What is it about modern-day Christians that causes many of us to be attracted to stories that are contrived? Why are films being made for us by companies like Fox Faith that are not real, the way we supposedly say our faith is? Christian novels, such as The Shack, are alarmingly artificial; so are Christian children's books. Are we so shallow, unimaginative and inexperienced at life and art that we cannot do better than to fulfill the meaning of the word contrived: "obviously planned or forced; artificial; strained?"

Does that say something about us and our faith?

This latest film from Fox Faith, the Christian production arm of Fox, is a great example. They say they are producing "movies you can believe in." In the case of The Ultimate Gift, I don't think so. I really wanted to like it, too, because it was highly rated on many web sites, was full of good actors, and had a basic concept by blind writer Jim Stovall that wasn't half-bad. But the script is bad.

When a writer - Cheryl McKay, in this case, working off Jim Stovall's book - is compelled to put adult language in the mouth of a child in order to make her seem cute - which happens in the case of Abigail Breslin, who plays Emily Rose - you know you're in trouble. I was sick of her adult-sounding cuteness by the end of the film. As a matter of fact, not only do the words not fit the character, but Breslin is way over-acting. She may have been good in Little Miss Sunshine and Nim's Island, but she is next to terrible here. Wearing dark lipstick and carrying an open, pink umbrella doesn't help either. I don't care if leukemia victims actually do those sorts of things, they did not make her character any more convincing or likable.

So, Breslin all but ruined the film for me. The only things that saved it were the performances by some of the other actors: the understated performance by Drew Fuller as Jason Stevens, the young man that is trying to earn his dead grandfather's inheritance by fulfilling a battery of quests; the outstanding job by Bill Cobbs as Mr. Theophillis Hamilton, Jason's grandfather's lawyer, partner and friend; and the elegant portrayal by Lee Meriwether of Miss Hastings, Mr. Hamilton's secretary. Other than a handful of typically solid character actors, such as Brian Dennehy, most of the rest of the cast is rather amateurish, and some are quite annoying. All the portrayals of "Southerners" are so stereotypical they're sickening.

The disappointing script and amateurish acting of the supporting cast, and especially the overacting of Abigail Breslin, speaks to the lack of experience of director Michael O. Sajbel. He only had five films under his belt when he took this one on, and his last was the embarrassingly unbiblical, adolescent film One Night With The King (2006). I will say one thing: The Ultimate Gift is an improvement over that piece of fluff. And something else: production company Dean River Productions has given the film some very strong production values. (They were also the "hired guns" on Billy Graham's The Climb and Bobby Jones: Stroke Of Genius.)

But what we're really talking about here is a glorified Hallmark film. This is TV fare, not theatrical. We don't expect much from made-for-TV movies; we do from theatrical ones. There is just no realistic substance to The Ultimate Gift, just as there was none in One Night With The King. Had these been fantasies, that would have been fine. But these are both realistic stories, and neither holds up under the most liberal scrutiny. While the very idea of fulfilling a series of quests in order to receive an inheritance is contrived, the film need not have been, had the characters been real people, rather than stereotypes; and had the script and film not been filled with so many cliches.

As with a person, substance is what makes a story good. Shallowness, lack of imagination, contrivance, stereotypes and cliches - these are the signs of a creative spirit that is anything but. It is folly for Christians to continue churning out books and movies of this sort. What they are doing is creating an image of Christians as superficial, artificial people because that is how our films and novels are. Someone with a godly, biblical standard and the vision to go with it needs to step up to the plate and start swinging. Is there anyone like that out there?

I can't help repeating CS Lewis' oft quoted take on Christian books and films: "We don't need more people writing 'Christian books' [but] what we need is more Christians writing good books. - CS Lewis

Amen to that. It almost deserves an altar call.

Waitsel Smith, June 5, 2008

Text © 2008 Waitsel Smith. Image © 2007 20th Century Fox. All Rights Reserved.