For much of his career, Chris Klein has played young men trying to discover their identity, from his breakout role in “American Pie” to his recent work on Netflix’s “Sweet Magnolias.”
But in “Bad Counselors,” the new faith-based comedy arriving in theaters July 23-27 through Fathom Entertainment, the 47-year-old Illinois native is on the other side of that journey, playing a pastor tasked with guiding two wayward young men toward redemption.
“When your life and the character’s life align in a certain way, you really need to pay close attention to that,” Klein told The Christian Post. “That doesn’t happen all the time.”
In “Bad Counselors,” directed by Chris Dowling (“Where Hope Grows,” “Run the Race”), Klein plays Pastor Tom, the leader of a Christian summer camp that becomes the unlikely destination for two fraternity brothers sentenced to community service after a night of hard partying goes spectacularly wrong. Their plan is to pose as camp counselors, survive two weeks of singalongs, devotionals and trust falls, and avoid expulsion from college.
However, nothing goes to plan — “two frat bros must become church bros, fast,” as the premise reads — but beneath the comedy is a story about faith, redemption, hope and the power of second chances. Dowling previously shared with CP how he aims to create films that emphasize forgiveness and restoration.
The PG-13 film stars Matt Cornett, Ramon Reed, Missi Pyle, Brec Bassinger, Nathan Gamble, Ja’Marion Kennedy and Markiel Cockrell, along with a cameo and song from worship artist Cory Asbury.
Raised in the Catholic Church, Klein said he tried to channel the priests he was surrounded by growing up; approachable, grace-filled men who created space for young people to discover who they were.
“The priests that were part of my life were of the beer-drinking kind,” he said with a laugh. “They would sit on the patio and drink a beer just like my dad would sit on the patio and drink a beer and watch all of us kids play.”
“I’ve never met a pastor I didn’t like,” the “Election” star added. “Pastor Tom is just a fun-loving guy that’s looking to provide a great experience, and I do that every day in my life. I’m a fun-loving guy, looking to provide a great experience for my kids and their friends, and make sure that they know that they are in a safe space and an encouraging space, and a space to discover who they are and what they want and what they love.”
Klein, who shares two children, 8 and 10, with his wife, shared how he’s increasingly drawn to positive stories (though “that’s not to say I’m leaving Hollywood to become a pastor,” he said) that impart a last message on audiences, particularly to children.
“I love speaking kid language,” he said. “I love getting on my hands and knees and getting in the dirt with the children and really learning from them and through them. I love seeing the world through their eyes.”
He credited his time on Netflix’s “Sweet Magnolias” with helping him recognize a substantial appetite for what he dubbed “good-natured entertainment.”
“There was an appreciation and an appetite for good-natured entertainment fare with Christian themes and tones,” he said.
“Bad Counselors” leans heavily into Christian summer camp nostalgia, from camp games and worship songs to the much-parodied “Everything” mime performance set to the song by Lifehouse, a staple of youth groups and church camps during the early 2000s.
Klein said that while watching YouTube videos of the performances while preparing for the film, his wife came “running in”: “She said, ‘No, no, I know what it is. Let me see. I haven’t seen that in years. This was my whole middle school and teenage years.’ There are some really cool things that people familiar with growing up in a Christian setting are definitely going to go, ‘Yeah, they nailed it.’”
And while not everyone has an Evangelical camp experience, or a hard partying-frat-boy to-Jesus-arc, the question of identity, particularly as young people transition into adulthood, is universal, Klein said.
“When we’re becoming men, when we’re becoming adults, all of us question: Who are we? What fills us? How are we going to move forward?” he said. “All of us know what that is. All of us have felt that. And through a very family-friendly, very lighthearted comedy, we get to tell that story and explore that theme.”
With “Bad Counselors,” Klein said he’s hoping to be part of a film that might become a family tradition for another.
“I’ve been blessed to be a part of a couple of those movies that people rewatch and that become part of their family tradition,” he said. “That’s beyond measure.”
Tickets for “Bad Counselors” will be available online and at participating theatre box offices. For more information, visit Fathom Entertainment.
Leah M. Klett is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: [email protected]
