Plot Summary
Caleb Hogan has always been torn between his parents and their differing belief systems. He finally convinces his lawyer mother to fund a semester at Patrick Henry College for him, even though they hold beliefs contrary to hers. Interested in law himself, Caleb joins the mock trial team and begins working with Rachel Morton, a somewhat stodgy girl whom he likes but cannot date right away due to her standards. They begin to have a conflict over the moot court topic: overturning Roe vs. Wade. Caleb is unsure of the college’s insistence on full overturn, especially as he and Rachel work as interns at his mother’s firm while they take on an abortion case in real life. In the end, one worldview must win out in Caleb’s mind and heart.
Production Quality (.5 point)
Come What May is obviously an amateur film, but it didn’t have to be this bad. While the video quality is okay, there is really nothing else good to say, unfortunately. The makeup jobs on each actor are poor. The camera work is stock, and the lighting and sound quality are very inconsistent. The sets are quite limited, which can be expected, but the outdoor scenes rarely have sound. Finally, the editing is poor—some scenes are very confusing and others last too long. However, this may also be due to a lack of good content. Overall, it is hard to justify this movie’s existence if for the production alone.
Plot and Storyline Quality (.5 point)
Patrick Henry College is supposed to be an expert on winning moot court championships, and make sure to not let the audience forget their greatness in their own brand of product placements throughout the movie. However, if they are so good, then they should at least get their facts straight. They do not. There are multiple moot court championship inaccuracies and untrue facts, including having a former Supreme Court justice judge the final round. It is great to have a pro-life message, but it comes off very abrasive and preachy, like the creators are trying to force things down your throat. Some arguments used for the pro-life worldview are so off-the-wall that Box Office Revolution does not support them. As previously mentioned, there are plenty of unnecessary scenes, and offbeat amateurish dialogue litters the film. To top things off, this movie reinforces negative Christian stereotypes by purporting strange views of the roles of women in society. The ‘bad’ characters are caricatures, with the exception of one character, who has an interesting enough arc to save this plot from garnering zero points. In short, while we need more pro-life films on the market, Come What May only hurts the cause.
Acting Quality (.5 point)
This cast must be given a break since they are all mostly inexperienced. It is great to find new actors for Christian films instead of using the same ones over and over again, but coaching needs to be provided. There is poor emotional delivery and wooden acting throughout this film. In short, though these was some potential, the acting only serves to further hurt this movie’s case.
Conclusion
Overall, Come What May is a very bad presentation of the otherwise important pro-life issue. It would have been one thing to have average production and average acting combined with a strong plot, but none of this happened. The creators manipulated reality to suit their own means, filled the movie with their bizarre brand of Christianity, and generally did everything possible to force this movie to happen without thinking about the overarching consequences. Social issues need to be showcased in Christian films, but Come What May only serves as an example of how not to go about it.
Final Rating: 1.5 out of 10 points
Box Office Revolution 