I took my lovely fiancee' to go see Old Fashioned at its opening last night. We'd seen the preview months ago and put it on our list. In what was going to be a blatantly Christian movie, we didn't have incredibly high hopes, but were hoping for at least a good story line. As it turns out, we know several people involved in the making of the film, so that added to our desire to see it.
What we saw in the trailers wasn't that encouraging though. A cute female lead (Elizabeth Roberts) seemed to be able to act, but the male lead (Rik Swartzwelder, also the director and writer) seemed pretty awkward on camera. What we were going to experience in the next 2 hours was completely unexpected.
First of all, the characters are a lot more complex than the movie title would have you believe. This isn't a sappy love story about some perfect guy and perfect girl who saved themselves for each other over years while waiting for "the one that God had prepared for them". These characters are real and their lives are messy. Their friend's lives are messy. My favorite part of the characters is that all seem very real, and I can pick out people in my life to easily identify with each of them, myself included.
Make no mistake though, this is a Christian movie. There are a lot of references to the Christian lifestyle and ideas out there that you'll only find in Christian circles. You're going to get some doses of Scripture sprinkled throughout the film as well.
The film gets a PG-13 rating due to some scenes that are adult in nature, but don't go overboard in what is shown. The script was well written to indicate clearly what was going on without forcing you to actually witness some of it. This is not a movie that I would be comfortable with my teenagers seeing with their friends. With me, yes, but only with some intentionally planned time to unpack what happens immediately.
SPOILER ALERT.... SPOILER ALERT.... SPOILER ALERT
Okay, let me tell you some of the specific things that I LOVE about this movie.
First, Rik's acting isn't bad, it's the role and persona of the character he's playing. In my opinion, he nailed it. Clay has some serious **** in his past that he is chained to and it limits him severely. He's been saved and redeemed, but the guilt of what is there is overwhelming for him. So much so that he feels like perfection is what he has to maintain to prove that he's past it. Unintentionally, he projects that expectation on to Amber as well.
Amber is running away from her past and is more of a free spirit that is initially attracted to the unusual personality of Clay. The way that there relationship develops is really sweet and I (who does not like sappy romance movies at all) really enjoyed it. She's got a mess in her past, too. She doesn't really get the who Christianity thing, but she sees there's something different about Clay and that helps her start to dig in to it more. A little more on that in a moment.
These two very different personalities have to battle their inner demons and their friend's views. There is a scene that I am so glad that they included where the day is virtually ruined by "the conversation". If you've got skeleton's in your closet, you know the one I mean. The conversation that is the hardest you'll ever have when you lay out just how messy your past is and hope and pray that the other person doesn't reject you for it.
Both characters are put into situations where temptations from their past are right back in their face. You really don't know what they are going to choose and again, the script writing here is excellent in the way the drama leaves you on the edge of your seat. I won't tell you what happens, but I fought feeling of fear and anger during these scenes... because it was so easy to see myself back there.
Their friends are somewhere between lost and just messed up. You've got a couple with a kid that's been living together for 8 years unmarried. The former frat brother and alleged friend that never really matured from that place in his life. The lady trying to give advice that's been married three times. Even a Miley Cyrus-esque party girl that seems to embody the current societal mindset. All of these are trying to influence Clay and Amber along the way. The only thing they really seemed to stay away from was a homosexual relationship.
Most people that watch this are going to fall in love with Aunt Zella. She's this sweet old lady who's husband died some time ago. She's the only one in the movie that really seems to have her head squarely on her shoulders and she acts as a moral compass for Clay. She also provides some outstanding comic relief. There are several laugh out loud moments throughout the movie.
There is only one very small point of contention that I have with the film. That would be the fact that Clay is, in essence, Evangedating. Dating someone and thinking that they will come to Christ because of your efforts or their love for you typically doesn't work. In fact, the "conversion" that they may come through in not likely to result in a real relationship with Christ. It's much more likely that it's a Pharisaical response. For more on that, please see my former life. In spite of that, the intentionality in which Clay and Amber take the time to actually get to know each other makes the situation more believable, even though it's improbable.
So, the bottom line...
The openly conservative Christian ideas to dating in this movie are going to turn a lot of people off in the first 45 minutes. BUT, the complexity of the characters takes almost the entire film to develop and is completely worth the time investment. This is not the traditional "Christian" film with characters that are too perfect and situations that work out in an unbelievable manner. My future bride and I drove 40 minutes to see Old Fashioned, and it is worth driving twice that far to see it. It's very likely that we'll see it the theater again, and we'll be one of the first in line to buy the DVD when it's released.
