After a childhood friend's death, Jake Taylor, an all-star athlete must change his life - and sacrifice his dreams to save the lives of others.After a childhood friend's death, Jake Taylor, an all-star athlete must change his life - and sacrifice his dreams to save the lives of others.After a childhood friend's death, Jake Taylor, an all-star athlete must change his life - and sacrifice his dreams to save the lives of others.
- Awards
- 2 nominations total
Kimberly Daugherty
- Andrea Stevens
- (as Kim Hidalgo)
Trinity Scott Brown
- Kelsi
- (as Trinity Scott)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
As someone who absolutely loves a good movie, I really enjoyed this film. It has a great message (people need people; people need God), good acting, a good storyline, and it really keeps your interest.
My group of 40-something women friends all thought it was well worth seeing. Judging by the size of the crowd (mostly teens), it won't be in theaters long,however, so see it immediately or be sure to get it on DVD as soon as it comes out.
The first 10 minutes I was skeptical....it was feeling like an amateurish attempt at film making. But that feeling was gone quickly. In fact, I would give the actual filming a 10. Some unique techniques were used that really made it a cut above. Also it was laugh-out-loud funny at times.
The story drags a little bit about 3/4 of the way through. And some of the drama could have been eliminated (such as Jake's parents' relationship). The dialog didn't flow at times, usually between Jake and Amy. And a few other flaws I can't mention w/o giving away the too much.
But overall this movie will make you want to treat those around you with care and concern, and will motivate you to watch for those among us who get lost. Every youth group leader should take their church kids to see this. It could literally change the world if even just a few kids began to reach out like Jake does in this movie.
Great message w/o preaching.
My group of 40-something women friends all thought it was well worth seeing. Judging by the size of the crowd (mostly teens), it won't be in theaters long,however, so see it immediately or be sure to get it on DVD as soon as it comes out.
The first 10 minutes I was skeptical....it was feeling like an amateurish attempt at film making. But that feeling was gone quickly. In fact, I would give the actual filming a 10. Some unique techniques were used that really made it a cut above. Also it was laugh-out-loud funny at times.
The story drags a little bit about 3/4 of the way through. And some of the drama could have been eliminated (such as Jake's parents' relationship). The dialog didn't flow at times, usually between Jake and Amy. And a few other flaws I can't mention w/o giving away the too much.
But overall this movie will make you want to treat those around you with care and concern, and will motivate you to watch for those among us who get lost. Every youth group leader should take their church kids to see this. It could literally change the world if even just a few kids began to reach out like Jake does in this movie.
Great message w/o preaching.
Jake Taylor and Roger were the best of friends. Roger even saved Jake's life once which left Roger with a permanent limp. The boys drift apart during high school. Jake becomes the basketball star and starts going with cheerleader Amy Briggs. He abandons Roger to loneliness and bullying for his limp. Roger takes a gun to school and commits suicide. Jake feels guilty and lost despite getting a full college scholarship. Amy doesn't understand. His friend Doug pranks loner Jonny. Youth pastor Chris reaches out to Jake. Roger had gone to church but Chris failed to talk to him. Jake starts going to church and befriends Andrea which alienates Amy and his friends. Danny is the weed smoking cynical slacker son of the lead pastor. Jake's parents are getting a divorce. Amy is pregnant with Jake's baby. A date between Jonny and Andrea goes badly and he goes back to cutting. Danny overhears Amy's pregnancy and spreads the news in school. Next Danny pranks a fake bomb threat from Jonny getting him arrested.
There is no doubt that this movie tries to cover too much area with too many movie-teen issues. I do like how most of the issues are handled but there is simply too many of them. As far as Christian films go, this is better than most. The actors are somewhat charismatic. If the issues could be cut in half, this would allow more time for each issue to develop and resolved in the Christian way. It would also allow the movie to be a more manageable ninety minutes.
There is no doubt that this movie tries to cover too much area with too many movie-teen issues. I do like how most of the issues are handled but there is simply too many of them. As far as Christian films go, this is better than most. The actors are somewhat charismatic. If the issues could be cut in half, this would allow more time for each issue to develop and resolved in the Christian way. It would also allow the movie to be a more manageable ninety minutes.
