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Purely Joyful Movie!

Great Film overall

Excellent adaptation.

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Anybody that dares criticize David Boyd's Home Run for being heavy-handed, preachy, or incessantly moralistic hasn't seen even a fourth of the films that belong to the recent influx of independent Christian cinema. In comparison, and just analyzing the film on the basis of it being a religious drama, the film is not at all heavy-handed, as it finally does what I've been saying films of the genre should've been doing all along; emphasizing their characters and their characters' flaws as human beings over tiresome religious themes and constant reminders that the characters are god-fearing, much like the writers, producers, and director behind the film.The film stars Scott Elrod as Cory Brand, a professional baseball player who is forced into a twelve step, rehabilitation program in his homestate of Oklahoma after numerous alcohol-related incidents have worked to damper his otherwise shining record as a ballplayer. After an impulsive comment by Cory's long-suffering agent, Cory is stuck coaching a Little League team, which just so happens to include his son as a player. Cory winds up reconnecting with his high school girlfriend, who is just disgusted at him as a person for many understandable reasons, works to start a relationship with his son after a long absence, and tries to come to terms with his father's neglectful ways.For starters, I'm almost positive Home Run doesn't even mention the word "God" or "Jesus" until about a third of the way through the film, which is an immense step in terms of subtle filmmaking for this particular genre. In addition, the film manages to understand that you can make a faith-based film without reminding the audience that you're making a faith-based film with every line of dialog. I speak not as somebody who is opposed to the utilization of such religious words, but somebody who is opposed to constant, cloying reminders of a film's faith when there are complex characters at hand.Thankfully, Boyd and the film's quartet of writers - Brian Brightly, Candace Lee, Eric Newman, and Melanie Wistar - understand this, and carefully construct one-hundred and forty-six minutes around the central character of Cory in an immensely personal light. The film shows Cory's tough battle with alcohol and how the substances command his body in such uncontrollable ways, however, makes clear that this prolific consumption isn't done to provide a buzz or a desired drunk feeling, but to heal the wounds of Cory's father, who browbeat him constantly and left him scarred and unfulfilled emotionally.Elrod does fine work as such a trouble character in the film, and with him being in frame with almost every shot in the film, he is left to do a great deal of work here, most of which he handles with a convincing persona. To further acknowledge the film's crew, however, the writers do a magnificent job at making sure the film doesn't veer off into sappy monologues or ridiculous, religious sloganeering that manifests as crucial and breakthrough insight. Instead, they're much more preoccupied with illustrating Cory's progress as a human being and a person, rather than cheapening it to fit some sort of ill-conceived faith formula.Even with these great traits that shouldn't go unnoticed, Home Run still has a few issues, which come in the form of incredulous scenarios such as Cory's interactions with his son, where one simple sentence of advice results in a game-changing hit, and discussions with Cory's high school sweetheart seem to exist just to provide annoying drama. Yet, these are easily-forgivable instances when one considers the lack of convention in terms of structure and narrative approach Home Run bears. The film has enough confidence in its story, characters, and ideas that it doesn't resort to tirelessly reminding us that this will all circumvent in a way that will allow Cory to find God, nor does it have to remind us again and again that Jesus is our lord and savior whom we must follow if we want a fulfilled life.Home Run goes off on its own tangents, illustrates its own rules, and, in turn, produces a winning display of a faith-based character study and the idea that people can indeed change. On top of that, there are just enough religious elements incorporated to assure a satisfied community church crowd, but also enough drama and character investment to appeal to a broader, far-reaching public, making Home Run the perfect family film even in a secular household. This is the kind of rare film that starts out so deep in one small subgenre that it branches out and effectively transcends boundaries to become a small film that will be appreciated by many.Starring: Scott Elrod, Dorian Brown, and Charles Henry Wyson. Directed by: David Boyd.

What people don't like is the use of God and Faith as something that provides strength. Why anyone would find this objectionable mystifies me. If you have a serious problem that affects your life and the life of your family and friends and you can stop your bad behavior by taking strength from the Lord why is that bad? It isn't. What it is is the free thinkers thinking for you. See the movie unless God makes you barf. The movie was well acted with good production. The kids are cute, the girls are cute and even the old jalopy cars have nice wheels. What I found objectionable was using the police as the bad guy. Why not use another alcoholic dad. The show was a little long and the star was just to handsome but the girls like that.

I made the mistake of not looking at a review before going to see this film. Had seen the trailer in the cinema a few weeks ago and thought my son would like it as it seemed just a simple feel good film. First clue should have been when we were the only people in the cinema. If you are a devout Christian you could like this but otherwise it will probably make you feel a mixture of awkward embarrassment and as if you have been misled. A very crude attempt to peddle the idea that all you need to do is embrace religion to get you over all your problems. The film makers by not mentioning the whole tone of the film in trailers or tag line effectively lied and I feel the only reason they did this was an attempt by the marketing people to get a bigger audience. Obviously this is a flawed approach as most people do more research that I did this time hence the empty cinema and appallingly poor box office. It is a shame because the acting was not bad and had it not been for the clumsy attempt to force a religious message down the Audience's throat it could have been enjoyable.

Home Run is a very good and very simple story; more main-stream than Facing the Giants, Fireproof, or even Courageous. It chronicles the career of a major-league baseball player whose excesses get the best of him. We watch and enjoy the repair of his life and the lives of those around him. Due to it's simplicity and perhaps audience apathy towards this genre, Home Run will likely prove to be one of the most underrated films in a long time. It is of a recent slate of Christian message movies, and carries a certain pro-Celebrate Recovery message... but to summarize it as only that would do this movie and potential viewers a tremendous disservice. Get out and see it, or at least get the DVD! It is well directed, very well produced, and has the best acting of any movie in this group. On par anything out of Hollywood.