I remember seeing the trailer for THE RESURRECTION OF GAVIN STONE and thinking what a great concept and a great cast. It had all the signs of being an above-average Christian film, even with its Christianity so blatant—not a bad thing, necessarily. After the movie came out, I waited eagerly for reviews from moviegoers—Christian moviegoers, at least. But I heard nothing. I literally heard nothing. Surely someone had seen it, I thought. So I asked my Facebook friends, via a status update, for someone, anyone to review GAVIN STONE. I got no reply at all. I read the PluggedIn review, which gave it a fine rating. But I sort of expected that, unless it really, really stunk. Then, a few weeks later, I asked again, "Has anyone seen this film who could offer a review?" Again, no answer. Apparently no one saw it. I assumed Rotten Tomatoes would give it negative reviews, as they are notoriously anti-Christian, regardless the quality of the Christian film, be it described as one and they did. Well, I saw THE RESURRECTION OF GAVIN STONE recently, at last. And I was disappointed. Not in the film but that this inspirational comedy didn't get a fair shake. It was a really good movie. The leads were well cast, with Brett Dalton (AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.) in the lead as the title character, a narcissistic, has-been child actor whose life hits the skids due to a moment of indiscretion that results in him having to do 200 hours of community service for a church in Chicago. He begins doing janitorial work. But when he learns that the church is rehearsing for a play about the life of Jesus, Gavin convinces the pastor to let him audition—after lying to him and telling him that he is a believer. He gets the role of Jesus and masquerades as a fellow Christian with frequent hilarity which pokes fun at the Church and those outside the church who would presume to understand it. The bedrock of the film is a message about redemption and the power of Christ to change a seemingly hopeless life. With comedienne Anjelah Johnson-Reyes and veteran actor D.B. Sweeny adding some fine performances, taking nothing from the rest of the cast, this film does indeed rise above the usual Christian fare. The only criticisms I have are that some of the supporting Christian characters were cringe- worthily stereotypical—nearly unforgivable in a Christian film made by Christian—and that the plot was predictable. However, the thrust of message, at the film's climax, although expected, was delivered exceptionally well in a way that made up for any flaws and genuinely touches the heart. Christian movies never get a fair shake from Hollywood, mainstream critics and the liberal elites, the ones people pay attention to. The films MOM'S NIGHT OUT (a very, very funny comedy) and PERSECUTED (an excellent suspense thriller), both released in 2014 were treated with similar derision, and for no good reason. It saddens me that more people, especially Christians, didn't bother to see and support these deserving films that have raised the bar for Christian movies. It saddens me even further that a fine actor like Brett Dalton may never consider lending his talent to another Christian film because of the critical reception of GAVIN STONE. Same with Anjelah Johnson-Reyes and D.B. Sweeny. In closing, may I encourage you, especially Christian believers or those who don't mind a Christian worldview in a film, to, even now, rent these films. They're good films—exceptional in most cases. And let the filmmakers and producers know that you want to see more film like them made that say something good and reflect a more virtuous point of view. Support Christian films—we need them! And don't let critics determine your opinion before you've seen them
or any more to follow.
76 Reviews
The Resurrection of Gavin Stone: Nice Flick.
niutta-enrico23 April 2017
This is a Christian Propaganda movie and I'm an unbeliever. To be precise I made mine Captain Fantastic's lines where the children say 'We don't make fun of People
(Pause)
except Christians'.
This film was however nice. An Indie movie with an inspired plot and good lines. And art is art, no matter who makes it and what his certainties are. What matters is only the result and both Andrea Nasfell (Writer) and Dallas Jenkins (Director) are renowned artists, and all the Cast did well (Brett Dalton in particular).
So if you'd like to watch, sit down and breathe normally. Even though Christians will Try and Convert you, I've already been through it and made it trough the end unchanged. And so will you, I'm sure.
This film was however nice. An Indie movie with an inspired plot and good lines. And art is art, no matter who makes it and what his certainties are. What matters is only the result and both Andrea Nasfell (Writer) and Dallas Jenkins (Director) are renowned artists, and all the Cast did well (Brett Dalton in particular).
So if you'd like to watch, sit down and breathe normally. Even though Christians will Try and Convert you, I've already been through it and made it trough the end unchanged. And so will you, I'm sure.
