Monday's episode of Messy Mondays was sponsored by the movie I'm Not Ashamed, which comes out this Friday. This was the first time Messy Mondays had ever been sponsored by a movie, so we were really interested to see how the response would be. I played a small part in the episode along with Masey McLane and Ben Davies (who are awesome by the way). They both starred in the film, so it was really cool to get to meet them and see how down-to-earth they are.
After the episode of Messy Mondays was posted, I scrolled through the comments and I saw a lot of great feedback and excitement about the movie, but I also saw a few fairly negative comments that had an overall feel of "It's a Christian film so it's probably bad." Which, I mean, if you generally don't like Christian movies, I can see how you could be drawn to comment that, even if it's an overtly general assumption. However, what got me the most was that some comments even went into detail about why they dislike the movie so much. I have to say that my reaction to those specific comments was something like this:
"It's not even out yet! How do you have such a detailed opinion on a movie
that you haven't even seen? Even to the point that you make a public announcement about it?"
I know, anyone is entitled to have an opinion on if they want to see a movie or not, but I was just honestly confused by the fact that multiple people thought it was appropriate, and even a good idea, to dish out detailed criticism while making broad assumptions about a movie they haven't even seen yet. Now, for sponsorship purposes, Jordan and I did have the opportunity to watch the movie before it released; so I thought that, because I've seen the movie, I could give you guys more of an informed opinion about what I thought about it and how I think it compares to a lot of other films within the Christian genre.
Before I dive in, I should first say that I like Christian movies. I can admit that they're often low budget and cheesy, but so are Hallmark Christmas movies and I like those too. Sometimes it's not about how awesome a movie looks or how witty it is that makes it good. Sometimes an uplifting, but slightly cheesy story is just what I want to watch. Isn't that the great thing about stories? They can be a little silly and still be great. However, with all that being said, I wouldn't put I'm Not Ashamed into the "cheesy Christian movie" category.
Before I dive in, I should first say that I like Christian movies. I can admit that they're often low budget and cheesy, but so are Hallmark Christmas movies and I like those too. Sometimes it's not about how awesome a movie looks or how witty it is that makes it good. Sometimes an uplifting, but slightly cheesy story is just what I want to watch. Isn't that the great thing about stories? They can be a little silly and still be great. However, with all that being said, I wouldn't put I'm Not Ashamed into the "cheesy Christian movie" category.
I'm Not Ashamed is a film about Rachel Joy Scott who was a victim of the Columbine Shooting in 1999. The script is based on the true story of Rachel's life leading up to the school shooting, taken from her personal journals. First off, I just want to say I was surprised by the movie. It really wasn't what I was expecting at all. I don't really know what I was expecting going into it, but I was definitely surprised coming out. Even though the story is surrounded by the tragedy of Columbine, it seems to be happening in the background which gives the viewer a feeling of innocence to the upcoming event. As the viewer, you are immersed in Rachel's life and almost forget that there is a tragedy forming in the background. It's easy to think that this movie is about death, but it's actually about life and struggles and relationships.
My favorite thing about the movie is that it's incredibly relatable and real. It shows that accepting Jesus doesn't make our lives suddenly easier. As Christians, we still have to live in the world with pain and confusion like everyone else and this movie makes that very apparent. You see that after Rachel accepts Jesus in her life, she then finds herself struggling to live her old life as a new person. But through it all, holding to her faith, she impacted others in ways she probably never thought possible. Overall it was just really interesting to finally watch a movie that portrays the Christian faith as not suddenly rainbows and sunshine as soon as you accept Jesus. Like I said, it really shows the struggle she had with her faith while in high school, and this struggle makes her one of the more relatable characters I've ever seen in a film within the Christian genre.
If you are skeptical or have any preconceived opinions about this movie, I would highly suggest putting them down and, at the very least, giving this movie a chance. You might just be surprised.
If you are skeptical or have any preconceived opinions about this movie, I would highly suggest putting them down and, at the very least, giving this movie a chance. You might just be surprised.
