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I had the chance to see 42, the Jackie Robinson story. I invited my mother to go with me because I knew she would enjoy it. Mom grew up around the time Robinson went through his courageous experience.
I enjoyed it as well. I like biographical films, especially if they are done accurately and feature great acting. 42 meets these criteria.
The movie has a PG-13 rating, and anyone who has any idea of what the movie is about should not be surprised by such a rating. The “N” word is used excessively throughout the show. There is an uncomfortable scene featuring Phillies manager Ben Chapman, who says this disgusting utterance in similar fashion as one calling chickens.
The details of the historic ballparks were amazing. How they replicated the Polo Grounds, where the former New York Giants played, was a thrill for this sports nut to view. The Polo Grounds featured an unusually deep center field that was uniquely designed with a square notch at straightaway center. The movie made you feel like you were sitting in the stands.
Chadwick Boseman is excellent playing Robinson. He looks like an athlete, and shows some of the attitude Robinson was known to have.
But the star of the show is obvious. Veteran actor Harrison Ford gave an incredible performance as Dodgers General Manager Branch Rickey.
Ford is not known for playing historic characters. He hasn’t done impersonations or replicated mannerisms. He made his fame yelling at robots, kissing Princess Leia, bantering with a Wookiee; or wearing a fedora, carrying a whip, hating snakes and collecting priceless artifacts while being chased by villains or a large boulder.
Playing Rickey may have placed Ford at a different level on the acting sphere. The transition is similar to Sean Connery’s, when the Scotsman collected his 1988 Oscar for his role in The Untouchables. Before playing the street cop-turned mentor for Kevin Costner’s Elliot Ness, Connery appeared to be washed up as an action movie actor, but he actually enhanced his acting career playing older roles in movies that followed The Untouchables. Perhaps this is a path Ford may take?
Ford’s Rickey appears to be true to character. Rickey comes across in the movie as a combination of shrewd businessman and Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird. In real life, he actually was a successful manager who stood tall on social issues of the day and made known his Christian faith, even more than what the film reveals.
Prince writes “I fear the moniker, ‘ferocious Christian gentleman’ sounds oxymoronic in contemporary evangelical circles where manhood is often reduced to being a nice guy and God is envisioned as a kind of cosmic smiley face. Where Christian discipleship is cheapened to generic niceness, men pursue comfort and respectability in the place of self-sacrificial ‘great experiments’ that demand ferocious Christian gentlemen.”
Men like Rickey are rare today. Not many businessmen are willing to go against culture and stand on Christian principles. As Prince states, “. . . our churches are in desperate need of some ferocious Christian gentlemen.”
The movie 42 does present the harshness of segregation our country experienced, but thankfully, the film also shows the powerful and humble stand both Robinson and Rickey take.
Let’s face it. The Christian film genre has not always had the closest table at the Golden Globes. As Christians looking for edification or Gospel tools at the theater, we have forgiven cheesy scripts, sub-par acting, and paid our fair share of money to support our tribe. Thankfully, as of late, Christian filmmakers have invested more time and resources into their projects.
“Home Run” is the latest evidence of great strides in Christian filmmaking. The story centers around Cory Brand, a major league baseball star and out-of-control bad boy. His alcoholism has led to stunts on and off the field putting his career in jeopardy. One such stunt gets him suspended and through a series of related events, Cory finds himself facing life in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, with ghosts from his past. Cory is forced to attend Celebrate Recovery, a Christ-centered 12-step program, as he faces his past, present, and future as a man struggling with alcohol addiction.
The film wholeheartedly accomplishes its main goal as a Celebrate Recovery vehicle. The program is shown in a very real and honest manner. The movie does an excellent job of exposing hurts, habits and hang-ups in many of the characters, showing that we all have struggles in life that need God’s restoration. The film also exposes the rippling effects of unchecked sin. There is great hope that Celebrate Recovery groups across the nation will see a fresh harvest of people wanting to bring their hidden and dark struggles to light.
While the direct goal is accomplished, the movie itself accomplishes a leap forward in Christian film. Lead actor Scott Elrod and actress Dorian Brown give standout performances as the story’s central characters. There are a few hokey moments in the film, but overall I enjoyed the story as well as the way it was told.
If there is a weakness to the film, it is one that falls with many movies in the Christian genre. While the movie does focus on God’s power to transform us in our addictions and struggles, there is little about the Gospel or Christ Himself. Jesus is implied in the film, but there is no real mention of Creator God, our depraved nature, justification by grace through faith, and growth in Christ through the Spirit. While Christians assume these things, and they may be offered thematically, they are not directly afforded to us in the movie.
This may be too high an expectation for what the filmmakers were hoping to accomplish. However, we do need to remember that one does not need the gospel to quit drinking, be a more committed father, let go of pornography, or win the football state championship. While many of those things can come through the transformation of the gospel in Christ, those things are not the gospel or Christ.
This is where the church comes in. Movies don’t save people. Jesus saves people. Home Run is a great way to begin a conversation about Jesus. I highly recommend it. There are many individuals who may not walk through church doors, but will gladly sit in a theater with a box of Junior Mints and a five dollar Mr. Pibb. The job of the church is to take that tool and use it for the gospel. In making a quality movie with a God-honoring message, the makers of Home Run have put an excellent arrow in the church’s quiver.
* A note regarding the movie’s PG-13 rating: I would have no qualms about taking a child as young as ten to the movie. While there are some intense moments, great care is taken to ensure it is honest without being gratuitous.
