Rebecca Davis
AFA Journal staff writer
July 2010 – What if … has much to praise, few flaws
What If …, a thought-provoking movie about second chances that is produced by Left Behind author Jerry Jenkins and directed by his son Dallas Jenkins, is set to release in theaters this fall.
In What If …, Mike the angel comes to earth to help successful businessman Ben Walker straighten out his “perfect” life. Years ago, Ben turned his back on God, the ministry and his girlfriend to pursue a high-paying corporate lifestyle. Mike shows up on mission from God to help Ben re-evaluate his decisions and re-examine his life. Ben gets a sobering look at what life might have been like had he followed God’s plan instead of his own.
The film has good acting, is well-made and entertaining. It shows the value of family, the contentment of a simple life, and the need for ministry in a small town. The film contains a straightforward conversation about salvation, and it has a powerful scene in which a woman uses God’s Word to gently and lovingly correct her husband. What If … has an unexpected twist but a redeeming ending that won’t disappoint.
The film has the potential to do well as family-friendly fare, but What If … raises more theological questions than answers. For example, it includes scenes in which:
• A father upsets his young daughter by telling her that her pet fish died because it didn’t love Jesus the way fish are supposed to. She concludes the fish is in hell and runs out crying.
• Ben asks Mike these questions: What if God tells you to lie … not a big lie, just a little white lie? Or what if God builds a rock so big that He can’t pick it up?
• Ben tells a dying man that his sins can’t be as bad as what Judas did. “The Lord wanted to forgive Judas, really forgive him, but Judas never asked.”
• Ben admits that “something” has changed him, but he never directly identifies this “something” as Christ.
In addition, the whole Touched by an Angel approach that this film takes may cause a problem for some, because dealing with angels has the potential to be tricky and often unbiblical.
If you have questions as to whether or not this is suitable for your family, AFA encourages parents to watch it before their children do and to consider these other elements of concern.
What If … includes an unmarried couple kissing, female immodesty, a joke about adoption, the mention of divorce, referring to God as “the Boss,” a failure to acknowledge God’s holiness, and uncorrected disrespect to parents.
The movie is rated PG for mild thematic elements.
Flicka 2
The family adventure of a rebellious girl and her wild horse continues with the recent DVD release of Flicka 2, a continuation of the 2006 Flicka.
In Flicka 2, Carrie’s world is turned upside down when she is forced to leave the big city life she loves and move to her father’s rural horse ranch in Wyoming. Carrie is miserable, but things change when she bonds with Flicka, a wild mustang whose free spirit and strong will is a lot like her own personality. The bond with Flicka helps Carrie open up to her father as well as a handsome farmhand. Just as things are getting better, a jealous rival endangers Flicka’s life, and Carrie is determined to do whatever it takes to save her new best friend.
Flicka 2 is a good family film with a few concerns. There are several uses of the word “sucks” in the film along with elements of lying, deceit and disrespect to authority figures, some of which are rebuked. The film also shows two teens kissing and contains a small bit of bathroom humor. Flicka 2 is also predictable and has a slightly disappointing ending where the action falls flat and thievery is excused for the greater good of the horse.
Overall, the film is entertaining, fairly clean, and shows the importance of mending broken family relationships.
Flicka 2 is rated PG for some reckless behavior.
Summer of the Monkeys
Summer of the Monkeys is an award-winning coming-of-age story about 12-year-old Jay Berry, who is determined to spend his summer working at his Grandpa’s store in order to make enough money to buy a pony. However, his summer takes on a whole new direction when he stumbles upon a band of escaped circus monkeys who actually change his life as he learns the importance of self-sacrifice.
Starring Wilford Brimley, Summer of the Monkeys is an entertaining G-rated film that depicts a family who reads and relies on Scripture as well as a young boy who learns to see past the exterior of a lonely man. It has a redeeming ending, but the film is best suited for older children and adults for several reasons.
Summer of the Monkeys contains elements of deceit, death, disrespect, and drunkenness as well as what sounds like two expletive uses of the word “hell.” There is also some violence that includes a graphic description about butchering dogs. Plus, some theological questions may be raised when:
• Jay Berry’s sister refers to God as the “old man in the mountain” that she sees watching over the animals.
• Jay Berry and his dad have a discussion about the undertaker in reference to a dead man’s bad actions.
The movie is available on DVD.
Class of ’91
Intended to be a comical faith-based story about the danger of materialism, Class of ’91 has a good moral message.
It’s about Roger and Diane Wagner and their attempt to show off their wealth and success at their upcoming high school class reunion while upstaging a couple with whose success they’ve been competing for years. As the reunion nears, Roger loses his high-paying job, and the Wagners are forced to abandon their large lifestyle. Through it all, they find that true happiness doesn’t come from material possessions.
Class of ’91 teaches a much-needed lesson and even includes faith-based elements of prayer, Bible study and advice from financial expert Dave Ramsey. The film also contains direct Scripture references, which are powerful, but the film lacks depth and seems superficial at times. Plus, it’s hard to overlook the poor acting and corny attempts at humor.
The film is not rated. It is available on DVD.
Treasure Seekers Inc: The Tiger Eye
A group of young people called the Treasure Seekers works to recover ancient artifacts from all over the world. This time they are on a dangerous hunt for the Tiger Eye, a rare treasure, hundreds of years old, said to make the possessor of it invincible. Time becomes a factor when they realize that a bad guy is after the Tiger Eye, too. But through it all, they are determined to trust God for protection and success.
While the storyline gives the short film potential, Treasure Seekers Inc: The Tiger Eye is unfortunately weak in a number of areas. The movie has a homemade quality. The acting is bad, the special effects dated, and the audio is distorted at times. Holes in the plot make the story unrealistic.
However, Scripture verses and comments about God are inserted throughout the 35-minute movie.
The movie is not rated and available on DVD. For more information, visit www.treasureseekersinc.com.
