Rebecca Davis

AFA Journal staff writer

May 2010 – Faith, family films fall flat
From Vivendi Entertainment and Genius Products comes a line-up of Faith and Family Films that debuted on DVD in March. Considering the genre of the unrated films, it’s logical to think that such movies would hold God and family in high regard, but unfortunately they don’t. Although the films star professional actors and are engaging, entertaining and fairly well done, they fall short in living up to their label.

Compared to some of the gratuitous fare coming from Hollywood, it’s clear that these films make for more sanitized and wholesome entertainment on the surface. But that’s not all it should take to please an audience hungry for real faith-based and family-friendly content. Believers should be concerned by films such as these that make for a nice story yet present a soft view of the marriage covenant, take God’s name in vain, justify disrespect to parents, base life’s outcomes on luck, and teach a shallow view of God.

Miles from Nowhere
Miles from Nowhere is a movie for those who are determined to succeed despite the odds.

During his senior year, high school football star Cameron comes face to face with the most difficult obstacle in his life – the death of his best friend John. Not only is Cameron traumatized by the loss, he feels responsible for John’s death and sets out to accomplish an impossible athletic goal in memory of his friend.

Miles from Nowhere is a bit unrealistic, yet dramatic, mixture of inspiration, motivation, competition and reconciliation. There’s no doubt you’ll be cheering for Cameron by the end of the film.

But you can’t do so without being exposed to immodesty, alcohol consumption, profanity, deceit, disrespect to parents, and some sexual content. The film also contains scenes of a bloody accident victim and presents an unbiblical concept about God and suffering. After John’s death, he keeps reappearing to Cameron, possibly as a figment of his imagination, encouraging him to persevere.

Soldier Love Story
Soldier Love Story, starring Lori Loughlin of 90210 and Full House, starts when young Jared Marshall writes a letter to Sgt. Vince Carerra overseas as part of a class assignment. The solider responds. The ongoing correspondence begins, and the two quickly bond over a love for baseball. Jared also confides in Vince about being lonely and missing his father following his parents’ divorce. Vince returns from duty and pays Jared a surprise visit. When he does, he falls in love with Jared’s mother Dana. Everything is perfect until Vince gets deployment orders. Now they must decide if love can overcome an obstacle this big.

It’s a heartwarming story about commitment that will draw you in from the get-go and perhaps even inspire you with clever, not necessarily biblical, sayings about faith and God.

Unfortunately the feel-good film is tainted by elements of social drinking, immodesty, physical affection between an unmarried couple, and two varied uses of the word “sucks.” There are also disrespectful comments made about ex-spouses and the belittling of Jared’s real dad.

Although engaging and enjoyable, Soldier Love Story can be unrealistic and choppy at times.

Expecting a Miracle
Nineties television heartthrob Jason Priestly stars in Expecting a Miracle, the story of a troubled couple whose vacation to a Mexico resort gets rerouted to a small rural town after their SUV breaks down. But as residents befriend the couple, it becomes clear that they have ended up exactly where they need to be in order to repair their marriage and come to terms with their inability to have a child.

The beautiful Hispanic culture comes to life in this movie, which has messages about the selfishness of divorce and about trusting God and His sovereignty, especially when it comes to having children. Expecting a Miracle also has redeeming messages about adoption, generosity and selflessness.

But unfortunately, characters in the film take God’s name in vain more than once, and a healing miracle is attributed to and centered on a saint rather than God. Plus, the saint supposedly comes to a crippled child in a dream to foretell his healing.

The film also contains immodesty, alcohol and a sarcastic reference to the power of positive thinking.

Relative Stranger
Seasoned star Cicely Tyson is the highlight of Relative Stranger, an adult drama about former football star Walter Clemons and the family he deserted.

Everyone is thrown for a loop when Walter returns home after six years for the reading of his late father’s will. His return results in a complicated emotional standoff with bitter family members, all of whom wrestle to put the family back together in his or her own way.

Relative Stranger is emotionally engaging and shows how important it is for a child to know and be loved by his father. It also depicts the value of family through redeeming messages about forgiveness and tough love. But these positive aspects pale in comparison to the negative content.

The most awkward and disheartening part of the film is to see the marriage covenant between Walter and his wife ignored. After Walter abandoned his wife Charlotte, she began dating his brother James. Now that Walter is back in the picture, James proposes to Charlotte only to find out that she is still legally married to Walter. However, Charlotte considers them divorced in every way except on paper. She has no desire to reconcile with her husband and continues her relationship with his brother.

Never are the husband and wife encouraged to seek reconciliation. In fact, even a priest in the film urges Walter to leave his family again.

In addition to this major concern, Relative Stranger also contains weak theology about the deceased, life-threatening comments made to family members as well as extreme disrespect to authority that goes without rebuke, sexual references, passionate kissing between an unmarried couple, intense arguments, deceit, immodesty, one profanity and other mature themes.

The Imposter
PureFlix Entertainment exposes issues of personal sin that are disguised by a mask of “Christianity” in The Imposter, the better choice among this month’s reviews.

The movie stars Kevin Max of dcTalk as the fictitious Johnny C, lead singer of the popular Christian rock band Grand Design. Grand Design is at the top of the charts, while Johnny C is headed straight down. When Johnny’s wife and band mates discover he is living a secret life of drugs, alcohol and adultery, he is fired from the band. But he continues living a masquerade until he begins responding to words of truth spoken into his life by his mentor Proff and a crazy homeless man.

The Imposter is likely to convict both the wayward one and the faithful church-goer. It truthfully, but sadly, deals with what goes on in the lives of many who call themselves Christians and how their road to redemption may not end happily ever after.

Due to the various music videos inserted throughout the film, it comes off as more promotional than entertaining or evangelistic.

It’s also important to take note that the film deals with and depicts mature themes. Johnny C also uses the word “sucks,” and his father in the film is a pagan evangelist whose deceitful character may upset some viewers.

The Imposter is unrated and was recently released on DVD. For more information and resources, visit www.pureflix.com.