Faith in Film, pt. 2

So, last night, my husband and I went to see the film, "The Identical."  It is the story of two twin boys, separated at birth.  One is raised by his financially strapped biological parents.  The other is raised in a middle class minister's family.  The pastor wants his adopted son to follow in his footsteps, but the son doesn't want to.  Both boys have incredible voices and charisma on stage as musicians and the one who stayed with his biological parents has become a huge star, along the lines of Elvis Presley. 

As I was saying in a previous post, more feature films are being made in Christian circles lately, a trend I find fascinating.  Some I've loved and some I didn't.  

Opinions are like elbows, as the saying goes.  I have mine; you have yours.  But if you're wanting to hear someone else's opinion before you shell out the cash to watch a flick. . . I don't mind giving you mine.  Opinion, that is.  You can't have my elbow. 

Four common complaints about Christian films are that they are cheezy, preachy, unbelievable, and badly-made. 

My opinion on the cheez. . . who hasn't ever watched and enjoyed a cheezy, campy movie from time to time?  Arnold Schwarzenegger comedies, some of the Batman TV shows and films, The Brady Bunch Movie. . . how many jillions of dollars did the Ernest P. Worrell franchise make over the years?  We like a little cheez.  I mean, look at the Ninja Turtles.  That reboot made more than $65 million opening weekend.  Pass the cheez.

My husband's opinion on the preachy. . .  People who go to a religious movie and then say it's too religious are like Christians going to see "Hellboy" and saying it's too dark.  The title didn't tip you off?  You saw a movie called, "God's Not Dead" and they spent two hours trying to tell you God's not dead?  Hmm.  I mean no disrespect, but go figure.

With regard to the unbelievable. . . maybe these characters seem unbelievable if you don't hang around Christian people.  Go to church and these characters may seem more and more like people you know.  (Frighteningly so at times!) Perpetually happy people?  Check.  Perpetually hypocritical people?  Yes, some.  Check.  People who are so genuine and caring that you wish you lived beside them in Mayberry?  Check.  Come to church.  I'm telling you, they're real.

And my opinion on the badly-made. . . yeah, that's what stinks.  If I'm going to pay big bucks to see a movie, I want brilliance.  Entertain, inspire, challenge or provoke me. . . but know your craft and do it well.  For $8 a ticket, there are definite expectations.

So, here is a quick list (in case you're still reading) of "Christian" movies I saw in the past year. 

The Ultimate Life, 2013.  

Pros:  Interesting story.  I was glad to hear the rest of the tale behind "The Ultimate Gift."I thought there were some well-acted, engaging moments.

Cons: Jason's character was annoying, but the movie wasn't much about him and he was kind of meant to be annoying.  I really disliked the last scene because I felt like it "undid" much of what the movie had been building.

Saw this one on DVD, not in the theater.

Home Run, 2013.  

Pros: Knowing many alcoholics/ addicts (including some in the Celebrate Recovery program), it rang true to me in many areas.  Good message.  Some nice cinematic shots. 

Cons: The acting is uneven in places, and I didn't really like Vivica A. Fox in this role.  I thought that the movie had a limited audience.  By this, I mean that people who have hit rock bottom, or seen their loved ones do so, will likely understand and appreciate it.  I liked it, as did my friends.  Non-Christians who don't find themselves in the lead character's shoes or understand his struggle might not relate to this movie.

Glad I saw it and enjoyed seeing it on the big screen.

Grace Unplugged, 2013.  

Pros: Felt believable from characters in my real life.  James Denton, Shawnee Smith and Michael Welch were great.  Shawnee reminded me so much of a minister's wife I knew, I had to look her up on IMDB to see who she was!  "Grace," like Jason from The Ultimate Life, was annoyingly narcissistic, but she, too, was supposed to be.  "All I've Ever Needed" was a beautiful song that reflected the climax of the movie well.

Cons: Some uneven acting. I thought that the script came down too hard on the dad, who had a good reason to want what he wanted.  I strongly disliked the last scene.  Though I have loved that closing song for years, the performance seemed showy, not like God-honoring worship music to me.  Maybe that is just me, but those last few minutes literally ruined the movie for me.:( Again, it seemed like it undid what the movie was building toward.  Other than that, I liked the majority of the movie.

Saw this one on DVD, not in the theater.

God's Not Dead, 2014. 

Pros: Some plot twists, which are nice to see in a Christian film. Important message. Intelligently told.  Harper did a great job.  I felt like I knew these characters from my real life; it seemed really believable.  This was also the only movie on this list that led to our having a deep, spiritual conversation with a non-Christian.  A total stranger to us, a movie usher, approached afterwards and wanted to discuss God's place in his life. 

Cons: Some actors were noticeably worse than others.  There were a couple of places where it got a little cheezy/ laid on a little thick.  But overall, I liked it quite a lot, as did the cheering audience members who were texting "God's Not Dead!" on the way out of the theater.

This film isn't perfect--what movie is?--but it gets a thumbs-up from me.

The Identical, 2014.  

Pros: Interesting story, with some unexpected plot points.  (However, if you saw the trailer, it gives away most everything.  So, I was glad that I hadn't.)  I consider this movie fairly relatable to non-church audiences (even though there is some preaching).  So, if you are interested in a more "mainstream" faith film, that may interest you.  Ashley Judd was great as Ryan's mom.  Seth Green and others did well in their performances, too.  Costumes were interesting and brought back some 1970s memories. :)

Cons: The first five minutes of the movie were pretty bad.  I was dreading the rest, thinking, "What did I get myself into?"  Thankfully, it did get a lot better.  Personally, I didn't like some of the beach-style music in the film (of which there is quite a bit).  It may appeal to other people, though, just not my cup of tea.  I wasn't a big fan of the movie's ending, although it made sense.  The video company also seemed to be doing product placement with themselves,  showing and saying "City of Peace" several times. That seemed strange. 

There you go.

Note: Not my real elbow.  

I'm too lazy to get up out of this chair 

and try to photograph my own elbow.  

But you get the idea.