HOW'S "COURAGEOUS" DOING AT THE BOX OFFICE?

As you no doubt know, a little Christian-based film opened this weekend at #4 in the nation, and as the top new film, sharing the thin air with DOLPHIN TALE, MONEYBALL, and THE LION KING.

A few highlights:

1) Ranking. COURAGEOUS was the #4 movie in the country, though it opened against six other movies with almost three times as many screens. It was the #1 new movie of the weekend!

2) Audience. More than 1 million people saw COURAGEOUS this weekend.

3) Box office. Total box-office was $9 million, $2.2 million more than FIREPROOF on opening weekend.

4) Per-screen. Per-screen, COURAGEOUS averaged $7752, almost doubling everyone else.
5) CinemaScore. COURAGEOUS received a rare A+ CinemaScore, a signal to expect strong word-of-mouth in coming weeks.

6) Mainstream press response. Most general entertainment press and reporting outlets were surprised by COURAGEOUS. A couple of early excerpts before the actuals were in:

Variety
"Time and again, the pic effectively emphasizes how the deputies are reminded on a daily basis what eventually can happen to at-risk children who don't have fathers involved in their lives. Little wonder, then, that they're moved to ask God's help to hone their own paternal skills."

Box Office Mojo
"Sherwood Pictures' COURAGEOUS scored $8.8 million from just 1,161 theaters for a strong per-theater average of $7,580. . . The opening ranks fifth all-time for a Christian movie, and only trails THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST and the three NARNIA movies." . . . "Made outside of Hollywood without any major stars, COURAGEOUS managed to fly under most radars (including my own) until very recently. It's unfair to ignore the vast majority of church-going Americans for whom typical Hollywood fare isn't of great interest, though, and Sherwood Pictures has impressively found a way to mobilize this subset of the population."

Time
(Best Title Award): Surprise! Dolphins and Jesus Beat Cancer and Dead Kids!“Like the Christian-themed SOUL SURFER, the Kendrick's holy-cop film (with a $1-million budget) was pitched to the faithful, who came out fervently this weekend and gave it an A-plus CinemaScore. Opening in just 1,161 theaters, COURAGEOUS had the top per-screen average of any movie in the top 25. Even an agnostic would call that heavenly.”

7) Other indicators. Sales of books and resources supporting film's message—The Resolution books and others—reflect the movie’s spreading influence. Kerusso, maker of t-shirts, reports five times as many COURAGEOUS t-shirts sold as for FIREPROOF. Meanwhile, Facebook fans count on the COURAGEOUS fan page has leapt in a few days from 224,000 to 247,000.

Sherwood Church and its national field of supporters have long prayed for God to do “exceedingly, abundantly more than we could ever ask or imagine,” and He’s doing it.

Learn more:
CourageoustheMovie.com

Join COURAGEOUS on Facebook:
Facebook.com/CourageoustheMovie

Follow COURAGEOUS on Twitter:
Twitter.com/#!/CourageousMovie

Press material:
CourageoustheMovie.com/pressroom

MOVIES: "COURAGEOUS" (SHORT REVIEW)

You can search for my longer review AND review of the screening on my blog!


“Courageous” is the much-anticipated movie on fatherhood by the same people who gave us “Fireproof.” (“Fireproof” is the story of a fireman whose marriage is on the rocks, in part due to his internet porn use, and what happens from there. It was the #1 independent film of 2008. With its tie-in printed resource components like “The Love Dare Book,” the film impacted thousands of real life marriages.) “Courageous” was well worth the wait, and will doubtless do the same to strengthen fathers in their oh-so-vital vocation.

“Sherwood Pictures” (a ministry of Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia) is behind these two great films. They are two of the most “Theology of the Body” films out there, and I’m sure Blessed John Paul II the Great is smiling on them from glory.
“Courageous” is about four policemen, their families, and what being a father means.

“Honor begins at home” is the film’s short, sweet and apt tagline. Cops are about serving, protecting, honoring, right? Guys are about serving, protecting, honoring, right? And there’s lots of wonderful and needed ways they do that outside the home, often for the sake of home, but there’s no place like home to do it. So many things pull men away from home: work, demanding work, overtime work, wars, travel, hobbies, volunteer/charitable work, even church work. So many men are tempted to measure their worth and success by the external benchmarks, accolades, promotions and achievements outside the home, but, really? A man’s home is his castle. Everyone’s first vocation is to love their families. Our greatest bragging rights should always be about our particular vocation to love, our particular way of loving (married, single, priesthood, religious life). When people ask us what we “do,” we should talk about our vocations, our families first, what we “are,” before what we “do.”

