Same Kind of Different as Me

Here is a God oriented film worthy of watching. Solid performance by Djimon Hounsou,good story and supporting actors

This film would have been great if novice writer/producer/director Michael Carney didn't hack the screenplay and knew how to direct the scenes properly. The pace was dragged out too long and either the editing was just as bad or the screenplay was that poor. The acting could have been better (maybe also the directors fault for not directing his cast properly?), especially from Greg Kinnear, but Djimon Hounsou stole the show with his outstanding performance. This film lost its potential with all these flaws and it missed the mark for me. Would I recommend it? Yes, it's a great and inspirational true story. Would I see it again? Nope. A generous 7/10 from me

My wife and I watched this at home on DVD from our public library.

This is based on real people and their stories. Dallas and Ft Worth area fine art dealer is Greg Kinnear as Ron Hall. He is somewhat happily married to Renée Zellweger as Debbie Hall. We find out somewhat early in this movie that he has been stepping out on her and he attributes that to their very cooled off relationship, having been married 19 years and now with two teenagers.

Debbie is persistent, she calls the woman and tells her she probably won't be seeing Ron anymore, she still loves him and is determined to get their relationship back to where it was.

She takes what at first seems to be a strange approach, she brings him to a rough part of town where many homeless hang out. She and he will help serve food to the homeless, something she has been doing unknown to him. Her strategy is, if her husband can reconnect with what is important in life, instead of business meeting after business meeting, they can get their spark back.

In the process they meet Djimon Hounsou as Denver, one of the homeless and also very angry. When he comes in with a baseball bat and starts smashing things. But Debbie is unafraid, she recognizes the man needs friendship. In the process we find out Denver's rough early life in Louisiana, and seven years at Angola for robber as a teenager, he grew up pretty much detesting white folks. But he gains redemption as well as Ron.

In a smaller but important role Jon Voight is really good as Earl, who is Ron's father but there is lots of friction. At the end of the movie during the credits we see photos of the actual Hall family as well as Denver.

Same Kind of Different as Me is a powerful character driven film. Actor, Djimon Hounsou's excellent portrayal of Denver, a colored homeless man who through divine intervention becomes friends with a wealthy white couple, (played convincingly by Greg Kinnear and Renee Zellweger) is flawless. The journey they're taken on changes them all for the better.

The movie reminded me of some of the character driven classics made by Frank Capra.

I am not a regular viewer of Christian films, and I was kind of surprised that this film is considered one. But I guess when the initial distributor dropped the picture at the last minute, a Christian company picked it up. But why, if a movie conveys decent human values, and there happen to be a couple of scenes in a church, is it pigeonholed? It's message is not overtly Christian, yet it is so powerful it should speak to anyone, religious or not. I was truly shocked to read that the critics' reviews were not entirely favourable, that they thought it saccharine, and simplistic in terms of racial issues. Because of a dream, a couple of rich white folks befriend an old homeless black man, and it changes not only their three lives but those of many people in the community. I don't think that's self-congratulatory; it's TRUE! I thought all the characters were well developed, given that there wasn't a ton of backstory, but just enough. They were portrayed fairly but all they faced demons in their own ways. I was so moved and touched by the story, especially by the truly stunning acting of Djimon Hounsou, and by the scenes of his childhood in Jim Crow Louisiana. I'd easily see this again just for Hounsou's acting alone. What would anyone want to change? I am baffled.