The Pretender (1987) User Reviews

A Snake By Any Other Name

[bkoganbing · 4/10 · 6 December 2005]

I thoroughly disagree with the previous reviewer. Whether one is a believer or not, the protagonist played by Mark Rose is a real snake. He's looking for some kanoodling with a girl he's set his sight on and so he soaks up a lot of Christian lingo to impress her. She unfortunately buys into his rap. For those of you interested in seeing how successful he was in a physical sense, see or buy this film.

In this shoestring budget film we're not going to see any great acting or believable sets. Attractive people though, always.

One thing I did like about this film. It's left quite up in the air about what the future holds for our protagonist. Being a hedonist is one thing, being a hypocrite and a liar is quite something else.

And you don't have to be a Christian to figure that out.

Christian movie that perhaps is more enjoyable for those who are already Christians

[jimmy-ekliden · 5/10 · 19 December 2004]

The story is about a guy who wants a girl that happens to be Christian,but what he really wants is just a new chick.He is used to pretend to be something he is'nt ,just to get the girl he wants and after he got what he wants from her then dump her after a couple of months.(eh...this kind of guys don't exist in real life,or what do you think?) Coldhearted as he is he pretends to have recently become a Christian(wonder if thats why the movie is called"The Pretender"...)anyway,he manages quite well and begins to date her.

This is a real low-budget movie(if you want cool stunts and special effects,Don't watch this movie,the closest to special effects you get here is perhaps the end-credits...)But it wasn't meant to be an action movie anyway,its a drama so its not anything unusual about that.The actors are not bad,but its about the same quality that you could expect to see in an ordinary TV-soap. The movie feels like an journey back to the eighties,and I somehow enjoyed watching it(partially because I'm an Christian myself)It's not good and not bad,it's an number five out of ten,although it might only be entertaining and"good"to someone who is an Christian himself...

Amazing.

[genmcleod · 10/10 · 3 August 2018]

Easily the most unintentionally hilarious movie I have ever seen (beisdes maybe The Room). Endlessly quotable. "The gospel according to Keith ... IS OVER!"

Also, the homoerotic tension between Frank and Keith was outstanding.

Poorly executed

[roddick-1 · 23 June 2007]

The Pretender is about a teenage boy who becomes a devoted Christian in order to get in a girl's pants. While this is a very true story, the way the movie is executed makes it laughable.

The acting is nothing special and the editing is awful and becomes irritating. Somes scenes are very unrealistic and make no sense. If things like this were changed people would most likely take the movie more seriously.

Overall this movie could have been good, but was poorly executed. Even with a small budget the filmmakers have common sense. Watch this movie if it's on TV and you want a few laughs.

Enjoyable watch

[GeneralPeters004 · 8/10 · 22 May 2016]

This is an awesome movie. The actors who played our protagonist Keith and the real Christian Frank both never appeared in any other movie, which is strange because both showed considerable natural skill. I like how Keith quotes Frank's ideas on Christianity word for word to the girl, and the way he gives his friends updates on how his setup is going. The sets are great too....especially Keith's house, where you have that cool little den located a few steps away from the kitchen. Great little couch to sit with a girl on. And the fact that he works at Pizza Inn is sweet too....I think there are still some Pizza Inns in the US....and seeing it in the 80s here hit a soft spot for me since I remembering going back then as a kid. This movie rocks.