I'm A Sucker For Movies Like "Touchback"

Touchback (2011)

Rated PG-13

Starring Brian Presley, Kurt Russell, Melanie Lynskey, Christine Lahti, Marc Blucas, Sarah Wright

Written and Directed by Don Handfield

The Story:

Scott (Presley) was a lock for college football greatness and possibly beyond. It all came crashing down 15 years earlier on the last play of a the championship game when his leg was shattered. Now, struggling to make ends meet as a farmer, he's refusing to acknowledge what used to be because of how painful it is. He then makes the realization that he's worth more to his wife (Lynsky) and children dead than alive, and decides to take fate into his own hands. However, he awakens to find himself with another shot at making his life different, 15 years earlier. All he has to do is not get hurt in the game and his future is set.

Of course he then begins to realize that his new future may not include his wife and he sets out on a course to win her over before the big game.

Add equal parts It's A Wonderful Life, The Family Man and Mr. Destiny with a touch of football, and you've got Touchback.

As I mention in the title, I'm a sucker for these kinds of movies.

No matter how bad your life may seem, for the friends and family around you, you're pretty darn awesome and they wouldn't want their lives to not have you in it.

That's a pretty good message, and I'm glad that filmmakers pick up this theme and run with it every so often.

I'm rarely disappointed in their efforts, and this movie proves to be no exception.

While fame and prosperity sound great on paper, to do so at the cost of love makes the trade-off seem pretty steep.

Needless to say, I had a pretty good time with the film, and it's officially in the running for best of the year honors.

Not bad at all.

Final Grade: B+

What Could Have Been... "Mr. Destiny"

Mr. Destiny (1990)

Rated PG-13 for language

Starring James Belushi, Linda Hamilton, Jon Lovitz, Michael Caine

Directed by James Orr

The Story:

Larry Burrows (Belushi) is having a bad day.  As he is set to celebrate his birthday, upon taking stock of what his life has amounted to up to this point, he realizes that maybe it wasn't just a bad day, it's a bad life.  As he commiserates with a mysterious bartender (Caine) about what could have been...

He finds he's about to find out exactly how different his life would be if he would have made that game winning hit when he was just a little kid.

No matter how bad your life is, it could always be worse.

And sometimes your bad life, isn't nearly as bad as you could imagine.

Yep, it's another variation of It's A Wonderful Life.

And, it's a good one.

Yes, go back in time to an era when Jim Belushi was headlining movies, and you'll find this little gem of a romantic comedy/fantasy.

Larry begins to realize that many of the ordinary things that he takes for granted, like his wife (Hamilton) and best friend (Lovitz) would have been lost to him had he made that fateful game winning at bat.

Yes, he would have been rich, but he never would have been happy.

Sobering thought really, and very nicely done.

One of my favorites.

Closing in on 25 years, it still holds up and is still an enjoyable film to watch.

Final Grade: A-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Absolutely adore this little gem.  It gets a spin every other year or so.

It's A Wonderful Life...All Of Them. "Doonby"

Doonby (2013)

Rated PG-13

Starring John Schneider, Ernie Hudson, Jenn Gotzon,

Written and Directed by Peter Mackenzie

The Story:

San Doonby (Schneider) is a drifter who rolls into a quiet Texas town and gets a job at the local bar working for Leroy (Hudson).  However, Doonby seems to live a bit of a charmed life and seems to be in the right place at the right time when several things happen in town.  When a local, Laura (Gotzon) falls for Doonby, the two grow really close.  Then during an argument, Laura says something awful to Doonby, and the secret of his existence comes to light, in the worst possible way.

Here's a movie that you will either love or hate, depending on your moral/religious/political viewpoint.

To explain Doonby's secret ruins the point of the movie, and the powerful ending that comes with it.

Your word of warning:  It's another Christian film that doesn't preach and beat a message over your head throughout, so you will probably survive.

However, the movie is fundamentally an anti-abortion film.

