Publication Date: 07-23-2026

Bad Counselors (2026) review

Dir. Chris Dowling

By: Steve Pulaski

Rating: ★★★

When I first happened upon the poster of Bad Counselors, I was anticipating a raunchy, summer camp-set comedy, ala Meatballs or Wet Hot American Summer. How could I not? We’ve gotten “bad” Santas, teachers, and moms. “Bad counselors” was a new one, even for me; if for no other reason than a movie focusing on camp counselors performing the Lord’s work might’ve seemed a bit too parochial.

With that in mind, Bad Counselors is indeed a Christian movie, but not the kind you might expect. Here’s a mostly competent, judgment-free work that mercifully doesn’t belittle nonbelievers nor does it waste precious minutes of its runtime proselytizing to its faithful base. Instead, it expounds upon a practical scenario, instills their situation with humor, and has characters naturally learn a thing or two. That said, it eventually sees them follow in the Lord’s path. If you’re like me and have seen your fair share of Christian-persecution dramas, this will surely feel like a breath of fresh air.

The film follows Grayson (Matt Cornett) and Tyler (Ramon Reed), two frat boys who are faced with expulsion after their latest drunken escapade lands them in jail. This comes before Grayson tries to pass an important job interview with his webcam situated on a keg of beer, and his outfit only passable from the waist-up. 120 hours of court-ordered community service is the punishment. After being slipped a life-changing pamphlet, Grayson decides that the duo’s best way to navigate this problem is by posing as counselors at a Christian youth group for two weeks.

This film is a product of director Chris Dowling, and a trio of writers (Taylor Grabowsky, Ryan Gunnarson, and Dexter Masland) who must’ve seen other faith-based movies in the past several years, and realized what works and what doesn’t. As someone who has sat through everything from Moms’ Night Out to the dreaded Family Camp, take it from me that this film is funnier and even more self-aware compared to other Christian comedies. Bad Counselors puts us in the perspective of its two hedonistic leads. It doesn’t give them an easy pathway to the Lord, nor does it make them out to be the type of dudes who would be convinced to give their life to Christ after a simple talking-to from a pretty girl (that girl being Brec Bassinger).

Instead, we watch these boys fake their way through summer camp and come to the realization that people who give their lives to something greater than themselves can actually be moral, decent human beings. In arguably the best scene in the film, Grayson bonds with a young boy, who is in the process of making a pottery mug. The boy doesn’t have a father, and, because Grayson is one of the few older, male figures in his life who has been kind to him, decides to put him on his creation. One false shift and the mug crashes onto the floor. It’s a heartbreaking moment. Until Grayson whispers to the boy that he will use the Japanese technique known as “Kintsugi” to glue the mug back together, and give it a new life. The fact that Grayson knows Kintsugi thanks to faking a job interview in the opening minutes of the film doesn’t matter. He’s still going to use his kiddie pool-deep knowledge to help the boy, who simply wanted to impress an older, de facto father figure. He’s not even showboating for an audience. Dowling and the trio of writers know not to demonize Grayson in this moment. They, like us, the audience, are just happy he knew how to respond to the situation in a calm, mature manner.

Bad Counselors is peppered with moments like these: quiet, smile-inducing, heartfelt instances that might even restore your faith in the woebegone genre of Christian cinema. If Broken Lizard made a family friendly Christian film, I would suspect it would look a lot like this one, with commendably subtle bits of satire married with poignancy that didn’t condescend to the audience’s beliefs, but instead, give them something that would be the least bit substantive and moving.

If Bad Counselors runs into trouble, it’s thanks to a predictable third act where catastrophe on the campground strikes. You can assume what occurs from there; at least when one character introduces a torch that’s been burning since Christ lost his sandals. Grayson and Tyler fight. Chris Klein’s authority figure imparts the wrong lesson on the boys, and they’re made an example instead of given God’s grace; all in the name of an obligatory conflict. It’s a bit too perfunctory for a story that was coasting off of good-hearted wit, geniality, and good vibes.

That said, here’s a movie that neither masquerades as a Christian movie, nor does it treat us to a feature-length political screed about religious persecution. It also doesn’t bludgeon us with the reminder that “God’s not dead, he’s surely alive.” Bad Counselors is a movie that takes a very pragmatic premise with two flawed-yet-likable boys at the center and shows us how one’s walk with the Lord can be accidental, natural, and impacting, all at the same time. More of this, please.

Starring: Matt Cornett, Ramon Reed, Brec Bassinger, Chris Klein, Pierson Fode, McKaley Miller, Nathan Gamble, Richard T. Jones, MIssi Pyle, and Kevin Lawson. Directed by: Chris Dowling.