To Save a Life

I should start off by telling you a few things about myself to remove any false pretenses. I am a committed Christian who Pastors a youth group. About 3 years ago, my best friend from primary school killed himself and this woke me up from my complacency and caused me to re evaluate the world I was living in. We should have an awareness of the effect we have on others we meet and have contact with in the world and hold ourselves accountable for them. So there are a lot of points in Jake's story and also Chris' that really hit home to me, and I showed this film to my youth group last night. A group of kids who'd been tackling and screaming each other minutes earlier sat completely silent for the next two hours.

The film starts with the main character Jake at the funeral of his childhood friend Roger, who we soon learn committed suicide right in front of Jake after shooting up their school. Jake is haunted by Roger's final words "you never cared anyway," and thinks back to the way their friendship ended, with Jake rejecting Roger to go and party with the cool kids, and then consistently ignoring him for the next two years until his death. Attending Jake's funeral leads to Jake meeting a Youth Pastor named Chris, who helps Jake when he is stranded drunk after police raid a party.

Jake eventually ends up coming first to church and then to youth group. Jake researches some of Roger's blogs online and comes into contact with a whole community of depressed teenagers and eventually decides to befriend one of them, Johnny Garcia, and that's where the title of the film comes from.

The acting in this film is serviceable. It is no master class, but there are no real cringe worthy moments either. The script is uneven, containing many genuine moments, but every now and then descending into caricature and over simplification. The production values are surprisingly decent for a Christian film, probably a few too many slow motion shots and short crane shots of characters during arguments, two of my least favourite film making clichés. But these can easily be forgiven. The overall authenticity of the story and the consistency of the message being delivered ultimately win out.

This film is essentially a call to arms for all people. It's time to shed our apathy, reach out to the people who need it. The old man who sits at the same bench at the supermarket every day. That one person in our workplace or school who everyone picks on. Just a bit of effort can mean a whole lot. It's not really about converting a person to my world view, it's about showing a person with nothing to live for that life is worth it.

Be mindful of the rating. This DVD, with beer pong, chugging, a reasonably authentic suicide etc is strictly for older youth.

I took my son to see this movie. He is 16 and has had a tough time of feeling like an outsider at school. It helped him to see that everyone has problems and everyone else's life isn't perfect. This movie dealt with real things teenagers deal with on a daily basis and how they chose to deal with life. It might just save a life. For those kids who think it's cool to make fun of others and treat others like they are not worthy of consideration, that somehow they are better than others, they should watch this. It will help to see the effect that you have on others. My son didn't even care to see this movie but, when it was over he said it was good. I highly recommend this movie to teenagers and parents alike. It was worth seeing.

Let me start out with saying I was VERY surprised with the production value of this movie. I managed to catch an early showing on 10-22-09, and I have to Say this is the BEST (if not only) Christian film to hit theaters since The Passion.

Don't let the PG-13 rating scare you off, the rating is appropriate because of the serious issues that are dealt with in this film (divorce, teen pregnancy, drug use, and suicide), but nothing in the film is gratuitous. This is definitely a movie that a Junior High youth group could see without upsetting (most) parents, and the message is wonderful. The best part is this is not a film FOR Christians, it is a Family film without the cheesy 7th Heaven feel.

The laughs are there, and several times in the theater everyone was laughing, the bits of humor were natural and didn't seem scripted or forced, and that made for good pacing in such a serious film. Teens and young adult, both religious and otherwise, will be able to identify with many if not all of the characters in the film, and I was surprised to see such issues dealt with in this kind of film. The plot is not in any way predictable, and by the end hits closer to home than many will admit. Christians, fortunately, are not shown as all mighty know it all's of "The Word", but instead people just trying to understand life. Humans make mistakes and no one is perfect, not even in this film... not by a long shot.

The acting is top notch, the writing spot on, and you aren't hit over the head with all the preachy Christian rhetoric. This is a great film that will make you and your teens think, talk, and perhaps question their own morality (or lack thereof). If you want to see a quality family film in January check your local listings for this film, and you might learn something about yourself.

And I am a 25 year old male that just wanted to see a free movie.

Best movie I've seen in a long time. Deals with real life teenage issues (the messy ones that no one wants to talk about or face). Even though those issues are going on right in front of us everyday!! I was amazed at how many different issues were actually dealt with in one movie! It is NOT a self-righteous religious movie. It's a movie with hope in the midst of reality (even when reality is ugly and hard). It's not a SWEET movie, but a very thought provoking movie! This movie is for kids on BOTH sides life. The ones that "FIT-IN" and the ones the "DON'T". All teenagers, parents, teachers and anyone who comes in contact with teens should see this movie. Adults are sometimes blind to what's really going on. If teenagers would actually get hold of this message it could make a change in schools, neighborhoods and cities everywhere!!! I'm going to see if for the 2nd time this next weekend. I hope it is in theaters for a while!

As someone who absolutely loves a good movie, I really enjoyed this film. It has a great message (people need people; people need God), good acting, a good storyline, and it really keeps your interest.

My group of 40-something women friends all thought it was well worth seeing. Judging by the size of the crowd (mostly teens), it won't be in theaters long,however, so see it immediately or be sure to get it on DVD as soon as it comes out.

The first 10 minutes I was skeptical....it was feeling like an amateurish attempt at film making. But that feeling was gone quickly. In fact, I would give the actual filming a 10. Some unique techniques were used that really made it a cut above. Also it was laugh-out-loud funny at times.

The story drags a little bit about 3/4 of the way through. And some of the drama could have been eliminated (such as Jake's parents' relationship). The dialog didn't flow at times, usually between Jake and Amy. And a few other flaws I can't mention w/o giving away the too much.

But overall this movie will make you want to treat those around you with care and concern, and will motivate you to watch for those among us who get lost. Every youth group leader should take their church kids to see this. It could literally change the world if even just a few kids began to reach out like Jake does in this movie.

Great message w/o preaching.