The stories, struggles, tragedies and joys in “Courageous” ring true, and the acting is superb. Sherwood Pictures also has a way with tense action scenes. There’s just enough about and for women in “Courageous” as well. Young single men leaving screenings of “Courageous” have written on their surveys that they never really thought seriously about fatherhood before, but now they are looking forward to being good fathers! Sherwood Pictures doesn’t call their films “message” films (a Hollywood no-no) but “take action” films. Hear, hear!

“Courageous” asks the question: “How do we do fatherhood? Who are our role models for it?” Here’s another possible tagline for “Courageous”: “Think fathers are important? So does ‘Courageous.’”

MOVIES: "COURAGEOUS" PART 1

I was so moved by this film that I need to “blog about it.” I normally just write a review, but “Courageous” calls for a “blogging about.” (This trailer is a solid representation of the film, but there’s lots more great stuff, too.)

I’ve been asked to be a bit vague about story details since “Courageous” opens on faraway September 30. However, tickets go on sale Father’s Day(!) What gives? Marketing genius, that’s what! The plan is to sell out all the pre-programmed theaters by September 30: www.courageousthemovie.com

Want to bring “Courageous” to your city? Just pre-purchase 1,000 tickets, and you’ve got it.

“Courageous” was done by the same folks who put out “Fireproof” (the story of a fireman whose marriage is on the rocks—his fault, partially because of internet porn—and what happens next). “Courageous is about four policemen, their families, and what being a father means. All us “Fireproof” groupies have been eagerly awaiting “Courageous.” “Fireproof” and “Courageous” are two of the most “Theology of the Body” movies out there. They are from the “moviemaking ministry” of Sherwood Church www.SherwoodBaptist.net (motto: “We can change the world from Albany, GA”). The “moviemaking ministry” is very humbly listed under “Ministries” as “Sherwood Pictures.”

PRE-SCREENING

Hmmm. Where to start. I am not at a loss for words about “Courageous.” I took 17 pages of notes during the screening. A record! In my case, the more notes, the better the movie. So, I need to also blog about the experience of the screening, cuz as soon as I walked in the theater, I recognized one of the stars from “Fireproof”: Ken Bevel. I shook his hand and summarily gushed over “Fireproof.”

When I got to our theater within the cineplex (the huge “Ultra Screen” theater—hey, Sony is releasing this puppy), whom did I end up sitting behind? Ken Bevel (also newly-ordained minister) and his lovely wife. So naturally, I began interviewing him. Ken--who also stars in “Courageous”--had no prior acting experience before “Fireproof,” and he’s really one of the best of the cast. He just retired from the U.S. Marine Corps, but is still in good enough shape to do his own stunts. And stunts there are. Sherwood Pictures has a way with action scenes. They’re just really good at them.

ME: “So, these films are a ministry of your church?”
KEN: “Yes, we use mostly non-actors, members of the church. The stories are written and directed by the Kendrick brothers.”
ME: “Incredible.” (I then proceeded to tell him about BJP2G’s “Theology of the Body,” and how this teaching emphasizes from Ephesians that marriage is a reflection of Christ and the Church: Christ the Bridegroom, laying down His life for His Bride, the Church. Ken nodded vigorously. I told him how Catholics into “Theology of the Body” really appreciated “Fireproof.”)

[As an aside for fans of “Fireproof,” I asked Ken if people always mention salt and pepper shakers when they see him. He laughed and said he has a whole collection of them now.]

THE INTRODUCTION

As the film promoters gave a verbal introduction in the theater, they explained some of the resources and components that will tie in with the movie (as “Fireproof” had). These tie-ins are very cool because they actually APPEAR in the movie itself in some form, and you’re thinking: WE NEED THAT!!! I WANT THAT!!! WHERE DO WE GET THAT???

Sherwood Pictures are not “message movies.” (Lordy, Lordy, spare us the “message film.” As the old Hollywood adage goes: “Wanna send a message? Call Western Union.”) Sherwood Pictures are “take action” movies. NEW GENRE ALERT! As the promoters told us: “We want to make our movies a movement,” or rather, the audience will do that. ROCK ON, NEW GENRE INVENTORS!

