A Segunda Chance

The Second Chance is a movie that takes on the complexities of cultural difference and social conscience. The film stars Grammy award-winning musician Michael W. Smith in his first acting role as Ethan Jenkins, a rock star turned associate pastor of a suburban mega-church called The Rock.

The film costars jeff obafemi carr, a multi-talented artist with experience in acting, singing, writing, and directing. jeff prefers lower case letters for his name, a gesture of humility. His character, Jake Sanders, is the pastor of a small inner city church called Second Chance Community Church that deals with all the associated problems plaguing the economically starved inner cities.

Michael W. Smith does amazingly well in his acting debut, considering his only acting experience was working with an acting coach in preparation for this movie. Equally amazing is the performance by jeff carr who nails his character with realism and genuine passion. jeff becomes Jake Sanders.

The background of the film involves Jeremiah Jenkins (J. Don Ferguson) who founded Second Chance Community Church in the 1960's and was part of the civil rights movement. Time has seen him move on to The Rock mega-church. The Rock has become part of the new electronic church era where it's about TV, image, and donations.

Jerimiah's son, Ethan, is caught up in the worldly business of the church. An affluent yuppie with attitude, Ethan finds himself at odds with the church's leadership after creating some waves. The church's board decides "he needs his wings clipped" and they decide to send him to Second Chance Community Church.

The plot revolves around Pastors Ethan and Jake as their cultures clash when Ethan is sent unwillingly to "observe and learn" at Second Chance and the surrounding community. Both pastors have their own flaws.

Ethan feels being sent to the inner city is beneath him and not worthy of his time. "I am an associate pastor, not a social worker," he protests when told of his assignment.

Jake, the Second Chance pastor, also has his cultural conditioning come into play. "We've seen enough of those ghetto tourists down here … hanging around just long enough so they can go back and tell their congregations that they've 'been there' ".

The stage is set for conflict that extends beyond the surface of black/white issues. Both pastors are separated by economic barriers and their views of how to help people. Ethan's rich suburban church mentality is to throw money at a problem and walk away. Pastor Jake's method is to roll up your sleeves, get on the streets, and make a difference one person at a time. Some of his tactics are tough-love.

As Ethan navigates his way through the real life of the inner city, his belief system is thrown into turmoil. There are several memorable scenes in this movie, one of the most compelling is the sub-plot involving the African refugee child's paper plate drawing. Without revealing too much, I will say the associated scenes with this paper plate demonstrate that sometimes the seemingly small things in life can have a huge impact.

Ethan's acceptance into this different culture is slow. It's a painful learning curve but to his credit, Ethan continues forward. There are failures and victories. In one scene we see how music can serve as a wonderful bridge between personal and cultural differences. Acceptance involves doing, not just words or money.

As the movie progresses, power, money, and politics threaten Second Chance's existence. Ethan experiences another defining moment of life that will further serve to "call him home." Another defining moment for several characters comes during a foot-washing scene.

One of the most powerful scenes involves Jake's speech near the end of the film. jeff carr absolutely nails it with passion, emotion, and sheer believability. Michael W. Smith's musical score for this scene using his instrumental song "The Last Hallelujah" is perfection.

The movie could have ended several different ways. According to the commentary information, there was considerable discussion on how the film should end. The ending that was finally chosen worked for me. Its message was clear and thought provoking.

Michael W. Smith did the musical scoring for many of the scenes as well as performing and co-writing the track "All in the Serve". Michael also performed all of his own piano and singing scenes and seemed right at home doing so.

The film was directed by Steve Taylor, his first feature length directing job. Prior to The Second Chance, he made several short films and music videos. Considering this and the fact that The Second Chance was a small budget film, he did an incredible job.

The commentary track in the DVD's special features section provided some interesting insights to the behind the scenes trials and tribulations that went into creating this movie. Steve Taylor, Michael W. Smith, and jeff carr recounted the obstacles that had to be overcome and how some of the casting assignments came to be. A significant amount of local talent was used. The film was shot entirely on location around Nashville.

Henry Haggard, who played Sonny, the challenged Second Chance Community Church custodian, could not have been cast better. Shirley Cody, playing Miss Burdoe, the choir leader, was simply outstanding. The chemistry between her and Michael was obvious. Jamal, the drug dealer played by Robert Fitzgerald, brought his street character to believable and authentic life. J. Don Ferguson, as Jerimiah Jenkins, did a memorable job that included his character's humble transformation.

The film succeeds in tackling tough contemporary issues in a compelling and entertaining way. If you want to experience a great film that was created on a small budget by people who regarded it as a true labor of love, see this movie! The movie's message is one of hope, reconciliation, humility, tolerance, forgiveness, and understanding … something the world needs now more than ever.

I had the opportunity to watch a preview of the movie, The Second Chance. Set in a large Southern city, the film portrays the racial tensions between a predominately white, affluent church with that of a black and financially struggling congregation that they have supported for many years. The movie does a good job of character and plot development with very credible acting from Michael W. Smith and the other lead actors. The film realistically portrays today's inner city environment which causes its content to receive a PG-13 rating. I believe that this movie contains a valuable and enjoyable message for today's Church. It is a moving story of renewal, forgiveness and Christian love.

