The movies haven’t shown much grace when dealing with matters of faith in recent decades. Hollywood steers clear of the subject altogether, and faith-based filmmakers tend to avoid reality to avoid letting their movies become too “edgy.”

“Blue Like Jazz” is an occasionally witty, generally thoughtful attempt to bridge that chasm.

“Jazz” is about a Texas kid, raised Southern Baptist by his myopic mom, sent to an ultra-liberal free-spirit college by his free spirit (and divorced) dad. He exchanges one closed-off worldview for another, not that he comes right out and proclams that revelation.

Donny Miller (Marshall Allman) is assistant youth pastor at this church, a devoted son to his mom (Jenny Littleton). He’s right there, pitching in with all night, safe “lock in” parties for teens, tolerant of the hints of intolerance in this flock, all set to go to a Christian college, following God’s (Well, Mom’s) plan.

But his dad, whom he calls “The Hobo” (Eric Lange), an irresponsible trailer dweller, mutters, “A brain like that, working for a church?” He challenges Donny to break free of the influence of people “afraid to hang out with people who don’t like they do.” He gets Donny into liberal Reed College, in liberal Portland, Oregon.

“Life is like jazz,” The Hobo counsels, “it never resolves. Improvise your own damn story.”

If Donny’s church is a light parody of a Southern Baptist congregation, Reed College is a BROAD caricature of a “liberal” arts education is. Everybody has a cause, coed dorms, coed toilets, activities like “Lamaze for non-nnothers,” a marching band in diapers, everybody literally letting their freak flag fly. The one thing this ultra-tolerant student body seems not to tolerate is Christianity.

“Get in the closet, Baptist boy,” is what they tell Donny.

Exposed to lesbians (Tania Raymonde), raves and a designated student “Pope” (Justin Welborn) who stomps around burning books, railing against religion in full papal regalia.

“People are afraid of a god who doesn’t exist!”

Donny has turned his back on home and Christianity, and like many a college kid, has swung like a pendulum in exactly the opposite direction. But he’s “lost in a sea of individuality” and needs to find his center and his place. And maybe a cute girl (Claire Holte) who challenges him in ways he doesn’t expect.

“Bue Like Jazz,” based on a spiritual journey book by the real Donald Miller, is an ambling movie that skates around on the surface of a lot of deep thoughts. The whole jazz metaphor is no deeper than The Hobo’s insistence that Donny have his John Coltrane collection. Donny wants to be a writer, so the film is structured like a writer’s seminar, ineptly built around “setting, conflict, climax and resolution” bullet points.

Many lines are funny, but the accents — Texas and Russian (one student) — are hit or miss. Like Donny himself, the film puffs up itself as substantial when all they’re aiming for here is glib and snarky and shallow.

It’s well-shot and edited, and the lines, from “I’m trying not to picture you burning flags at a gay soldier’s funeral” to this bumper sticker — “Abstinence makes the Church grow fondlers” — land laughs.

But like The Hobo’s definition of jazz, “Blue Like Jazz” never resolves itself. It’s a meandering medley of disconnected solos, too intent on avoiding predictability or a conclusion to actually come off.

MPAA Rating: PG-13 for mature thematic material, drug and alcohol content and some language,

Cast:Marshall Allman, Tania Raymonde, Claire Holt, Justin Welborn

Credits: Directed by Steve Taylor, written by Donald Miller, Ben Pearson and Steve Taylor. A Roadside Attractions release.

Running time: 1:44