Fireproof

(Originally posted in February 2009)

So, take a guess. Which film over the last year set box office records and made among the biggest profits of the last year? If you said "The Dark Knight," you'd be half right. The biggest surprise was the Kirk Cameron stoner comedy "Fireproof."

Nah, I'm just kidding brah. It was more of a drama than a comedy.

The truth is that when you make a movie for half a million bucks and it grosses 33 million, that's a pretty sizable return on your investment. It certainly had studios turning their head once again as they did with Mel's Passion. Critics seemed to not enjoy it much, but churches packed the theaters. Make no mistake - Joe and Suzy moviegoer probably didn't see the trailer and think to themselves "It's like Backdraft, only with that guy from Growing Pains!" No, they probably saw it on invitation from a friend who goes to church. I finally saw it for the first time on a marriage retreat over the weekend. The movies audience is so built in and preach to the choir that a retreat attendee, who when he found out I hadn't seen the movie, jokingly stated "and you call yourself a Christian?"

I guess my faith now depends on my attendance of a film. Go figure.

"Fireproof" tells the story of a firefighter (played by Kirk Cameron with surprising believability and capability) who is dedicated to his job and his co-workers, living by the mantra that he will never leave his partner behind. Yet, the partner he has committed to - his wife - is ready to leave him. His marriage is ready to collapse, and he can't put the pieces together why. The film then proceeds to tell their story.

"Fireproof" can be judged on two levels: filmmaking (or art) and message movie. Considering context and purpose in the making of any film provides the angle from which many films are judged. No one expected "Kung Fu Panda" to be "Schindler's List" and likewise no one expected a comic book movie about a man and bats to do more than entertain...but we all have our expectation breakers, don't we?

As a piece of art - "Fireproof" plain sucks. It is awkwardly paced and it contains the dubious hallmarks of Christian entertainment - melodramatic story with heavy overacting, a conversion sequence, a complete lack of subtlety (no character shows you how they are feeling, they all are required to tell us verbally as though we can't figure it our for ourselves), and poor attempts at humor (the white guy is gonna dance like he lives in the hood...Hilarious!). And don't tell me this is an issue of budget either. Plenty of independent cinema is made artfully (some would say the bigger the budget, the lesser the art) on small cash.

"Fireproof" is also too overt in its storytelling and leaves little room for the abstract. There is no room for the viewer to apply the movie as they see it, it tells you what it wants you to feel and how you should feel about it. Visually, the cinematography is awful. Camera angles are flat and lack depth (there may be memorable sequences, but not much could be said of lasting images), and the film lacks any visual identity. The camera does not enhance the story or characters, it lazily watches them. The music is syrupy in places with "Third Day" garbage type alternative songs, and it features not 1, but multiple montages with some "rockin" tunes. Last, some of the stereotypes bordered on offensive (why do all the black women in the movie say "mmhmm" at the end of every sentence?).

But...

The movie is actually refreshing as a message. I recognize the film's context: it was not made to be 8 1/2: the sequel. It was clearly made to preach a message, and as a sermon it has many bright spots. It features a compelling dilemma - if your marriage sucks, why? What can you do about it? The movie has a linear purpose and point that you will either appreciate or not - it's that simple.

Also refreshing is that "Fireproof" not only presents a dilemma, but it gives the viewer a resource to try out should they share the dilemma (provided you can go pick it up for 15 more bucks at your local bookstore). It is nice to hear some practical "try this" advice. I think having a tangible step for couples to take is greatly beneficial.

Last, if anything you view in life has a clear purpose to help resuscitate your marriage, it can't be all bad right? Same goes with the movie. To watch it means that like any sermon, you are expected to talk about it with those around you afterwards. I liked that.

So where does it leave things at the end of the day? Is it a movie? A sermon? I think it tries to be both, but it miserably fails at the art part. I still have to admire that it is independent filmmaking - the church that made the film obviously believes in their vision and they are financing something they believe in with little studio insider influence. Like it or not, that is the spirit of independent cinema.

Yet, it makes me sad that Christians still struggle to make compelling cinema. There seems to be a distrust in the audience, that if the message is not so specific and overt, they won't get it. If the content is not free of reality - the fact that real people sometimes use "bad" words, have sex outside of marriage, etc - then the message is somehow obstructed. Nor is the other side true, that all films must contain a certain degree of despicable acts in order to be believable.

It saddens me that we don't have much in the way of compelling art that glorifies God. Remember - Christianity used to be at the forefront of art in the classical sense - the majestic chapels built and canvassed around the world, the beautiful music of Bach, etc. Not much can be said now.

It is not to say that "Fireproof" is entirely without merit or purpose. Many individuals have and will see the film and be inspired to do something about their marriage. No amount of crappy movie making in the world could argue against that. It just sets the tone for more uninteresting films that do little to enhance their message beyond the target audience.

For the reader - what films would you recommend that meet the balance of artful yet spiritually relevant? I am curious as to what you would suggest...