The Good, The Bad and The Critic

Established on March 19th, 2012 and pioneered by film fanatic Michael J. Carlisle. The Good, The Bad and The Critic will analyze classic and contemporary films from all corners of the globe. This title references Sergei Leone's influential spaghetti western The Good, The Bad and the Ugly.

Saturday, August 27, 2016

Grace Unplugged (2013) Review- By Michael J. Carlisle


Title: Grace Unplugged
Director: Brad J. Silvermann
Year: 2013
Country: US
Language: English

To avoid controversy, many Christian Directors play it safe; sticking to more traditional and favoured opinions, rather that asking questions and seeking alternative answers. Director Brad J. Silvermann’s newest picture Grace Unplugged strongly leans toward the safe side.

The film stars AJ Michalka as Grace Trey, a devout church-goer who wishes to be a pop star just like her father. With some help, Grace eventually reaches the stardom she has always wanted. However, with each step into the spotlight there is more pressure to compromise her values and strain her relationship with God. Will Grace reject her faith or grow stronger?

Grace Unplugged strives really hard to be a traditional Christian movie, the kind that would be recommended on your local church bulletin board. Unfortunately because of this it loses its artistic soul. The drama never picks up any steam. Whenever Grace's problems do grow they are quickly resolved in the next scene. There is no real "crisis of faith"  (regardless of how hard AJ Michalka attempts to chew the scenery) just first world problems.
 
The Director has made a film that is overly sentimental, preachy and terribly made. The acting is atrocious; I’ve been more moved by a blind monkey with Tourette’s than AJ Michalka. The characters are poorly written, it's honestly hard to care about anybody in this picture. The supposedly "dark" and "suspenseful" moments of Grace Unplugged are laughably uneventful. 

The film doesn’t even skim the surface of Christian philosophy and it doesn't give a legitimate or engaging view of "crisis of faith" (see Calvary for a great Christian film). Grace Unplugged might work as kiddie fodder, but  but as a serious work it needs to be vastly improved.

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