “If they really intend for this to be a movie with the moral lesson that everyone should wait until they’re married to have sex, then I predict it’ll be unintentionally hilarious and atheists will have viewing parties just to mock it.”
Judge for yourself here, and watch the trailer below:
