Rated PG for brief teen smoking.
Directed by Michael Landon Jr. (Love Comes Softly, The Last Sin Eater…)
Starring Lisa Pepper, Elliott Gould…
Saving Sarah Cain would best be described as a really good “after school special.”
When I was a kid there were these “after school specials” that were really good stories, but they were usually pretty low budget and a little on the cheesy side. They were “B movies” with a lot of heart. That’s Saving Sarah Cain in a nutshell.
Michael Landon Jr. returns to the directing chair once again with a wholesome movie. But in all honesty, Saving Sarah was a step down from his “Love Comes Softly” series. The acting wasn’t very good… even Elliott Gould was cheesy at times. Fact: that’s usually a reflection of a bad director.
The story was warm and fuzzy: Sarah gets custody of her Amish sister’s kids and takes them to live in the city with her. It’s Witness meets Raising Helen, but with a pathetically cliché script and a few really bad actors.
All that said, it had some good moments. But of my family of five, all of us nodded our heads in disappointment when it was all said and done.
But I’ll be honest. Some people don’t notice the cheese factor in films as much as others. For example, if you liked the Christian movie Facing the Giants, you’re probably a little more forgiving than most movie buffs. You might actually like this film.
It’s hard for me. Part of me says, “Wow, finally a clean film with redeeming values.” But it’s hard for me to overlook the shortfalls. To me, they were way too distracting. So my score has to be “Only if it's Free.”
SHOULD KIDS SEE IT?
There is nothing objectionable in this film at all other than the bad acting.
Conversation Starter
Three Simple Questions (with Answers You May Be Looking for):
- What are some of the messages or themes you observed in this movie?
- How do you suppose we—as serious Christ-followers—should react to this movie?
- How can we move from healthy, Bible-based opinions about this movie to actually living out those opinions?
