Despite being a Christian, I’m no fan of modern Christian movies (in fact,
it can be said that it’s probably because I’m a Christian that I’m no fan of modern
Christian movies). Hence, I don’t usually
seek out this kind of movies. I just
know I couldn’t really like them (there are a few of them that I did find okay,
despite being very problematic). I
couldn’t even proceed to enjoy them in a “so bad, it’s good” way, for it
attempts to introduce profound Christian propositional truths (something essentially
important to me) through effective art and storytelling (something I also care
about) but failing miserably. I can’t
help but cringe and lament when this happens.
Still, I somehow went to seek and
see The Resurrection of Gavin Stone. Despite recognizing the likelihood that it
will have the same problems I have with modern Christian movies, I was
intrigued of it. Primarily because it
has some interesting casting.
The lead character, Gavin Stone,
is played by Brett Dalton – the double-agent Grant Ward from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. whom I think has
been the show’s best villain (which I desperately want to come back as a regular to the series by being a good-guy-version LMD by this current season’s end). Playing the pastor character is D. B. Sweeney
– the star of an obscure, 90’s romantic comedy called The Cutting Edge, a guilty-pleasure movie of mine. And then there’s the Heartbreak Kid himself
Shawn Michaels, one of my most favorite WWE characters, having his big-screen acting debut as one of the Christian trio that became friends with Gavin Stone. There’s
just something delightfully weird by having these three in one movie – and a
Christian movie at that!
The Resurrection of Gavin Stone is a comedy that revolves around
former child star Gavin Stone (Dalton), who (like many real-life child stars) is
a washed-up, bankrupt mess of an adult after growing up spoiled with celebrity
status and instant gratifications. After
his latest party debacle, he’s sentenced to do community service for a church
in his hometown. Incidentally, the
church is currently developing a “Life of Jesus” play for Easter. Preferring to spend his community service
hours on stage rather than cleaning bathrooms, Stone finds himself pretending
to be a Christian in order to be cast as Jesus Christ.
The movie is transparently formulaic. The narrative predictably goes to the
direction you would expect a typical Christian-conversion plot would go. The humor is exactly what you would expect
from a “pretending to be a Christian” setup.
It can be argued that the drama is organic, even essential, to the
storyline, but the tugging-your-heartstrings effect it tries to elicit is
rather forced as it’s brought about by a platitudinous plot point.
But this movie also has some winning,
quirky feel. The clichéd script is
nearly compensated by the charming execution and presence of Brett Dalton. There’s a sort of “meta” appeal to it. Just as Gavin Stone helps elevate the
production of the play and its inept actors, Dalton does the same for the movie
and his co-cast members.
In the end, The Resurrection of Gavin Stone is one of the better made Christian movies I’ve seen. It’s still problematic,
and you would not expect it to be universally well-liked. But it at least has a sense of competence in
its production, is reasonably enjoyable, and satisfyingly harmless – even if
not exactly commendable – in depicting its theological message.
No comments:
Post a Comment