Happily Surprised!
mindyr-7047618 January 2017
I will be the first to admit that often movies in the Christian genre are cheesy, outdated, heavy, and, honestly, a bit embarrassing for the Christian community. I was delighted to see that The Resurrection of Gavin Stone has broken the previous mold. I appreciate that there are characters designed to basically poke fun of the Christian stereotypes (guess what? We get it. Most people outside of our community think we are lame. That's OK). This movie addresses those stereotypes directly in a lighthearted way in a broader communication to showcase the acceptance and welcoming community that a church can be. Not everyone has that experience at a church every time, but to showcase the example of what it should and could look like is beautifully done. The skepticism and acceptance of people brought on both sides of Christian characters and non-Christian characters is spot on. Overall, this is lighthearted, an excellent story of finding one's way in life, and ultimate acceptance of who people are and where they are in life. I will be seeing it again.
Good if you are a hard core Christian.
gdogaru22 April 2017
Cheesy story and filled with Christianity stuff. This is clearly a Christian movie. The story is pretty cheesy and pretty shallow and for my personal preference too much tide to any religion. It will not bring up some hidden talent or feeling in you, it is just like a preach of how finding Jesus and being correct will make you happy. The comedy part will not make you flip over, just some innocent jokes. Not too bad, I am just not into religious movies
It's a Christian genre. Expect a Christian movie.
ravagecabbage-3245530 April 2019
When you watch a Marvel movie, you expect certain cliches. Same here. But as many have pointed out, it's not over the top cheesy. I also like that it's a generic Christian film that doesn't try to ramrod denomination specific beliefs. The basics of starting over again, helping others, finding truth for yourself, etc.
If you can get over your fear of being in the presence of something Christian.....
stioffan4 September 2021
This is a good movie that will bring smiles and for some maybe tears. It is entertaining, which is hard to find coming out of Hollywood these days. It is underated probably because that same Hollywood and all its cronies like Rotten Tomatoes and IMDB paid critics are afraid of a movie like this.
And maybe they have a right to be afraid.
IT IS NOT a movie intent on 'saving' you or turning you to the Lord. IT IS NOT a Hallmark movie. You are not going to have the urge to be 'Born Again' after you watch this movie. It is not a movie directed at a Christian audience. You can almost hear the fear in the negative reviews on this movie, so much so it is laughable.
It is a movie directed by a man (if that offends you then this movie is not for you), who takes his inspiration from his Faith in Christianity. Dallas Jenkins is a skilled director who casts for characters that work well together on the screen. At it's heart it is a romantic comedy. It is a movie who want to be entertained. It is a feel good movie. You remember those, don't you? It is a movie where you don't have to fast forward through parts because of sex, drugs, inappropriate language, violence or crude humor.
One warning though, if you watch it with your kids and you are entirely drowned in secularism, whatever form it takes, be prepared to answer questions.
For me it's a solid 7 on IMDB. I could watch it again.
May God Bless You.
And maybe they have a right to be afraid.
IT IS NOT a movie intent on 'saving' you or turning you to the Lord. IT IS NOT a Hallmark movie. You are not going to have the urge to be 'Born Again' after you watch this movie. It is not a movie directed at a Christian audience. You can almost hear the fear in the negative reviews on this movie, so much so it is laughable.
It is a movie directed by a man (if that offends you then this movie is not for you), who takes his inspiration from his Faith in Christianity. Dallas Jenkins is a skilled director who casts for characters that work well together on the screen. At it's heart it is a romantic comedy. It is a movie who want to be entertained. It is a feel good movie. You remember those, don't you? It is a movie where you don't have to fast forward through parts because of sex, drugs, inappropriate language, violence or crude humor.
One warning though, if you watch it with your kids and you are entirely drowned in secularism, whatever form it takes, be prepared to answer questions.
For me it's a solid 7 on IMDB. I could watch it again.
May God Bless You.
Weak acting, worse script: don't buy the hype
bbentel29 January 2017
Watch out for this one. I saw the preview and it looked like it might be a feel-good and funny film. I took my wife to the theater and we were the ONLY people sitting in there. I soon found out why. About 30 seconds into the thing you can see it's low-budget -- audio in the first scene echoes. But that's not the problem. The problem is the script. It's NOT funny, though occasionally tries to be. Neither is it original, clever, or particularly believable. The actors have little to work with, and much of the time even if they did I don't think they could pull it off. Brett Dalton was great in Agents of Shield, but he generally sucks here. I guess everybody has bills to pay! DB Sweeney is also a decent actor, and probably the best this film had to offer, but his character -- like all of them in this film -- is one-dimensional and not likable. To be fair, there are some decent, emotionally moving scenes, mainly toward the very predictable end. The film is clearly designed with the hope of converting people to Christianity, and seems funded by organizations with that purpose. That's fine, but at least be entertaining in the process for those of us who have no interest. I basically felt duped about 3 minutes into this thing -- I wanted my $20 and 90 minutes back. I think very simple people who ALREADY are serious Christians might enjoy it, but this thing is basically crap.
I usually avoid Christian movies
ewemakids9 November 2020
I only watched this because I respect Dallas' work from "the Chosen". I was SO HAPPY this movie was great: it was funny (poked fun at Christians), serious - showed the beauty of Christianity, it had great acting, and a fun plot line!
My husband and I love to critique movies, but we couldn't' think of anything bad about this movie. It wasn't cheesy or B-rated...just all around awesome.
I highly recommend this movie to anybody who wants a movie with no swearing or sex and just great entertainment!
My husband and I love to critique movies, but we couldn't' think of anything bad about this movie. It wasn't cheesy or B-rated...just all around awesome.
I highly recommend this movie to anybody who wants a movie with no swearing or sex and just great entertainment!
It's Fridge Worthy
bkrauser-81-3110641 February 2017
In a word, Resurrection of Gavin Stone is "cute". It's a low stakes, lower budget, feel-good film that thinks thinks its giving you the world when really its just giving you a breezy, disposable and pleasant little ride. It wouldn't fit comfortably on any serious film fan's top favorites but I could see it left up on someone's refrigerator.
Brett Dalton of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013-Present) fame plays our titular character Gavin Stone; a former child star whose emotional baggage has gotten him an heap of recent trouble. When we first meet the swarthy Gavin he's weighing the pros and cons of going to jail for a few weeks or doing 200 hours of community service at a local megachurch. He chooses the latter and in the process stumbles into a the role of a lifetime in the church's annual Passion play. To play the role of Jesus Christ however, Gavin Stone has to pretend to be a true Christian - a guise he struggles to keep as he butts heads with the play's stringent director Kelly (Johnson-Reyes).
Easily the best parts of Gavin Stone are the gentle, humorous cultural exchanges between Gavin and the gaggle of Christians who naively fall for his born-again routine. Gavin tries to put the wool over their eyes (at least as much as a non-drinking, non-swearing, non-Christian can) but finds himself comforted by their humility and grace. When his conversion begins in earnest, he goofs and falters, much like any foreigner to a new church would. The exchanges are not just one way either. When two side characters stumble over their lines for the upcoming play, Gavin helpfully supplies them with some simple acting exercises.
Yet all the well-meaning moments never amount to much. For all of the film's attempts to label Stone as a flagrantly debased bad boy, he hardly does anything to deserve such a moniker. His main source of consternation, his strained relationship with his father (Flynn) provides very little in the way of actual stakes let alone honest human conflict. Combined with his immediate willingness to help people he barely knows and there seems to be nothing about him to resurrect. He's simply a nice guy whose slight narcissism can easily be cured by a four hour church service. Blame it on the film's devotion for a PG rating I guess.
The artificial quaintness of Gavin Stone becomes even more embarrassing when it wades into waters far beyond its depth. Questions of salvation, atonement and grace are answered with fortune-cookie wisdom, chintzy rom-com clichés and the continual insistence that Christian values are somehow a rarity in today's day and age. When Stone finally sees the light, as it were, we're made privy to a testimonial that exploits Christ in the most spurious of ways. An act that would be downright insulting if it weren't so sophomoric.
Yet its hard to truly dislike a movie that pushes pious humility through uniformly charming characters. The fact that Gavin Stone partially succeeds while proselytizing from a megachurch pulpit should be considered a miracle within itself. I cannot argue whether the film will prove entertaining for the unconverted but at least true-blue born-agains have a movie that's of objectively better quality than the God's Not Dead (2014-Present) movies.
Brett Dalton of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013-Present) fame plays our titular character Gavin Stone; a former child star whose emotional baggage has gotten him an heap of recent trouble. When we first meet the swarthy Gavin he's weighing the pros and cons of going to jail for a few weeks or doing 200 hours of community service at a local megachurch. He chooses the latter and in the process stumbles into a the role of a lifetime in the church's annual Passion play. To play the role of Jesus Christ however, Gavin Stone has to pretend to be a true Christian - a guise he struggles to keep as he butts heads with the play's stringent director Kelly (Johnson-Reyes).
Easily the best parts of Gavin Stone are the gentle, humorous cultural exchanges between Gavin and the gaggle of Christians who naively fall for his born-again routine. Gavin tries to put the wool over their eyes (at least as much as a non-drinking, non-swearing, non-Christian can) but finds himself comforted by their humility and grace. When his conversion begins in earnest, he goofs and falters, much like any foreigner to a new church would. The exchanges are not just one way either. When two side characters stumble over their lines for the upcoming play, Gavin helpfully supplies them with some simple acting exercises.
Yet all the well-meaning moments never amount to much. For all of the film's attempts to label Stone as a flagrantly debased bad boy, he hardly does anything to deserve such a moniker. His main source of consternation, his strained relationship with his father (Flynn) provides very little in the way of actual stakes let alone honest human conflict. Combined with his immediate willingness to help people he barely knows and there seems to be nothing about him to resurrect. He's simply a nice guy whose slight narcissism can easily be cured by a four hour church service. Blame it on the film's devotion for a PG rating I guess.
The artificial quaintness of Gavin Stone becomes even more embarrassing when it wades into waters far beyond its depth. Questions of salvation, atonement and grace are answered with fortune-cookie wisdom, chintzy rom-com clichés and the continual insistence that Christian values are somehow a rarity in today's day and age. When Stone finally sees the light, as it were, we're made privy to a testimonial that exploits Christ in the most spurious of ways. An act that would be downright insulting if it weren't so sophomoric.
Yet its hard to truly dislike a movie that pushes pious humility through uniformly charming characters. The fact that Gavin Stone partially succeeds while proselytizing from a megachurch pulpit should be considered a miracle within itself. I cannot argue whether the film will prove entertaining for the unconverted but at least true-blue born-agains have a movie that's of objectively better quality than the God's Not Dead (2014-Present) movies.
Annoyingly bad movie -
oldskoolo21 April 2017
Everybody should decide for themselves whether they want to believe in, and if so, in which deity/fictional character. This picture must have been funded by people with a poor world view, because in essence there is no story line - so it must be a (very poor) attempt at converting non-christians? I cannot see a different reason to put this out : it's that much of an empty shell, filled with (in my opinion) obnoxious, fake Christian values.
I hope the people funding this thing (cannot possibly call this a movie), gave more to good causes actually helping people in need - which also would do more to benefit their obvious agenda.
If the agenda wasn't conversion: get a different hobby/dream.. this is not where your talents shine.
I hope the people funding this thing (cannot possibly call this a movie), gave more to good causes actually helping people in need - which also would do more to benefit their obvious agenda.
If the agenda wasn't conversion: get a different hobby/dream.. this is not where your talents shine.
Glad we got a chance to watch this movie!
jerry-7562524 December 2020
My wife and I have been enjoying "The Chosen" series by Dallas Jenkins. When I googled him, I read a rather curious point about how his first full length movie was a total bomb and how that impacted his personal life for a while. So naturally, we felt like we needed to see what this movie was all about since we thought The Chosen was a magnificent piece of work. We found The Resurrection of Gavin Stone on Prime and watched it.
For the life of me, I cannot understand WHY this move didn't generate better reviews and have a better rating. Sure, it's a Faith-based movie and as a Christian, I enjoy Faith-based movies and feel like I should support them. Perhaps the problem with the movie was the fact that it didn't generate much buzz when it came out in 2017 (here it is at the end of 2020 and I'm just now hearing about this movie?). But it should have generated some buzz because it was a real heart-felt movie that contained good comedy and definitely a good message of a second chance at life. And since a big part of the Christian message is having a second chance, it certainly checked that box!
I'm glad my wife and I found this movie during this Christmas season as we thoroughly enjoyed watching it!
For the life of me, I cannot understand WHY this move didn't generate better reviews and have a better rating. Sure, it's a Faith-based movie and as a Christian, I enjoy Faith-based movies and feel like I should support them. Perhaps the problem with the movie was the fact that it didn't generate much buzz when it came out in 2017 (here it is at the end of 2020 and I'm just now hearing about this movie?). But it should have generated some buzz because it was a real heart-felt movie that contained good comedy and definitely a good message of a second chance at life. And since a big part of the Christian message is having a second chance, it certainly checked that box!
I'm glad my wife and I found this movie during this Christmas season as we thoroughly enjoyed watching it!
Really enjoyed this movie
fbkathied23 May 2023
There were a number of quite humorous moments, which I enjoyed. If you are a Christian, then you could predict the story line, but that was not a problem to the enjoyment of the movie. It was great to see church people portrayed as real people doing their best to be Christ-like, though no one is perfect. It is always lovely to see a redemptive story where a heart is truly changed, and others grow along with the conflict. Other than The Middle dad, I was not familiar with any of the actors, but I thought the performances were well done. I will close by saying 600 is way too many characters to require in a review.
bland Christian movie
SnoopyStyle21 October 2019
Gavin Stone (Brett Dalton) is a former child star who has crashed and burned. He has to reconnect with his father (Neil Flynn). He does 200 hours of community service at a local church run by pastor Allan Richardson (D.B. Sweeney). Kelly Richardson (Anjelah Johnson-Reyes) is organizing their annual Passion Play and Gavin talks his way into playing Jesus while pretending to be a faithful Christian.
It's a Christian film. It's trying to be a comedy but it lacks good jokes. Dalton is believable as a selfish Hollywood type but not believable in a comedy. On the plus side, it doesn't offend anyone unless you're a self-obsessed Hollywood type. It's perfectly nice. It's also perfectly bland. The funniest bit has Kelly mentioning something about a Hallmark movie. It's so meta that it's almost not a joke. It's Christian and it's bland.
It's a Christian film. It's trying to be a comedy but it lacks good jokes. Dalton is believable as a selfish Hollywood type but not believable in a comedy. On the plus side, it doesn't offend anyone unless you're a self-obsessed Hollywood type. It's perfectly nice. It's also perfectly bland. The funniest bit has Kelly mentioning something about a Hallmark movie. It's so meta that it's almost not a joke. It's Christian and it's bland.
Refreshing, Complex and Charming Yet Spiritual in the Best Way Possible
MovieMystro20 January 2017
Wow. Despite its predictable nature, this movie is remarkably well done.
Too many faith based films lay it on too thick or can be ham-fisted and not believable. That's not the case with this movie. All the characters have depth and remarkable charm, especially the leads. In a perfect world, Brett Dalton would receive award nomination consideration for his performance. Sounds completely odd saying that about any January release but he really was that good.
The set up in the first act plays out light and predictable but after a connection is made, the rest of the film is refreshing, complex and charming yet spiritual in the best way possible. The Gavin Stone character has a true arc and true development worthy of any big budget quality Hollywood production. They capture why faith is important in those "fly over" states mentioned in the movie.
True Christian ethics are on display and this is truly a worthy effort and the best feel good film that I've seen in years.
Too many faith based films lay it on too thick or can be ham-fisted and not believable. That's not the case with this movie. All the characters have depth and remarkable charm, especially the leads. In a perfect world, Brett Dalton would receive award nomination consideration for his performance. Sounds completely odd saying that about any January release but he really was that good.
The set up in the first act plays out light and predictable but after a connection is made, the rest of the film is refreshing, complex and charming yet spiritual in the best way possible. The Gavin Stone character has a true arc and true development worthy of any big budget quality Hollywood production. They capture why faith is important in those "fly over" states mentioned in the movie.
True Christian ethics are on display and this is truly a worthy effort and the best feel good film that I've seen in years.
Former Child⭐ Goes To Church & Learns How To Stop The 🎭 °6.7° °Good°
50fiftillidideeBrain26 August 2022
Gavin Stone is a child 🎭 now perpetual-bad-boy-/-adult-🎭. He gets himself into trouble, 🕝to🕔. This 🕦, he's required to do community service.
He opts for serving @ ⛪. Sounds easy. The gig gets promoted from easy to SWEET🍭 when he eggs his way into the production of the Easter play▶ He hunts it out & lays low▶ Next, he hops in, scrambles up everything and everybody▶he proceeds to roll off with the superstar role of JC; Jesus Christ. That's a Sunday drive of required hours in the old candy basket. All the while, he has them cracking😅up. All, but Ms Director/PK (pastor's kid). There's a frown he can't turn around. That frown don't go upside down. That frown says he's a hound, an underground clown, and other such nouns, who will leave you when you're down, when you're lost he won't be found. That is how it's gone round.
What follows is Gavin trying to act like a Christian, which gets terribly awkward. He rankles the pastor's daughter, and she does all the productions at the church, including Gavin's sacred Easter 🐣 Eggstravaganza. At the same time, the geeky Church guys just 💘 him. His interactions with the church members are amusing.
Some of the 〰🖋 & 🎭 can be a bit clunky, but at other times it's perfectly acceptable & VG when it comes to the male lead. Some of the dialogue is downright pithy: "Well, that's easy. I'm a petulant narcissist with intimacy issues stemming from a robbed childhood, where my every whim was met with instant gratification." I don't know about you, but I can't entirely hate to show that whisks up an word-omelette like that.
The female lead came off as overly hardened at first, but she softens well enough over time. She does appear too old for the part. Gavin Stone is played by Brett Dalton; He is handsome by any standards, and quite natural in the role. He has solid comedic timing. He was also solid in Agents Of Shield, which is a fun superhero TV show. The AOS creators kept one vignette, that he was in, going a season too long, but none of that was his fault,and he handled character changed well.
Gavin struggles with the scene about woman caught in adultery. The penalty was death by stoning. (Do you think that Jesus didn't notice there was no man brought to be stoned? God has no preference when it comes to gender.) The Jewish leaders bring her to Jesus to be judged. Since the religious leaders were jealous of Jesus and thoroughly loathed him, whenever they did something like this, they were trying to catch him in some "error" that they could twist to destroy his reputation. They were more political/power hungry than religious at the time. The Bible says that Jesus stoops down and starts writing in the dirt. As he writes, 1@ a 🕚 drops his stone and goes home. Gavin doesn't understand what's going on: 'What was Jesus writing?', he wants to know. We don't know, because the Bible doesn't record it. The best theory I've heard as to what Jesus might have been writing starts with a 2-column table. In the 1st column, Jesus might have written the words covetousness, lust, and hate. In column 2, corresponding to those words he might have written theft, adultery, and murder. According to scripture, if one lingers on the thought of something wrong that s/he wants to do, as in the list in column 1, they become just as guilty as doing the corresponding act itself listed in column 2. For example, if you hate, You're as guilty as a murderer. Ouch.
"This is Jack, my manager", Gavin recalls, {mimicking} 'Kid this is all you need to know about show business - Gavin comes first. Everybody else, they just need something from you. Ya wanna survive in this business, you look out for YOU'." ¤ "Interesting advice," says she. ¤ "Yeah, Gavin replies, head down. "I was 8..."
We'll see him in Hollywood being encouraged to drink alcohol laced with 💊 on set to get in the "right" shape for a scene. Even after he says: "I'm clean now," the director wants him to drink it anyway, commenting that Gavin is only there for his crazy partying🤡ways. "You walk off this set, you won't have one friend left in this business," he's threatened. "I never did, Mike," he acknowledges. After watching a bunch of nerdy Christians who actually care about each other, he realizes how alone he's been... He IS. He has no friends at all. Not in show business. It causes him to reflect on his life and what will be truly important to him, going forward.
For a faith-based movie, they did a solid job. Even the soundtrack has a couple winners: 'Little Bit' (Acoustic) by Molly Jenson & 'Save You' by Matthew Perryman Jones. I would love to be generous and give it a 7. I can't, because it's not quite there, but it's closer than most I've seen. If you enjoy faith-based films, this one will definitely suffice.
〰🖍 IMHO
🎬6 🖋〰7 🎭7 💓7 🦋2 🌞6 🎨5 🎵7.5 😅5 🤔6 🔚7
Age 12+
☑◻ ◻▪▫
He opts for serving @ ⛪. Sounds easy. The gig gets promoted from easy to SWEET🍭 when he eggs his way into the production of the Easter play▶ He hunts it out & lays low▶ Next, he hops in, scrambles up everything and everybody▶he proceeds to roll off with the superstar role of JC; Jesus Christ. That's a Sunday drive of required hours in the old candy basket. All the while, he has them cracking😅up. All, but Ms Director/PK (pastor's kid). There's a frown he can't turn around. That frown don't go upside down. That frown says he's a hound, an underground clown, and other such nouns, who will leave you when you're down, when you're lost he won't be found. That is how it's gone round.
What follows is Gavin trying to act like a Christian, which gets terribly awkward. He rankles the pastor's daughter, and she does all the productions at the church, including Gavin's sacred Easter 🐣 Eggstravaganza. At the same time, the geeky Church guys just 💘 him. His interactions with the church members are amusing.
Some of the 〰🖋 & 🎭 can be a bit clunky, but at other times it's perfectly acceptable & VG when it comes to the male lead. Some of the dialogue is downright pithy: "Well, that's easy. I'm a petulant narcissist with intimacy issues stemming from a robbed childhood, where my every whim was met with instant gratification." I don't know about you, but I can't entirely hate to show that whisks up an word-omelette like that.
The female lead came off as overly hardened at first, but she softens well enough over time. She does appear too old for the part. Gavin Stone is played by Brett Dalton; He is handsome by any standards, and quite natural in the role. He has solid comedic timing. He was also solid in Agents Of Shield, which is a fun superhero TV show. The AOS creators kept one vignette, that he was in, going a season too long, but none of that was his fault,and he handled character changed well.