Best movie I've seen in a long time. Deals with real life teenage issues (the messy ones that no one wants to talk about or face). Even though those issues are going on right in front of us everyday!! I was amazed at how many different issues were actually dealt with in one movie! It is NOT a self-righteous religious movie. It's a movie with hope in the midst of reality (even when reality is ugly and hard). It's not a SWEET movie, but a very thought provoking movie! This movie is for kids on BOTH sides life. The ones that "FIT-IN" and the ones the "DON'T". All teenagers, parents, teachers and anyone who comes in contact with teens should see this movie. Adults are sometimes blind to what's really going on. If teenagers would actually get hold of this message it could make a change in schools, neighborhoods and cities everywhere!!! I'm going to see if for the 2nd time this next weekend. I hope it is in theaters for a while!
Saw this with my 14 year old daughter this weekend. This is an excellent movie for teens between the ages of 13-17. If you're deciding whether to watch it, don't be swayed by the overall rating as those who gave the lowest ratings do not belong to the intended audience group (males over 45 have given it the lowest rating - not sure why they felt the need to review it as it wasn't a movie for them?) I teach leadership to 14 and 15 year-old students at my school, and they were so excited when I showed them just the trailer! If you work with students then you know that what is portrayed in this movie is not exaggerated, but issues that they are actually dealing with on a daily basis. Even at my private, Christian school bullying is an issue. This movie has an excellent message and will help teens have the courage to stand up and be themselves, instead of just following the crowd.
Let me start out with saying I was VERY surprised with the production value of this movie. I managed to catch an early showing on 10-22-09, and I have to Say this is the BEST (if not only) Christian film to hit theaters since The Passion.
Don't let the PG-13 rating scare you off, the rating is appropriate because of the serious issues that are dealt with in this film (divorce, teen pregnancy, drug use, and suicide), but nothing in the film is gratuitous. This is definitely a movie that a Junior High youth group could see without upsetting (most) parents, and the message is wonderful. The best part is this is not a film FOR Christians, it is a Family film without the cheesy 7th Heaven feel.
The laughs are there, and several times in the theater everyone was laughing, the bits of humor were natural and didn't seem scripted or forced, and that made for good pacing in such a serious film. Teens and young adult, both religious and otherwise, will be able to identify with many if not all of the characters in the film, and I was surprised to see such issues dealt with in this kind of film. The plot is not in any way predictable, and by the end hits closer to home than many will admit. Christians, fortunately, are not shown as all mighty know it all's of "The Word", but instead people just trying to understand life. Humans make mistakes and no one is perfect, not even in this film... not by a long shot.
The acting is top notch, the writing spot on, and you aren't hit over the head with all the preachy Christian rhetoric. This is a great film that will make you and your teens think, talk, and perhaps question their own morality (or lack thereof). If you want to see a quality family film in January check your local listings for this film, and you might learn something about yourself.
And I am a 25 year old male that just wanted to see a free movie.
Don't let the PG-13 rating scare you off, the rating is appropriate because of the serious issues that are dealt with in this film (divorce, teen pregnancy, drug use, and suicide), but nothing in the film is gratuitous. This is definitely a movie that a Junior High youth group could see without upsetting (most) parents, and the message is wonderful. The best part is this is not a film FOR Christians, it is a Family film without the cheesy 7th Heaven feel.
The laughs are there, and several times in the theater everyone was laughing, the bits of humor were natural and didn't seem scripted or forced, and that made for good pacing in such a serious film. Teens and young adult, both religious and otherwise, will be able to identify with many if not all of the characters in the film, and I was surprised to see such issues dealt with in this kind of film. The plot is not in any way predictable, and by the end hits closer to home than many will admit. Christians, fortunately, are not shown as all mighty know it all's of "The Word", but instead people just trying to understand life. Humans make mistakes and no one is perfect, not even in this film... not by a long shot.
The acting is top notch, the writing spot on, and you aren't hit over the head with all the preachy Christian rhetoric. This is a great film that will make you and your teens think, talk, and perhaps question their own morality (or lack thereof). If you want to see a quality family film in January check your local listings for this film, and you might learn something about yourself.
And I am a 25 year old male that just wanted to see a free movie.
Did you know
- TriviaA&W cream soda was used for the drinking scenes.
- GoofsWhen Jake is uploading scanned photos to the Internet, his computer is clearly uploading them from "C:\Users\Rachel". No characters in the film are named Rachel.
- Quotes
Jake Taylor: What good is all this if you're not going to let it change you?
- Alternate versionsA "church-friendly" version was provided for public screenings.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Je te promets (2012)
- SoundtracksDare you to Move
Performed by Switchfoot
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- To Save a Life
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $500,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $3,777,210
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $1,581,517
- Jan 24, 2010
- Gross worldwide
- $3,824,868
- Runtime
- 2h(120 min)
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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