There are lots of filmmakers who make heavy-handed dramas about loss, pain, and abuse, and there are lots of filmmakers who make comedies about social rebellion, but how many filmmakers make them both at the same time? Perry is a unique cinematic voice, and even though he isn’t for every taste, the consistent success of his films suggests that his message is cutting across traditional audience divides. It is all too easy for critics to turn their nose up at Perry’s populism, not to mention what some see as the inherent hypocrisy of social message films that celebrate the Christian values of faith and forgiveness while also embracing criminal eccentricity, but that’s precisely what makes his films so intriguing and entertaining. (Hollywood Jewel 16, Waco, TX)