The tagline of “Courageous” is also tres, tres cool and very TOB: “Honor begins at home.” Short. Sweet. Brilliant. Cops are about serving, protecting, honoring, right? Guys are about serving, protecting, honoring, right? And there’s lots of wonderful and needed ways they do that outside the home, often for the sake of home, BUT there’s no place LIKE home to do it. “Honor begins at home.” So many things pull men AWAY from home: work, demanding work, overtime work, wars, travel, hobbies, volunteer/charitable work, even church work. So many men are tempted to measure their worth and success by the external benchmarks, accolades, promotions and achievements OUTSIDE the home, but, really? A man’s home IS his castle. Everyone’s first vocation is to love their families. “In the evening of life we will be judged on love” (St. John of the Cross). Our greatest bragging rights should always be about our particular vocation to love/our way of loving (married, single, priesthood, religious life). When people ask us what we “do,” we should talk about our vocations, our families first, what we “are,” before what we “do.” “Honor begins at home.”

I think so many men might be afraid of getting too “domesticated” at home, or if there are problems at home, it’s easier to avoid home. Men working away from the home came with the Industrial Revolution. Before there were factories and skyscrapers and cars, men worked where they lived: on farms, in shops, etc. (Think Joseph of Nazareth at his carpenter’s shop, which was probably attached to his house.) Women need to be aware that men need time alone, with buddies, out in nature, whatever, but home is where the heart is, and where the real test of manhood is: being a husband and father. Men sometimes think they have to be "doing" something or "fixing" something all the time, but what women and children desperately need more than anything is simply the PRESENCE of their men--husbands and fathers. Of course, if men don't feel appreciated, they're not going to want to be "present," so it's a two-way street, of course.

“Courageous” asks the question: “How DO we do fatherhood? Who are our role models for it?”

I thought of another tagline for “Courageous”: “Think fathers are important? So does ‘Courageous.’” But of course I’d be wading into the “message movie” swamp with that.

THE SCREENING

After we get to know and care about the main characters, the movie begins with two awesome action/chase scenes. I don’t know how true-to-life all the cop stuff is, but it certainly is true-to-all-the-other-cop-movies-I’ve-ever-seen. The family life stuff is also true-to-life, often painfully so. There’s a few prolonged belly laughs in the movie (from good character/scene set-ups). There is clever, organic, hidden exposition.

So what about these non-actors? Um, you can’t really tell they’re not actors. Or rather, they’re natural-born actors without formal training. I tried to guess later (with my new best friend, Ken Bevel) which ones were professional actors. Got ‘em wrong. The child actors—as are so many kids today—are phenomenal. Most of them—you guessed it—non-actors from the church.

Ken Bevel is my favorite actor of the bunch (and not just because we’re peeps now). You’ll see what I mean. The dude speaks with such conviction, and perhaps his military training has given him this fixed, penetrating look, that you will hang on every word he says. (Ken shared with the audience that some of his character’s back story is also kind of autobiographical.)

Alex Kendrick (director, writer, actor) is not only believable, but you can tell he’s a very funny guy. One of the film’s promoters said, yeah, he’s so funny that he has trouble focusing when he's on the set.

For those who might turn their noses up at this prospect of non-actors, may I remind you of the post-war Italian film school of Neo-Realism, where non-actors were used to produce some amazingly poignant and enduring films. (See: “The Bicycle Thief.”) I rest my case.

Casting is done with much prayer. They’re not only looking for the best one to fill the part, but will these actors be good spokespeople for the film? Will they be able to handle the fame? Whoa, talk about “neo-realism,” a new way of doing things, and the proper spiritual care and feeding of actors!
And for those who turn their noses up at this way of proceeding:
CARDINAL WOLSEY: “You’d like to govern the country with prayer, wouldn’t you, More?”
THOMAS MORE: “Yes, I would.”
CARDINAL WOLSEY: “And I’d like to be there when you try. You should have been a cleric, More.”
THOMAS MORE: “Like yourself, Your Grace?”
--Robert Bolt, “Man for All Seasons”

Is “Courageous” a religious film? Yup. How does its “religiousness” compare to, say, “Soul Surfer”? Way more religious, although not all the characters in “Courageous” are believers. Each character’s life-situation is extremely current-day. There’s just a lot of honesty about life in “Courageous,” and no easy answers to tragedy. My favorite line is: “God never promised us explanations [to life’s individual events].” Don’t like “religious” films? Go with an open mind and surprise yourself.