Gavin struggles with the scene about woman caught in adultery. The penalty was death by stoning. (Do you think that Jesus didn't notice there was no man brought to be stoned? God has no preference when it comes to gender.) The Jewish leaders bring her to Jesus to be judged. Since the religious leaders were jealous of Jesus and thoroughly loathed him, whenever they did something like this, they were trying to catch him in some "error" that they could twist to destroy his reputation. They were more political/power hungry than religious at the time. The Bible says that Jesus stoops down and starts writing in the dirt. As he writes, 1@ a 🕚 drops his stone and goes home. Gavin doesn't understand what's going on: 'What was Jesus writing?', he wants to know. We don't know, because the Bible doesn't record it. The best theory I've heard as to what Jesus might have been writing starts with a 2-column table. In the 1st column, Jesus might have written the words covetousness, lust, and hate. In column 2, corresponding to those words he might have written theft, adultery, and murder. According to scripture, if one lingers on the thought of something wrong that s/he wants to do, as in the list in column 1, they become just as guilty as doing the corresponding act itself listed in column 2. For example, if you hate, You're as guilty as a murderer. Ouch.
"This is Jack, my manager", Gavin recalls, {mimicking} 'Kid this is all you need to know about show business - Gavin comes first. Everybody else, they just need something from you. Ya wanna survive in this business, you look out for YOU'." ¤ "Interesting advice," says she. ¤ "Yeah, Gavin replies, head down. "I was 8..."
We'll see him in Hollywood being encouraged to drink alcohol laced with 💊 on set to get in the "right" shape for a scene. Even after he says: "I'm clean now," the director wants him to drink it anyway, commenting that Gavin is only there for his crazy partying🤡ways. "You walk off this set, you won't have one friend left in this business," he's threatened. "I never did, Mike," he acknowledges. After watching a bunch of nerdy Christians who actually care about each other, he realizes how alone he's been... He IS. He has no friends at all. Not in show business. It causes him to reflect on his life and what will be truly important to him, going forward.
For a faith-based movie, they did a solid job. Even the soundtrack has a couple winners: 'Little Bit' (Acoustic) by Molly Jenson & 'Save You' by Matthew Perryman Jones. I would love to be generous and give it a 7. I can't, because it's not quite there, but it's closer than most I've seen. If you enjoy faith-based films, this one will definitely suffice.
〰🖍 IMHO
🎬6 🖋〰7 🎭7 💓7 🦋2 🌞6 🎨5 🎵7.5 😅5 🤔6 🔚7
Age 12+
☑◻ ◻▪▫
Most Enjoyable Movie in a while!
rsricksherwood11 November 2017
This is one of the best and enjoyable Christian movies that I have seen in a long time applying an 'everyday life' theme - well done guys! This film gives a very good and heavy example of someone who - yes he lied about his believe in Jesus - but Jesus changed his life through the believers in the play. Great chemistry in the Spirit with everyone. Kudos to the play and excellent story line and I pray that the Lord opens more opportunities for this group. What's next?
A Decent Movie for a Specific Audience
infoalwaysacritic13 July 2018
6/10
Faith-based films have, in my experience, been hit-or-miss, though lately there have been several more "watchable" offerings; The Resurrection of Gavin Stone happens to be one of them.
Brett Dalton plays Gavin Stone, a washed up child-star turned hollywood bad-boy who is sentenced to 200 hours of community service at a church in his hometown. Rather than doing maintenance, he convinces the church to let him play Jesus in its annual production. Along the way he is introduced to some humourous stereotypes of christianity and a jaded love interest with a painful history. Part humour, and part drama, The Resurrection of Gavin Stone is heartfelt for people who have a history in the church, though maybe a little stinging to those who've had a bad experience in a church.
Your experience of this film will largely depend on what you bring into it. If you come to it looking for another offering of Brett Dalton, you're likely in for a disappointment - not a failing in hiaas acting, but because the script will only be understood by a specific audience. Neil Flynn plays a role you've probably seen him in before, DB Sweeney is largely in the background and Anjelah Johnson-Reyes does a reasonable job in her role.
To people unfamiliar with christian stereotypes, a large portion of the script will fall flat. Many of the jokes reference names of songs, hymns and in some cases the writers tried to break the stereotypical expectation of a church service. If this is your type of humour, then you'll find plenty of laughter to supplement the impending transformation of its main character.