So think of it as It's A Wonderful Life, where the hero doesn't choose to find out what the world would be like if he was never born, but instead that choice is thrust upon the world without the hero's consent.

John Schneider does a great job as the drifter, continuing his string of enjoyable Christian films.

Your choice on whether you want to see it or not, but I'm glad I watched it.

Available for streaming at this time on Netflix.

Final Grade: B

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor:  Pretty enjoyable until the third act.  I do appreciate the message of the film but to depressing to sit through that ending again.

Thursday's 'Never Heard of It' Streamer... "Me Again"

Who says religion can't be funny?

Or at least amusing?

The Story:

Pastor Rich (David A.R. White) is disillusioned with his life.  His wife (Ali Landry) has had enough of their marriage and is ready for a divorce.  His kids don't seem to listen or care about him, and only his best friend Tony (Tommy Blaze) seems to be there for him.  So naturally, he prays for God to show him how life should be, and give him the life he's meant to live.

That's right, Pastor Rich is about to be It's a Wonderful Lifed by God!

So Rich awakens to find that he's in the body of Tony's rich boss.  Naturally, Rich freaks out, has a heart attack and apparently dies.

He awakens to find himself in another body...and another...and another...

All the while, Rich's real body is going through the motions of life, Rich is really stuck in all of these other people.  Yet many of them are close to Rich's family, and through each life that he lives, he learns a little something.

About them.
About him.
About life.

Suddenly it all starts to add up that he is the one making his life miserable, nobody else.

The kids want their dad, just not the dad that has no time for them.

The wife doesn't want to divorce her husband, she's just tired of trying to make their marriage work when he seems so disinterested.

With the addition of Della Reese and Bruce McGill as Big Earl (the Angel), there's enough humor to keep it interesting and enough preaching to keep it grounded on concepts of morality without bashing believers and non-believers alike over the head with a message that you're doing it wrong and THIS is the right way to live your life.

Cute little film.

Now streaming on Netflix as of this writing.

Final Grade: C+

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor:  I won't be running out to buy it, but on a lazy weekend for background noise, it's the perfect crafting/sewing date film.

100 Greatest Movies of All Time...That I Own. # 9 ~ It's A Wonderful Life

Okay, get the groaning over with...

This movie is that good.

It's A Wonderful Life is the little movie that could... considered a failure at the box office when it was released, it received a new life with the advent of syndicated showings on television through the years where it became a family favorite.

Personally, I don't think I had ever truly seen it until the last decade.

And then I was hooked.

The story in case you've never seen it:

George Bailey grows up in the small town of Bedford Falls, but he dreams of something bigger.  Just when he thinks he'll get away, fate steps in and forces his hand to run the family business.  Of course life isn't so bad, he has a beautiful family, and everyone in town likes him well enough.  But then there's Mr. Potter, the owner of the bank who wants to put Bailey out of business.  When fate once again intervenes to throw George a devastating curve... he wonders if everyone would have simply been better off if George Bailey had never been born.

Through the intervention of a guardian angel named Clarence, George Bailey will get the chance to see what the world would have been like if one George Bailey had never been born.  At the end, George will realize that no matter the ups and downs he's experienced, he truly has a very wonderful life.

James Stewart was an amazing actor.  This could be considered his defining role, in a career that enjoyed many such star turns.  He goes from the everyman that everyone knows and cares for, and in an instant, you see it all begin to slip away in despair.

It's a very dark turn for a holiday staple, but it's a turn that is needed.

By George Bailey, and really, to anyone that watches the film.

The message is inherently clear... your life matters.  You touch so many people and every action that you take sets off a chain reaction.

Who knows... you could consider this the first foray into time travel/alternate universe movies on top of everything else.

If you were forced to watch it as a kid and walked away hating it... revisit the film with adult eyes and see what's being shown to you.  If it's been a few years, break it out during the holiday season, or maybe anytime BUT the holidays to avoid the cliche.

It's that good.