Common Sense Media Review
By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Modern Scrooge regains his Christian values in awful tale.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 10+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
By God's Grace
What's the Story?
BY GOD'S GRACE, a Christian-themed movie targeting a faith-based audience, retells Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Nice Christian boy Chris Taylor (Cameron Deane Stewart) turns ruthless, selfish, and rude after the death of his parents and young sister on Christmas Eve. He barks at the gardener, tosses his mother's best friend out on the street, withdraws his family's long-standing support of a local orphanage, disses old friends, fires his father's best friend from the family air transport company on Christmas Eve, and spews a generally bah-humbug view of Christmas and the God who let his family die. Along comes his 10-year-old dead sister, Grace, to take him on a tour of his past and present and what will be his miserable future if he doesn't straighten up and fly right. Chris/Scrooge turns around and hastens to right his wrongs all in one day, in time for a happy Christmas ending.
Is It Any Good?
A movie this poorly written, acted, and directed gives the impression that religious families must be willing to put up with inferior quality. Grace (played by the adorable Savannah McReynolds) holds forth in platitude-heavy homilies. Conversations with her brother devolve into a series of nonsequiturs. One such talk starts with her pinpointing his new need for being the center of attention. He responds, "I earned it." She acts as if that made sense and says, "That's important to you, isn't it?" and he replies, "There's no such thing as a free lunch." Or, "Our actions, good and bad, are the result of how people treat us. Good equals good, and good can make up for bad." Chris protests, "Grace, I don't think I can take much more of this." Others may feel the same.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about whom the filmmakers made this movie for. Do you think a viewer would have to have certain beliefs to enjoy it?
What are some of the challenges filmmakers might face transforming literary material, such as a Dickens' novel, into a movie?
Do you think it would be difficult to turn a story written in 1843 into a modern story that would appeal to audiences today? How would you do it?
How does this version compare to other presentations of A Christmas Carol?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : November 11, 2014
- Cast : Cameron Deane Stewart , Savannah McReynolds
- Director : Brett Eichenberger
- Studio : Leonian
- Genre : Fantasy
- Run time : 83 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : May 11, 2021
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