God's Not Dead - a Curate's Egg of a film

Two days on and I'm still very much engaged with some internal dialogue over the film 'God's not dead! for (sadly) like the Curate's egg - not all of it is good!

Now I know this view might draw some fire from those who loved it unreservedly but I cannot excuse nor applaud some of the elements within it even though it was one of the better examples of this this genre of film (which perhaps also indicates how awful much of it is). Here's some of the current struggles:

There were some valid sections but the sharp apologetic was in stark contrast to some of the poor dialogue and the film might have been greatly improved by a pair of electronic scissors! Why they had to include the Islamic convert sub plot I have no idea - as an apologetic it was already sorted - this was tacky and unwarranted (and yes I know it goes on - but if the issue is to be raised, do it in coherent and contextually secure manner for Pete's sake).

The end was simply amazing (and not, I'm afraid, in a good way) but at least it cut the bluebirds singing and the Rebecca of Sunnybrook farm conclusion that I feared was becoming inevitable. Mind you complex medical diagnosis at a glance and a street death conversion of epic length and amazingly extensive dialogue (did it really take an hour or was that merely my perception?) all conspired to cloud over, and out, the positives and leave me with an unwieldy and unpalatable scene that provided if the the final, then it was the penultimate, nail in the coffin.

But I loved the apologetics, the analogy of sin as a cell was outstanding and the call to not only 'give an answer to all who ask' but to stand up for our faith regardless of the opposition  - but especially when it comes from within.

Waiting for the DVD now so I can cut out the dross and celebrate the good (it's called gleaning - something it seems that many Christians seem to have lost) - Happy Friday

That's (not) entertainment!

One evening, after a particularly stressed week behind the altar, I sat down for a bit of R&R with the Mrs. Vicarage and a DVD. "It's a Will Smith film," she said and so I sat back for a bit of light relief. The film? 'The Pursuit of Happyness!" I sat transfixed and descending deeper into a pit of despair as Will's character slept on a subway station toilet's floor with his son. OK. there was sunshine at the end, but the journey left me even more mentally and emotionally exhausted than I was at the beginning.

Tonight we decided to have a family film night and ended up with 'The Beaver', a film chosen because the clip shown at the cinema looked funny and because it was billed as a 'comedy'. Wow, what a journey - a man with a depressive illness and a beaver puppet stuck on the end of his arm (well it was until near the end anyway!). Like 'Happyness' there was a ray of sunshine at the end but it was a long wait and although I'd appreciate (and use it) in a different setting, tonight wasn't the night!

In an attempt to recover from what we had just seen we chucked the other DVD on the player and sat back to enjoy the other film 'The Dilemma'' which was also billed as a comedy. Sadly if this is comedy then something has gone very wrong with my comedy gland because it was abysmal. I found myself stressed and thinking I was back at work and although there are comedic episodes the film was a total cringefest. I don't think I have been so embarrassed and frustrated at the erros of judgment made and the potential for being made to look awful since Norman Wisdom's pathetic character hit the silver screen.

So, anyone out there seen a film that didn't produce what was hoped in the way of lightness, laughter, plot or something? Let's have a go at nominating the very best and the worst of the films we've seen and we can even have a special 'Christian' category so all you out there can nominate 'Left Behind'!!!!

So let's start it off with a nomination for the 'Worst Comedy' - The Dilemma


The floor is yours