Plot Summary
Since Pastor Randy Michaels’ inner-city church is being shuttered by the ministry organization that runs it, he and his family are being reassigned to a small town across the country in Arizona. Though reluctant to go at first, the Michaels family arrives to meet strange and eccentric characters that pique their interest in the town. They soon find that they have a greater purpose for being there than they ever thought.
Production Quality (2 points)
As one of those secular-company-tries-to-make-a-Christian-movie-to-make-some-money gigs, Fishes ‘n Loaves: Heaven Sent, one of the most awkwardly-titled films ever, has a fine production. Though there is some random shaky camera work throughout, other elements are fine, including video quality and audio quality, even though the soundtrack is silly. Though some sets and locations are slightly limited, they are not all bad, and props are realistic. The editing is a pretty standard job, but then again, most of this film was taken from the inspirational film factory. Thus, there is nothing creative to speak of here.
Plot and Storyline Quality (0 points)
This oddly-titled film rips off the old standby plot in which an offbeat pastor and his family gets reassigned to a struggling church in an eccentric small town in the middle of nowhere that’s filled with off-the-wall, goofy characters that are trying way too hard to be comedic. I’m just surprised there’s no save-the-church elements here. Basically, this so-called comedy is extremely forced and plastic, mostly due to very juvenile dialogue. There is really no conflict to speak of as the story meanders along in pointless and purposeless ways. Random things happen to check plot boxes and then the movie is mercifully over, leaving no impression whatsoever on the viewer. The Christian message that is forced in is very cheesy and unfeeling, which is no surprise considering this is a secular cash-grab. The only thing left to ponder is why this is even a movie at all.
Acting Quality (1 point)
Though there are some okay moments throughout that keep this section from being worthless, most of the time, this cast seems to be competing for who can have the most screen time. They are all very impressed with themselves, especially the lead actor, and appear to be auditioning for better roles in other films. A lot of them have questionable and weird accents and many of them look like they just got rejected from a Hallmark casting call. Again I ask, why is this a movie?
Conclusion
Whoever pitched this idea was probably rejected by Hallmark and possibly UP for total ineptitude, even by Hallmark standards. The rating does not reflect how empty this film really is. Were it not for the strangely high amount of funding, this film would be a total wash. Even so, it still takes its place in the basement of Christian film, so why bother with more money? Many audiences will see through this blatant and very poorly executed pandering to Christians.
Final Rating: 3 out of 10 points
Box Office Revolution 