Road to Redemption

This is a fair comedy that is worth taking a look at. It will not have you in stitches or rolling on the floor, but isn't bad to view once. Pat Hingle plays the charming old man he has so many times before. The lead female does an adequate job too. I walked away getting what I had expected. I feel Christians still have a long way to go in the film making industry. I found "Left Behind" to be very disappointing. If Christians want films to be used as outreach tools, they must realize that Christian movies must be of the same production quality as their secular counterparts. I originally saw this movie back when I was a Christian and found it fair. Despite my change in beliefs, my opinion of it remains unchanged.

Amanda is just a bit in debt. Her car is about to be repossessed, causing her live-in boyfriend Alan to suggest that she ask her boss for a raise. Trouble is, the boss man is a mobster and Amanda gets cold feet. However, she is put in charge of a shipment soon to arrive. Although she is instructed to file the package in the safe and close the door, the box falls apart in her hands. Hey, there's a quarter of a million dollars here! The A & A team go to the racetrack and end up losing it all. The mob is upset. But, wait. Amanda has a rich grandfather she hasn't seen for years. Could she hit him up for the money? This is a cute movie with great messages. Julie Condra, as Amanda, gives an inspired performance as the girl with her priorities slightly askew. Pat Hingle, as the grandfather, also gives a sweet turn as the man who found Christ and wants to share his faith with his long lost granddaughter. And, teach her some valuable lessons. As the pair go off to reclaim a vacation spot they shared long ago, the hit men come after them and the trip is fun, fun, fun, with bikers and a Partridge Family loving mobster thrown in the path. Thus, the script is inspired in more ways than one. If you love road trip movies, you'll feel dandy after watching this film. But, more important, if you want to share the Christian faith with anyone, including church camp crowds, this would be a great choice. It supplies the laughs at the same time it provides the road to ultimate salvation.

"Road to Redemption" is great family viewing material, and it includes the Gospel message! This movie has enough substance that it can be watched over and over. It is entertaining - provoking numerous outbursts of laughter. The conversations between the grandfather and granddaughter are thought provoking, as well as inspiring, giving ideas on how to share Christ with loved ones. The value in this type of film far exceeds the mindless, deceiving garbage that movies usually offer. Although the "Left Behind" movies have an important and necessary message of their own, they aren't suitable for family viewing (for families with pre-teens, that is). "Road to Redemption" is suitable for family viewing, and makes for a great family evening.

Usually, when you know the movie is put out by Billy Graham, no one is going to be converting to Zoroastrianism by the end of the movie. The subplot is usually the same in every movie: Christian befriends non-Christian, non-Christian (and audience) hears the plan for salvation, and non-Christian usually becomes a Christian by the end. There's little suprise in that part.

This movie reminded me a lot of the old "Walt Disney Presents" movies on Sunday night TV. Family-friendly, geniunely funny in some places, a little corny in others, and usually had some pro-social message in the end - be nice to old people, don't shoot deer, listen to Julie Andrews sing and you'll be rewarded by dancing on the celing....whatever. So, I guess you can call old Disney movies "propaganda disgusied as a movie," or whatever the bitter guy said a few posts back.

As a light comedy, it works. The "Bad guys" are silly, the chase scenes are fun, and there are a few running gags that pay off towards the middle and end. Besides any "Christian" comedy that dares to take a swipe at the Partridge Family can't be that bad, can it? The parts that are shaky, as it sometimes is with WWP movies, the "Serious" moments between the granddaughter and grandfather are slow at times, and the scenes at the end are cliched. But, like I said, it's like a Sunday night Disney movie....You know what you're getting yourself into.

"Road to Redemption," starring Pat Hingle, Wes Studi and Jay Underwood, is an above average Christian film. When compared to disgraces such as "Left Behind," this film looks like a masterpiece!

3/5 stars -- a bit emotionally manipulating at times, but still a clean family Christian film.

John Ulmer