Plot Summary
Faith Scott and her uncle Donny live in the struggling small town of Clifton, Tennessee. Everything’s closing down in town, and people are either strapped for cash or leaving the area. Thus, the theater that has been in their family for years is on the brink of foreclosure, which is the delight of the evil local businessman Peter Marsh. Thus, Faith and Donny decide to schedule a desperation attempt to save the theater: a Christmas in June show featuring big names in Christian music. Will it be enough to save the theater and even the town from extinction?
Production Quality (2 points)
The good thing for Chip Rossetti is that he has shown great production improvement over his movie career. This fact is also evident in Saving Faith, as evidenced by great video quality and camera work. Sets, locations, and props are mostly fine, if not a little quaint. However, the soundtrack can be too loud at times, and there are a handful of unnecessary background sounds, as well as some cheesy sound effects and special effects. Moreover, the editing is pretty good, thus rounding out a slightly above-average production.
Plot and Storyline Quality (0 points)
Unfortunately, there is little to nothing creative about the plot of Saving Faith as it follows a stereotypical save the _____ with a holiday show plotline. The progression of the story is very predictable, as are the characters involved. A good portion of the characters are also cheesy and generally eccentric, such as the head-scratching Elvis character (no, it’s not The Rev). The villain is also ridiculous and over the top; each character fits into a predetermined small-town mold: the local eccentric, the local business owner, and the local evil bank guy. While there are some attempts to have a good Christian message, all the problems are very easily solved in the end. The romantic subplot is also awkwardly predictable. In short, there aren’t many positives to note here.
Acting Quality (1 point)
For the most part, the acting of this film is awkward and overplayed. It is at least good to see Jenn Gotzon and Jim Chandler star opposite each other as a couple. There are some good moments in this cast, but for the most part, unfortunately, it is mostly bland or silly. Thus, this rounds out an unfortunately disappointing and pedestrian film.
Conclusion
There truly is little point in constantly perpetuating this same small-town narrative over and over and over again. If we need more of that, we can always watch Hallmark. There is no creativity or authenticity in this concept, unless a film maker wants to explore some legitimate reasons behind collapsing small towns. Constantly making movies about the ‘good old days’ in the name of Christian film is disingenuous and worn out.
Final Rating: 3 out of 10 points
Box Office Revolution 