THE CRITIC SQUEAKS

Do I have criticisms of “Courageous”? Yes—but I’ll wait till when I release my “official” review, because they will give a little more away, and the criticisms are minor.


THE AFTER-SCREENING

It’s a good succession of films: First—MARRIAGE (“Fireproof”), Second—FATHERHOOD (“Courageous”). So I was chatting with Ken (oh, did I mention I know one of the stars?) again after the film, and I said: “We need a film like this for women.” I had even mentioned this to some of the lady movers and shakers present, and they all kind of slid into the same thing: If men get their act together, if good men lead, women will follow. Women will know what to do. Women already do know what to do, but they have been thwarted by men not leading, or bad men leading. By "women following," I don't mean "submissive," but rather "following on" men's lead--women leading in their own way, women's using their "feminine genius" and gifts BECAUSE of the leadership of good men. 1 Corinthians 11:11 We are interdependent on each other! "Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ." Ephesians 5:21

MOVIES: “NO GREATER LOVE” (DVD)

A new Christian movie about marriage has been released called "No Greater Love" (straight to DVD). I was sent a screener and was extremely disappointed. "No Greater Love" starts the same way the excellent Christian marriage movie, "Fireproof," does—with major marital discord. However, NGL is no "Fireproof."

At the beginning of NGL, husband Jeff (Anthony Tyler Quinn) and wife Heather (Danielle Bisutti) fight over Jeff's stubborn dedication to work, which often takes him away from home. Heather descends into a spiral of substance abuse and disappears, leaving Jeff with their young son, Ethan (the pre-adolescent Ethan is played by a talented Aaron Sanders). It's a smartly-done exposition, but then the story logic and emotional timbre unravel from here on out and the whole movie screams ideology. That horrible kind of religious ideology that subordinates the truly human (and therefore truly godly) to misguided derivative platitudes that end up denying the truly human. This is the kind of ethos that makes non-Christians (rightly) run as far away as they can from Christianity. NGL confirms their (mistaken) fears that God wants to obliterate our personhood, squelch our humanity, and turn us into robotic, irrational, uncompassionate religious operatives.

Where to begin? The writing, especially the dialogue, is often stultified and doesn't flow. Genuine reactions to new information do not happen. E.g., when Jeff tells his girlfriend (Heather has been gone for about ten years) of Heather's disappearance, she doesn't ask right away if there are any clues to her whereabouts. She asks this later. This is called the writer's objective rather than the character's objective. The writer's objective must always take second place, or rather be hidden in the character's objective, but we see it baldly throughout NGL. SPOILER ALERT: When Jeff and Heather finally meet again, Heather has become a Christian (while Jeff is not). Heather is strangely detached from wanting to see her son, and the first place Jeff takes her is to see a friend of his. When she is finally reunited with her son, she is more than willing to abandon him again if it's "God's will" that she move to another State. ("God's will" is discerned by an extremely deterministic notion: If God allows this or that to happen, then this or that course of action MUST be taken. There is very little room for reason, intelligence, free will, or even kindness and love.)

Strangest of all, however, is how marriage is viewed. Even though Jeff and Heather's marriage was not a Christian marriage, marriage is a natural institution, and hardly anything is said about the essence of marriage. The only thing that determines whether or not Jeff and Heather are actually married is the question of whether or not Jeff signed the divorce papers, and even though this is technically correct for a non-Christian/non-sacramental marriage, it is all rather cold and clinical (as well as requiring of the audience a breadth of knowledge about the institution of marriage). And later, when Heather's pastor and his wife urge Heather to stay with Jeff, it seems mainly to "influence" him and hopefully make him a Christian.

As a mini-refresher on the sacramental, and therefore Catholic, understanding of Christian marriage: it's indissoluble. Civil divorce is "allowed" by the Church for legal reasons (property, child support and custody, etc.), but divorce itself is not recognized by the Church because it's not recognized by Jesus. Why not? Because marriage is meant to reflect the faithful, forever bond of Christ and His Church, that is, marriage is meant to show us how God loves us. But we're only human and sinful and life is messy and sometimes married couples can no longer live together. Terrible things can happen. Yes, and so separating may be necessary.

