This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 22nd, 2007 at 4:31 pm and is filed under Drama, Family, U. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
Director: Michael O. Sajbel
Starring: Drew Fuller, James Garner, Ali Hillis, Abigail Breslin, Lee Meriwether, Bill Cobbs, Brian Dennehy,
Well, this was a surprise. I picked this film up as a new video release not realizing that it was from the Fox Faith Collection – a Christian film. Oh well, I thought, I am a reviewer. How bad can it be? Not all that bad to be honest. The acting is uneven, with some of the unknowns struggling, while the old pros like Garner, Cobbs and Dennehy are as skilled as ever. The dialog is wooden and stilted in spots, but I’ve seen worse. The story, which is based on Jim Stovall’s novel of the same name, is manipulative (big surprise there), but is fairly engaging once it gets going.
Drew Fuller’s inexperience shows itself from time to time, as he plays Jason Stevens, the spoiled grandson of a deceased billionaire whose expectations from the will are put off while he is led through several tasks designed to make him a better person. Along the way, he meets and befriends a young girl named Emily, played by Abigail Breslin just before Little Miss Sunshine hit the theatres and made her a big star. Her mother, Alexia, played by Ali Hillis. The production values here are Hollywood quality, though both the script and the acting could have been improved.
Well, I have seen a lot better and much, much worse, so if you are attracted at all by the idea of seeing a spiritually based film, then this is not a bad choice. The whole thing kinda plays like a dramatic, spiritual version of Brewster’s Millions, though I have to say that I still prefer the Richard Pryor and John Candy choice.
