Not my cup of tea...and I'm a Christian.
The premise of the film, for a Christmas movie, is solid. Sister and her family visits recently widowed brother and his daughter over Christmas holiday. The sister and her husband, and even their two children, are incredibly busy and over-programmed. There is definitely a problem in the couple's relationship, and even visiting the brother is a source of contention for the couple.
What they realize in being at her brother's home is that he and his daughter and doing pretty well considering they have suffered a major loss. It is, in fact, the sister who needs encouragement and wisdom to navigate through her marital and family woes.
Now, if the movie was presented in the way I just shared with you, it would have been a pretty decent movie with a good and hopeful message. Unfortunately the movie was peppered with forced Scripture verses that were randomly inserted where they really felt contrived and cringey. "Oh, my pastor isn't trying to make me feel better! Matter of fact, he just lost his brother a couple of weeks ago!" "Wow, imagine that. Everyone that comes to church is in a great mood! We should go back to church and get in on that too."
I felt that the story felt inauthentic and contrived. I would have liked it to be a little less preachy. If you want people to know the hope you have, show them. You don't need to preach. Just show them.
The premise of the film, for a Christmas movie, is solid. Sister and her family visits recently widowed brother and his daughter over Christmas holiday. The sister and her husband, and even their two children, are incredibly busy and over-programmed. There is definitely a problem in the couple's relationship, and even visiting the brother is a source of contention for the couple.
What they realize in being at her brother's home is that he and his daughter and doing pretty well considering they have suffered a major loss. It is, in fact, the sister who needs encouragement and wisdom to navigate through her marital and family woes.
Now, if the movie was presented in the way I just shared with you, it would have been a pretty decent movie with a good and hopeful message. Unfortunately the movie was peppered with forced Scripture verses that were randomly inserted where they really felt contrived and cringey. "Oh, my pastor isn't trying to make me feel better! Matter of fact, he just lost his brother a couple of weeks ago!" "Wow, imagine that. Everyone that comes to church is in a great mood! We should go back to church and get in on that too."
I felt that the story felt inauthentic and contrived. I would have liked it to be a little less preachy. If you want people to know the hope you have, show them. You don't need to preach. Just show them.