Review of Fireproof (2008) by Chad H — 16 Dec 2010

Let me give a little background before I go into the review for this movie, something you may not know about me. I'm a Christian. My parents have been Southern Baptists their whole lives, and I was born and raised in church my whole life. I haven't been as stout in my faith recently as I would like to be, but I still believe. So throughout my lifetime, I've been exposed to a good bit of Christian media, like this movie. In fact, my parents dragged me to see this one night at my theater. This is important, cause I have something to say about this movie, and movies like it.

Now, Fireproof is the story of firefighter Caleb Holt and his wife Catherine. Their marriage has been struggling lately, and they seem trapped in a loveless relationship. Then one day Catherine utters those dreaded four words: "I want a divorce." Caleb at first seems content with letting her go. But after being urged by his father to try to salvage it, he seeks assistance from God and a little book called The Love Dare (now a real book sold in Christian bookstores throughout the country, thanks to this movie) to help save the relationship, before it's too late.

I've always felt bad about not liking these movies because of its message. It's an important message, and one that needs to be heard especially in today's society. But unfortunately, it's buried in a very flawed film.

The film was made by a large church in Georgia. I'm impressed with what they were able to do, and that they were able to actually make a movie. But there are just so many problems with it. First, the acting is cheesy and just not very good at all. The only professional, or recognizable, actor here is Kirk Cameron. His performance may be the best, but that's not saying much. Every performance is bland and the characters are uninteresting. I was never emotionally invested in these characters and their struggle, and I wanted and needed to be.

It doesn't help that the dialogue these actors are given isn't very good in the first place. The script is just slow and boring and the dialogue cliche and uninteresting. Our main character is a firefighter, can we get some action and excitement to break up the drama? Sure, we are given a few scenes along those lines, but I never felt like the scenarios carried any weight or that the characters were actually in any danger. By the film's conclusion, you just don't care.

What is good about the film is its message. It's a good one, and an important one about at least trying to save your marriage and relationships, rather than just losing hope. But here's the thing: the people that need to hear it aren't the ones that are going to watch this.

Christian films as a whole are generally considered subpar to other mainstream films, usually because they are. It doesn't help that these films are usually obviously and overtly Christian in nature, so non-Christians who may need to hear this message are repelled immediately. It's also squeaky clean in nature, as most Christian films are. One of the factors in the downfall of their marriage is Caleb's reliance on porn. It's never called that (only referred to as "the computer", but it's pretty obvious what it is. Don't be afraid to take some risks.

This is further reinforced by the audience that saw this film with me and my family. I recognized every single person from church. Not one single person I didn't know was a Christian. So what is the point of the film if you aren't reaching anyone with it? The entire film feels like a dramatized sermon, but it's being preached to the choir. So in the end, what we have is an inaccessible film for the church going crowd with a message that's buried under numerous flaws.

I wanna challenge the Christian filmmakers out there. Good intentions and a good message aren't enough for a good movie. If you want to reach anyone, first get a good script. Write a movie that's interesting with characters we can care about to reinforce your message. Second, be willing to take a few risks, and don't be as overt with your message. Sure, it needs to feature a lot of Christian themes and dialogue, but don't make it as in your face as this. Make something that will appeal to people beyond the church-going crowd. Then maybe we can reach someone.

But for now, we have to settle for Fireproof. I would recommend it to anyone who is going through some problems with their marriage right now. Maybe it could help. But for everyone else, unless you're a die hard Christian, you can give it a pass.