Plot Summary
Christy has always had a dream, since she was a little girl, of growing up, getting married, and having beautiful children. But her dream is shattered time and again when she cannot get pregnant and she is told that she will never have children. Thus, her and her husband look into adoption, even though they want to have a child of their own. But as they journey together on the path God is taking them on, they find out that God has something in store for them that they could have never anticipated.
Production Quality (2.5 points)
American Family Studios has always demonstrated a commitment to high quality productions. In Paper Dream, nearly every production element is great, including video quality, camera work, and audio quality. The soundtrack could be a little more creative, but it’s fine as it is. Sets, locations, and props are also professional. The only negative factor to bring up is the editing and the runtime of this film, as it is far too short while at the same time includes too much wasted content. But overall, this is an example of what Christian productions should look like.
Plot and Storyline Quality (.5 point)
As usual, Jeremy and Kendra White present a realistic story that is accessible and heartwarming. However, they don’t go near as far as they could with the story and leave a lot of subplots underdeveloped. With only 45 minutes of time, as previously mentioned, there is still time wasted on pointless montages and dead-end conversations. Due to time constraints and these conversations, the characters are quite shallow. There is too much reliance on narration, yet this film makes an interesting point that really hits home. The ending is unexpected and refreshing, but there is little to no build up. Basically, we need more from this film—more character development, more realistic dialogue, more explored subplots. We can see the merit in making a short film to begin a career, but they were so close to something great.
Acting Quality (1.5 points)
For a mostly amateur cast, their performances are good, but they are still average due to some errors that hold them back. For example, some cast members are overly practiced in their acting and awkward in their delivery. However, they are sometimes fine and demonstrate great potential. With better coaching, they could be dynamic.
Conclusion
The good thing about Paper Dream is that it is a freshman effort and we can see that Jeremy and Kendra White went on to do greater things with Summer Snow. Still, it’s frustrating to see so much potential left lying on the proverbial playing field. But nonetheless, we know that Jeremy and Kendra know how to make a good film and will likely make another memorable project like Summer Snow in the future. Hopefully they have been able to build off of Paper Dream to make a greater difference in the Christian entertainment world. We anticipate what they have to offer next.
Final Rating: 4.5 out of 10 points
Box Office Revolution 