Me Again

From the outside looking in, Rich Chaplin (David A. R. White) has everything that any Pastor and family man could ever want. In reality Pastor Rich has lost sight of the blessings that God has given him, including his family and ministry. When he dreams for a life other than his own, he suddenly finds himself trapped within the lives of everyone his apathy has effected. Rich quickly realizes that he is wasting his God-given chance to love and impact the most important people in his life, will he get a second chance?

Just the normal spiritual based themed movie nothing to special. Not bad but not the best.

"Its a wonderful life" would have been a much better title for the movie, "ME AGAIN" sounds inane and weird. The movie also mentions about "Its a wonderful life", let alone being hugely inspired by it. So we have the lead character who finds Life unfair as in so many other movies - the only novel thing about this is that the protagonist is a Pastor - and finds out a miracle way to know others' lives and how things in life ought to be balanced. Finally a Happy Ending blessed by God, we all feel rejuvenated, animated and excited about life albeit having watched a badly made movie. In fact, felt more like watching many movies at a time - from Bruce Almighty to Don Camillo.

The plot so loose, the screenplay so glossy and the background score quite irksome at times. It never launches well with some mediocre acting and badly executed shots which mars the movie experience right from the beginning. The ending was awesome for a movie which niggled throughout, the "hero's" speech stands out which saves the movie from hitting rock bottom. Thoroughly disappointed that the movie ends up a lackluster product despite having the thread which was destined to be great. 6/10

At first glance this movie is truly corny in parts. I almost turned it off in a couple different spots that were painful to watch they were so bad. But because there was content/circumstances in the storyline I could relate to in my own life, curiosity kept me watching. And I'm glad I did. The corny parts all seem to become justified, forgivable, and actually endearing in the nuggets of wisdom and feel good scenes that result. The message is a powerful one...one that I have turned back to and watched again, and that brought me to tears the second time around allowing me to hear things I missed the first time. God does have mysterious ways of speaking to us...even it's through somewhat corny outlandish movies.

Films produced by Christian based studios have a history of weak scripts and poor acting. Unfortunately, Me Again is not an exception to that trend.

Movies like 17 Again and Freaky Friday are fun body swap romps. In that light I decided to give this movie a chance.

I honestly can't think of a single redeeming quality here. The script is dense, the acting is weak and the lead overacts in major ways.

Corny doesn't do enough justice here. If you are looking for a film to inspire, challenge and strengthen your faith skip this one and give War Room, Flywheel, Courageous, The Grace Card, Facing The Giants or Fireproof a look instead.

True, it is a story about a man learning a profound lesson through a trek of uncommon experiences. True, these experiences are somewhat supernatural and explained in the miracle-from-God cheesy style. And true, such experiences are by no means innovative and can be considered a fairy-tale enchantment. Still, it is a little gem that illuminates in a miniature yet successful way, thanks to its essential message, its gradual and managed delivery and its surprisingly good transition from what feels like misplaced pieces of chaos to a complete conclusion with an apt reflection.

The start of the film is the end of the film, though nothing is revealed (nothing but the message that it is going to be a family film classified within the usual formula and that it will end happily). The lessons learned and the process are indeed experienced through watching the story that fills the gap. Rich starts as a disoriented mid-aged man who has lost his purpose in life and prays in the hopes of being someone else, anyone other than himself, and for your convenience, indeed, what he gets is what he wishes for. The twist is that it happens uncontrollably. Rich begins to be able to control different individual, some seemingly being predetermined, while others feel completely random. Through stepping into others' shoes and viewing with different eyes, Rich slowly learns and grasps the meaning in life, along with other significant messages about family and love, and his marriage most noticeably. He decidedly turns his disadvantage into determination and strives for a new life and a place back to his family whom he misses. As the transitions between different living beings increase and the randomness seems to set in, a sense of unconstrained chaos arises, causing the film to be slightly off its track, but it is ultimately satisfying to see a nice conclusion and relation and at least some degree of relevance in the things and ideas involved.

The performances are mediocre but in no way hinder the development of the plot line and the display of message. The closure has the ability to strengthen the film and reinforce ideas, and conclude in a satisfying style and in a proper tone. All in all, the story is organized well and everything has the closure it deserves. Amid the silliness there are quite a few heartfelt and hilarious moments that adds a foundation of sentiments to this well-developed indie production.