What about annulment? Isn't that just "Catholic divorce"? No. An annulment says that the necessary grounds for marriage did not exist from the get-go (although none of the parties involved knew it at the time). So there was never a true marriage in the first place. But doesn't that make one's children "illegitimate"? Absolutely not. Again, "illegitimate" is a civil, legal term and concept. Human beings can't be "illegitimate" in God's eyes (and shouldn't be in ours). It's only the State that calls children "illegitimate" if there was no legal bond between parents when the child was born. So, you mean to tell me that because there have been hundreds of thousands of annulments granted by the Catholic Church in the U.S. (in the 20^th century), that there have been that many "never was" marriages? Ah, here's where it gets problematic. Has there been an abuse of giving out easy annulments* in the U.S.? Oh yes. John Paul II addressed this many times during his pontificate. At one point he even appealed to the couples requesting annulments themselves and asked that they really examine their consciences as to whether the conditions for valid marriage existed when they got married. (For example, if couples just keep vaguely claiming that they were immature or not psychologically ready—at whatever age—just about every married couple could say that. All of life is a growth process.)

NGL leans toward a kind of Christian fundamentalism. Christian fundamentalists purport to "take the Bible literally," which, of course, they do not. Otherwise they would have chopped their hands off and plucked their eyes out when last they sinned with them. They also do not take Jesus' teaching against divorce literally. However, we know that the Bible DOES have to be taken literally ACCORDING to the literary genre and MEANING God intended. Which is why we need the Church, "the pillar and bulwark of truth" (1 Timothy 3:15) to help us INTERPRET Scripture, otherwise we become like "sheep without a shepherd, each going its own way" (Isaiah 53:6) and we wind up with 30,000 Christian denominations—and counting—in the USA alone. When we cut ourselves off from Peter, our Jesus-appointed shepherd (and his successor, our "German shepherd"), we can come to the oddest conclusions on our own.

How does NGL lean toward fundamentalism? By taking "literally" the passage from Ephesians 5: "…wives obey your husbands." I just love it. This one line is frequently excerpted from the whole passage which includes: "Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the Church." Whoa! What a big bill to fill! A professor at a small, orthodox Catholic college I attended said: "Technically, if husbands aren't loving their wives as Christ loves the Church, why should wives obey them?" Also, the MUTUALITY of love and marriage is missed (by taking only one sentence out of its context): "Submit to ONE ANOTHER out of reverence for Christ" (Ephesians 5:21). Heather begins "obeying" Jeff in all matters. Asking him what he wants her to do in every little situation, which, appropriately, drives Jeff nuts. Until the pastor explains what she is doing. In fact, Heather's whole demeanor now is that of a demure, shrinking violet.

From a story-telling point of view, there are several large flaws. One is that Heather protests she tried but couldn't find Jeff and Ethan (even though they eventually ended up living in the same town under their own names and Jeff owned a business). In an age of Google, this is just not probable. Another is that it's emphasized that Jeff has not mended his workaholic ways, and this continues to greatly disturb Heather, but then the issue is dropped and never dealt with. There's an attempt to apply 1 Corinthians 7:12-16 (about non-believers married to believers) to Jeff and Heather's situation, which makes the plot points obscure and technical (never a good thing), not to mention, confusing.

I would have just dismissed NGL as an unfortunate attempt to make a movie in support of fidelity in marriage, but when two well-known Catholic media companies began promoting NGL as a wonderful movie on marriage, I became alarmed. I even checked with one company to make sure it was Catholic and not simply Christian. I called them up and asked if they had seen the movie or if they had any theologians on staff who vetted whatever they were promoting. Thus, this review.

We need to make sure that in our enthusiasm for Christian entertainment and the promoting of Christian values and outcomes, we don't begin compromising quality and the fullness of truth. We don't need to. We can't afford to. The end doesn't justify the means.

Be on the lookout for a new movie by the producers of "Fireproof" called "Courageous." It's about fatherhood. Here's hoping it will be as great as "Fireproof"! http://www.courageousthemovie.com/

___________

*Things are somewhat better now, but in the 70's and 80's, certain dioceses were known for their McAnnulments.