"Fireproof is an excellent film that makes marriage commitment real and attainable with Christ's grace." ~ Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz, Archbishop of Louisville
If anyone has trouble viewing the video above, here is a link to the website where you can view the movie trailer.
Fireproof comes out today on DVD, and looks like a thought-provoking movie! If any of our readers have seen this movie, please comment and let us know your thoughts!
12 comments:
Too much petty stuff is going on in marriage. Too many women are shutting down and turning to cleaning as a way to control things that do not matter.
When Jesus called Peter and the disciples or when the angel asked Mary to be the Mother of Jesus, did they grab the clorox to start cleaning to be worthy or to escape what they had to do?
Jeanne, I had never thought of blaming Clorox for the disintegration of modern marriages : )
Argh, I just typed up a comment and it was lost in cyberspace. So frustrating. Here I go again, take 2:
Is it just me, or do movies like this make others cringe? Maybe I've just seen too many cheesy Kurt Cameron films in my time to give it another try. I know Kurt Cameron is a very admirable Hollywood movie star, sacrificing his career for his Christian worldview, but the cheese factor seems pretty high. Has anyone seen this movie? Is it good?
I assume these sorts of films have a wide appeal. Maybe I'm overly critical, but why is it that most overtly Christian films lack something in their artistic expression? There are obvious examples where this is not the case, such as The Passion, but overall, I find these sorts of films very difficult to watch, somewhat cliche, and embarrassing to show to anyone who doesn't already completely agree with my worldview. Keep in mind, I have not seen this film, but am basing my opinion on past experiences with Christian movies/art. I'd love for someone here to say they have watched this film and it is fantastic. I'm just skeptical.
Does anyone else feel this way?
First of all, I'm not a huge fan of clorox, my husband actually asked me to buy it and use it, but anyway.
Second, I haven't see Fireproof, but several women I know have seen it and enjoyed it despite the fact that it was cheesy. Movies about marriage or romance tend to be either hostile to the institution (Revolutionary Road coming out soon) or too raunchy, so I think people are willing to put up with some cheese. Did you know that Kirk Cameron actually used his wife as a kissing double so he wouldn't have to kiss another woman?
Third, Right said Red, I have a few Christian or faith-based movies that I found subtle, artistic, and funny that are not cheesy and provide good post-movie analysis. Henry Poole is Here is about an atheists who moves into a house and his catholic neighbor discovers a water stain that looks like the face of Christ. Lots of interplay between faith and science as well as some comedy and romance. My only annoyance with the movie is the love interest sometimes wears some low-cut tops, but there is no bad language, sex or violence to worry about. Another one is The Happening directed by M. Night Shaymalan. It is a disturbing movie and incredible violent (Not exactly a date night movie), but that is partly because it is an allegory for abortion and the culture of death. One more movie with Christian themes is an older Hugh Grant movie called Extreme Measures which is violent, but discusses the problems with letting the ends justify the means. I have more but I am taking up too much room.
I haven't seen it but many friends with various degrees of cheese acceptance have loved it. Then again, I sometimes think we are so starved for movies that support our values that we will declare a movie "good" when it passes a certain moral threshold. I for one have sort of given up on movies, but did just get Netflix for Christmas....so keep the recommendations coming and I will fill up my que! A lot of people have recommended a movie to me called "Arranged". It is about 2teachers, a jew and a muslim, both committed to living their faith's teachings and how it serves as a common bond against the prevailing culture.
Sorry, I'm totally missing the Clorox connection -- is it in the movie?
Gabrielle,
No, it is not. Our Tampa friend is a frequent commentor on this blog and she loves to tell us all about the evils of cleaning ;-) Apparently, cleanliness ruins marriages?
Thought this Catholic Review of the movie was interesting: http://catholicmediareview.blogspot.com/2009/01/fireproof-review-good-bad-and-ugly.html
Erin,
Thanks for the GREAT link. I couldn't agree more with his sentiments about Christian movies. He said what I was trying to say, but he did so much better.
Ok, Bella has no cheese and can be shown to those who don't agree with my worldview. I completely agree with what you had to say, Red. I am usually embarassed to show such movies to friends outside the Catholic/Christian bubble. Same with a lot of Christian music; actually, I can't stand most of it except for the stuff that's around 500 years old. I'm Canadian and we Canucks can always tell a Canadian TV production in comparison to an American one. The Canadian ones are just, well, lacking and kind of hokey. Sadly the same often goes for Christian productions. Sigh.
I did see this movie when it was released, mostly because a group of friends was going and thinking that we needed to show up so it would have a longer run in the theatre. Here on Long Island, an overtly "Christian" movie such as Fireproof doesn't have much staying power in the theatres.
That being said, I was surprised at the ,not only Christian, but Catholic view of marriage that this movie presented. The message of marriage requiring sacrifice... in the same spirit that Christ Himself sacrificed, is a message that needs to be heard and this film brings that out in a fairly entertaining way. Yes, it was cheesy to be sure. Many of the "actors" were not professionals and participated in this as a labor of love, not for money. I would compare this to a mediocre Hallmark Hall of Fame movie as far as acting, writing and all those other categories "the academy" looks at. Unfortunately, I have to agree, that I wouldn't be comfortable recommending this, say ,to be shown in our pre-cana program. As much as this message needs to be heard, young couples today,in my 13 years of pre-cana experience, would not be able to get past the cheesiness.
I do know of several married couples (20 years married or more) who bought the companion book and are taking the Love Dare featured in the movie.
I don't know if anyone will check this since it is an older post, but I rented Fireproof. The acting wasn't great, but I thought the problems in their marriage were very real. I think the reason why this movie is important is it really focuses on a serious problem in our culture. Internet Pornography, and one man's real struggle to fight against it.
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