Plot Summary
Grace has had her share of heartache when it comes to romantic relationships. She feels like men have played games with her heart, even though she desperately wants to find the right man to spend the rest of her life with. She looks to her parents for guidance, but she also wants to be her own woman. After she finally hits rock bottom when a man treats her in a way she does not feel is appropriate, she decides to make changes in her life and to stop seeking men. Little does she know that true love could be right around the corner.
Production Quality (1 point)
The production of Princess Cut is its one redeeming quality, but that still isn’t saying much. The video quality is clear and the camera work is passable, except for in-shot zooming. The editing is decent, but the sound quality is the biggest detractor here. Many scenes are obviously overdubbed because of the lack of a boom mic. Some sound is hard to hear and there are quite a few musical montages that cover up what could have been valuable dialogue. Also, the sets are severely limited; too much content takes place off screen. In short, we realize that Princess Cut had a very small budget, but it seems like more could have been done here.
Plot and Storyline Quality (.5 point)
There is an underlying philosophy in this plot that is slightly commendable, but there are so many negative issues. Good principles of dating are talked about, but they are also forced down the throats of the audience through robotic paragraph dialogue. Also shoved in the viewers’ faces is a far right Christian-ese worldview based on patriarchy, matronly women’s roles, anti-psychology ideals, and self-help books. The female characters are portrayed as empty-headed and clueless. ‘Bad’ characters are over-the-top strawmen. As previously mentioned, there is no real dialogue that builds the characters—most of the time, the characters seem to be reading self-help books verbatim. The plot is choppy and leaves out many key parts, some of which are made up for with extremely awkward and strange dialogue. Intended humor falls flat. In summary, this plot contains only a small amount of positive amid a conglomerate of strange philosophies and robotic characters.
Acting Quality (.5 point)
We felt like there was some potential in this cast—Rusty Martin Sr. and his son has both demonstrated good acting skills before—but it was not tapped in Princess Cut. Ashley Bratcher seems like a good actress, but she is not given any help. Unfortunately, most of the line delivery is emotionless and very stodgy. If coaching had been employed, the acting quality could have improved.
Conclusion
It’s great that more independent Christian film-makers are making movies and are able to make them, but what is the cost of these sorts of films? Princess Cut portrays Christians as living in their own bubble, owning a farm that the men run while the women slave away in the kitchen all day and knit. People outside of this bubble are portrayed as bad, and psychology is a definite no-no. Yet at the same time, the Bible is not given near as much attention in this film as self-help book product placements. What type of philosophy is exactly being espoused here? It is wonderful to portray healthy dating, but if you’re looking for that, we highly recommend Old-Fashioned, not Princess Cut.
Final Rating: 2 out of 10 points
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The characters in this movie are almost caricatures of what people think conservative Christians are like. If this wasn’t from a Christian filmmaker I would think it was some kind of elaborate parody. If it was a parody it wouldn’t even be a good one because it isn’t that funny.
Besides this issue this movie also follows the same generic plot structure as every romance ever made. It goes like this: guy and girl are thrown together and like each other for some reason never really explained. Eventually something happens to break up their relationship (usually a secret from the past or some argument) but they always get back together in time for the perfect ending. The overuse of this formula is even worse here because this movie is supposed to be different, a Christian take on romance and dating. Instead it is more of the same made even worse by zero meaningful dialogue or character building. The creators want Christians to watch this instead of mainstream romances but give them zero actual reason to do so.
Although ostensibly very conservative and fundamental, this film does not point viewers towards Scripture or try to explain God’s model for relationships. Instead the characters read self help books and then suddenly become perfect “Christians.”
A final point is that the movie’s treatment of secular characters is totally ridiculous. I am not convinced that the writers have ever met someone who is not an ultra fundamental Christian. These characters are sure to alienate any non believers who may attempt to watch this as well as anyone else who lives in the real world, Christian or not.
I would be embarrassed to show this to someone as an example of a Christian movie both because of its low quality writing and its bizarre depiction of Christians. Once again I am highly disappointed by a movie claiming to be Christian.
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I agree with everything that you said, including the last paragraph. I would NEVER recommend this movie to anyone. Especially a nonbeliever as it portrays the message that one can be a better Christian through good works. That was my main problem with the film, the characters do not seem to need God in order to be happy. The women are treated as servants instead of people who know their own minds, while the men are the masters. Feminists would have a heyday with this film and use it against Christians. And I can’t say that I would blame them.
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