My Daddy's in Heaven

Heavy handed tale of a Texas, god-fearing widower (Gotzon) who must find herself, her faith and the bottom of the bottle after the sudden death of her husband (Prison Break's 'Tweener', Garrison), despite pleas from her father to stay and look after her young daughter on the family farm.

Bernsen plays the old salt himself recently widowed, still struggling with his own grief, whose rugged exterior hides a warm centre searching for a way to reunite his remaining family. I wasn't entirely sure of the purpose of the Lorenzo Lamas cameo, as heart-wrenching as his character's tale may be, it seemed superfluous and failed to really connect with the rest of the plot whilst Lee Benton provides much needed comic relief amid all the misery, making jelly pies and other kitchen disasters.

Reversing Gotzon and Morrison's roles at the end of the movie is sweet salvation, but the bus-ride epiphany that gets us there felt somewhat contrived. Pretentious dialogue (e.g. In reference to the man upstairs 'alI I did was give, and all he did was take') and a character spiral that's desperately cliched leave this faith-based feel-good film overbearing and a little underwhelming in spite of its sincere intentions.

God has many surprises in store throughout our life. Some most definitely can be tragic and heartbreaking. God will put you through different tests. You just have to find your way through it. He will never give you more than you can handle. Get through it, and know that there is something good always waiting for you in the end. Just remember GOD LOVES YOU!!!

That"s the lesson that Becca (Jenn Gotzon Chandler) had to learn after the tragic death of her husband. (Although it doesn"t show how he gets hurt, but, from the looks of it, somehow he falls off, and the ATV runs over his head.)

In grief, Becca closes herself off spiritually from her family. When it gets to be overwhelming, she runs from her problems to the city to stay with a long lost friend, June (Jill Morrison). Not much of a faith believer herself, June tries to help Becca get over her grief by taking her out on the town, which gets her into more trouble the more she goes out.

Meanwhile back at home Becca's family is struggling to keep the farm going. Near the end, it takes Becca getting arrested to realize she needs to get back to her family . The only thing that I did not get was the bus ride home. Becca regains her faith in God, only after a kid kills himself by overdosing on drugs. Did not understand. But overall, I love the film. It really makes one think, and you really feel for the characters. Everyone in the cast did an amazing job! You will laugh, cry, smile and laugh again. It's a wonderful faith based film. I give it an 10 out of 10!

Thank you for making this film! I loved it!

The film, "My Daddy is in Heaven" based on a true story, takes place in a tight-knit farming community where everyone knows one another. The community "godfather" is Vernon (Corbin Bernsen). It is a dramatic story of a couple, Vernon's daughter, Becca (Jenn Gotzon Chandler) and the love of her life, husband Adam (Lane Garrison). The couple are totally dedicated to each other and their little girl Acie (Riley St John). Earl is tragically injured when his ATV crashes into a tree. This is followed by a long hospital stay with many different prognosis. Becca relies on her faith in God to pull Earl through, convinced that God loves Earl as much or more than she does. Ultimately, Becca is faced with the agonizing decision to take Earl off life support. (As one who lost a child after a long period of hospitalization, I can relate to the pain and agony of such a heart-rending loss, and the difficulty of facing life with a positive outlook afterward). Becca leaves her family and tries many different roads to find happiness and cope with her loss. She ultimately finds the only one who can truly heal the hurt in her heart is a loving Heavenly Father. I believe this film is a rare and honest look at the pain and hurt someone experiences from losing a loved one, and trying to fill the void with earthly substitutes. I found the character portrayals by Jenn Gotzon Chandler, Corbin Bernsen, and the entire ensemble cast to be honest and credible. Psalm 30:5b. "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning."

My Daddy's in Heaven is a bit incoherent to me. Lots of things don't make sense. The writing is confusing and the acting rather mediocre. The story is about a Christian woman named Becca (Jenn Gotzon Chandler) who is trying to recover after her husband's death, while also learning how to believe in God again.

Many things in this story are just not practical. The death is quick and you don't have much time to connect with the character. As a viewer, I would have appreciated more backstory on Adam and his family life with Becca and his daughter, Acie (Riley St. John). The husband dies by falling off an ATV. He doesn't crash into anything, he just falls off. It doesn't seem like he is drunk and he doesn't seem to have any medical issues. The ATV doesn't even fall on him. He just falls. Then, it appears as if he gains even more bruises at the hospital. Make-up is very important in a movie and should be consistent. After he officially dies, two weeks after the accident, Becca is visited by a man named, Jimmy Urban who gives her Adam's Bible, which appears to be a message from her husband to believe in God. I'm not sure as the Bible doesn't have much of a point.

Sometimes the acting feels either too over dramatic or too blunt. The characters are all rather bland. You automatically sympathize with Becca because we all know loss is hard. She's definitely depressed and trying to drink her sorrows away. She also has an old high school best friend named June helping her through her grieving period. June is my favorite character in the movie. She reminds me a lot of the characters Rebel Wilson plays and she has the best lines in the film. Unfortunately, she has not yet been given credit on IMBd, but according to the movie credits, her name is Jill Morrison. It's weird how she's the only one not credited. I hope she is soon.

This movie is based on a book called "My Daddy is in Heaven with Jesus". I have not read the book, but from what I know, the movie is not completely accurate to the source material. The movie is more about the wife experiencing the loss of her husband, while the book appears to focus more on the daughter's grieving.

I give this movie 2 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 13 to 18. This is definitely more of a movie that Christians would enjoy. It also reminds me of Hallmark Channel movies. If you like those, you might enjoy this. It comes out March 13, 2018.

reviewed by Calista B., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic. For more reviews by youth, visit kidsfirst dot org.

There is a defining moment in every person's life, where we come to a fork in the road. We can go the cute (an inaccurate) cliché route and "take it" or like most people under duress, the fork in the road can lead to despair.This movie - My Daddy is in Heaven - is a lot more complicated than a cliché.

The casting choices were well done, as evidenced by the characters progressively becoming more intense and believable as the movie went on. Jenn Gotzon (God's Country, God's Not Dead 2, Doonby and more ) played the part of Rebecca (as Becca Smith) with so much emotion, you could tell she was all in, as far as being in character was concerned. Her counterpart was Corbin Bensen (L.A. Law, Major League II, and others), who played her old-school, hard-knuckled yet easy-going father. Bensen is now a staple in a lot of Christian or Faith-based movies.

Jenn Gotzon's character, Becca Smith (Rebecca Crownover) has one major crisis of Faith in God, after another, through much of the movie, until she comes to a place where the defining moment presented itself. After the death of her husband Adam, armed with the realization that God had an entirely different plan than letting her husband live, Becca leaves her farm life and heads for the city to live with her long-lost best friend, June. Things seem to go off the rail from there....as normally happens when tragedy weakens faith,

The principals were wonderful in this movie and (Acie) was fabulous, indeed. Her acting was mature beyond her years. There were a few lighthearted moments, but the serious message of the perseverance through tragedy got through loud clear.

Here is where I think this fast-moving family movie can be of tremendous value to people from all walks of life. There is no one alive who has not had tragedy in their lives. The thing is when that defining moment comes where folks, in the depths of pain and despair, are faced two choices, where do they come down. Many react like Becca Smith in "My Daddy is in Heaven", when she turned her back temporarily on God. Unfortunately, most never come back. Maybe this movie will help put some perspective on tragedy when Faith comes under fire. There is hope if we are open to it seeing the entire picture. Hope can only be found in God. Here is where My Daddy is in Heaven is so worthwhile to the narrative of life today! Read less