Unfortunately, I didn't hear about the movie 'The Second Chance' the first time around, no pun intended. In fact, as I searched the Video store for a good family movie (4 kids, age 6 to 17) that we could watch together on Martin Luther King's Holiday.

I pulled at least 15 videos off the shelf and pondered bringing a few of them home with most of them everyday trash we see on TV, videos and the theaters. Mega-Theaters...16 screens and look in the listings today, you'll be hard press to find one of those 16 screens with a PG movie rating. Our children are sped through life with technology, forced by those in charge to watch what sells....at the detriment of innocence.

I'm not a preacher and I'm not preaching, I'm just a husband and father (African American) that would like to watch simple entertainment. I've seen all the gore, the whore, the violence, the drugs, the homosexual, the racial, the slutty strip club-ish videos, the gangsta exploitation, everything we see on daily prime time television and media today.

Nearly 40 years after MLK's death and his Civil Rights battle, we still see the same stereotypes prevalent in today's society, yet for this movie to be considered racist, then everything you see on every other screen, you can't be blind to it and call it good entertainment.

Sure this movie has racial tones that still ruffle feathers of people. The same themes we've seen in this 'free' country since it's birth, still exist today.

So back to my video store stroll. I saw all the latest releases....20 Wide Screen boxes..25 Full Screen boxes of all the hits and I find this 1 DVD, "The Second Chance" I read it and think well, what the heck, I've seen all the other junk, maybe this will be something we all can watch together and not send my 6 and 12 year old out the room to watch something on Disney Channel.

I was pleasantly surprised! I've read all the reviews...some thinking it's racist, others thinking it's the best thing since sliced bread, and Christians shouting with joy. I think there's a little of all of that in this movie, but you know what....I thank God that it is what it was intended to be....GREAT FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT! It was worth the $3.99 I spent, much more than the $10 we spend for our other feel good movies that do nothing to unite people.

I've lived long enough to know that for every black prostitute, drug dealer, gangsta, crooked politician, shady pastor, imperfect Christian, imperfect citizen...there are the same in the white community.

So I don't have to feel exploited and stereotyped from a film like this, I just watch it for it's entertainment value and get an added plus that it has a Christian message too.

I love movies - I wish the Hollywood field was fair -- and offered more films like Dreamgirls, Deja Vu, The Pursuit of Happiness, and Blood Diamond...four movies at the Mega-plex, all good and all with lead African American actors in roles that don't always have to be the stereotypical....first time I can remember 4 being out at the same time. I just wished we had that many choices on a regular basis.

I'll let everyone else dissect this movie for it's good and it's flaws, acting, directing, production, theme, plots, etc... Everyone has their own opinion and they're entitled to it. I just keep it simple.

America's not perfect...never will be, but "The Second Chance" was a perfect movie for my family to watch on the day we celebrated my hero, Martin Luther King. That plain and simple! My wife and I, our 4 children and my daughter's boyfriend -- 7 people were moved by watching this movie. "Wow, that was good"....all of them feeling good and entertained with a Spiritual undertone, and not feeling they'll be left behind. I thank God for that. Best $3.99 I've spent in my life. I'll buy it and keep it..it's a worthy effort.

Lastly, it's ironic that the Golden Globe Awards were on last night too...I'm so glad I chose to ignore them as they ignore my culture most of the time anyway with the superficial Red Carpet strolls. You probably won't see any of the characters from this movie on the Red Carpet........but they're on my mine. Worthy Effort!

I was pretty a little disappointed in this movie. I read some of the reviews and I don't agree. I don't think Michael W. Smith did such a great acting job. His singing was great but his acting just average. I thought his character was believable because unfortunately many people who grow up in the big church world are pretty clueless about life outside of theirs, and think that a wad of money will make everything better. I think actually most people are like that. I was also disappointed with the character of the black pastor, always angry and distrusting. . He could have been cynical for all he had to deal with but I thought that was too stereotypical. I was surprised at some of the language, but for PG-13 it wasn't bad. Over all it was a decent movie, better than a lot of the trash that's put out today. I hope Christian producers continue to look for better scripts and better actors.

Here's the sad thing about this movie...I fear that not a lot of people will see it. That would be a real shame.

Let's face it: Christian 'entertainment' is normally completely void of any artistic skill, woodenly-acted, hokey, and moronic. It's made for those who want to build large brick walls around their church and stay safe from the evil world outside.

On the other hand, this is an intelligently crafted, authentic look at the divisions that lie within Christianity in America. If you have attended church for any length of time in your life, the attitudes that you see displayed on screen will undoubtedly hit home, because you've either seen them in others or yourself (the use of "Christian-ese" to silence dissent is all too real). If you aren't a church-attender, you'll recognize some of the things that probably help to keep you away.

This is a movie with heart that never gets cheesy. It's not terribly complicated, but that's part of the point...either your actions match your words or they don't. Very simple.

If you're looking for 30 plot twists in a movie, pull out one of the 80 "Left Behind" DVDs and have a ball with the fairy tales. But if you want to experience good art, something real and challenging, see this movie.