Gavin Stone is a self-absorbed and selfish man, but wouldn't likely be perceived as such by people outside of a pious church. The film leaves the audience to imagine this side of his character by repeatedly referencing a set of incriminating pictures and a vague description of partying with a catapult. When Gavin's crisis of purpose comes, you get a very quick glimpse into his prior life, this and another character's own faith journey may bear some relatable points to christians who share a common history, and that can be heart-felt. One notable scene wherein Gavin participates in helping someone in need was enhanced by my knowledge that the cars program and many like it truly exist.
Overall the film is enjoyable and reasonably acted for members of a church or on their own faith-journey to enjoy. It is doubtful that this one would have a large appeal outside of the church.
Brett Dalton plays Gavin Stone, a washed up child-star turned hollywood bad-boy who is sentenced to 200 hours of community service at a church in his hometown. Rather than doing maintenance, he convinces the church to let him play Jesus in its annual production. Along the way he is introduced to some humourous stereotypes of christianity and a jaded love interest with a painful history. Part humour, and part drama, The Resurrection of Gavin Stone is heartfelt for people who have a history in the church, though maybe a little stinging to those who've had a bad experience in a church.
Your experience of this film will largely depend on what you bring into it. If you come to it looking for another offering of Brett Dalton, you're likely in for a disappointment - not a failing in hiaas acting, but because the script will only be understood by a specific audience. Neil Flynn plays a role you've probably seen him in before, DB Sweeney is largely in the background and Anjelah Johnson-Reyes does a reasonable job in her role.
To people unfamiliar with christian stereotypes, a large portion of the script will fall flat. Many of the jokes reference names of songs, hymns and in some cases the writers tried to break the stereotypical expectation of a church service. If this is your type of humour, then you'll find plenty of laughter to supplement the impending transformation of its main character.
Gavin Stone is a self-absorbed and selfish man, but wouldn't likely be perceived as such by people outside of a pious church. The film leaves the audience to imagine this side of his character by repeatedly referencing a set of incriminating pictures and a vague description of partying with a catapult. When Gavin's crisis of purpose comes, you get a very quick glimpse into his prior life, this and another character's own faith journey may bear some relatable points to christians who share a common history, and that can be heart-felt. One notable scene wherein Gavin participates in helping someone in need was enhanced by my knowledge that the cars program and many like it truly exist.
Overall the film is enjoyable and reasonably acted for members of a church or on their own faith-journey to enjoy. It is doubtful that this one would have a large appeal outside of the church.
Aside from being 'born again' this film fails on most all other levels
stevepat9916 October 2019
Hallmark, which is actually referenced by Gavin, has made numerous movies with the theme of: celebrity returns to small town home, falls for local girl and is taken by small town life and stays in the small town happily ever after. In all those stories the actor is financially secure and easily able to survive moving to the small town. That is where this tale goes off the rails.
Gavin is not a wealthy celebrity but rather closer to being a poor homeless guy. His celebrity name means he can resurrect his career in Hollywood IF he straightened his life style and worked at his acting craft. Clearly, we see he has great acting 'talent.' But that talent is worthless if he returns to his small home town. The only acting we see him doing there is being a volunteer actor in a Christmas play. Quite a fun production by the way and which was the highlight of the film. However, once the play is over Gavin is a poor guy with zero know work skills if he stays.
The film then tosses us a faux romance that in reality does not exist. Romance is defined as: the courtship behaviors undertaken by an individual to express feelings for another. Here Gavin seems to have 'feelings' but never takes even a baby step to 'court' Kelly. For her part, Kelly does not utter one word or act in any way to display affection or feelings to Gavin. There is no dating, no holding hand so forget kissing. Just some smiles, looks and suggestions.
A better title for this film would have been: Destitute Gavin returns home, finds religion, smiles at a girl and wishes he had transferrable skills
Gavin is not a wealthy celebrity but rather closer to being a poor homeless guy. His celebrity name means he can resurrect his career in Hollywood IF he straightened his life style and worked at his acting craft. Clearly, we see he has great acting 'talent.' But that talent is worthless if he returns to his small home town. The only acting we see him doing there is being a volunteer actor in a Christmas play. Quite a fun production by the way and which was the highlight of the film. However, once the play is over Gavin is a poor guy with zero know work skills if he stays.
The film then tosses us a faux romance that in reality does not exist. Romance is defined as: the courtship behaviors undertaken by an individual to express feelings for another. Here Gavin seems to have 'feelings' but never takes even a baby step to 'court' Kelly. For her part, Kelly does not utter one word or act in any way to display affection or feelings to Gavin. There is no dating, no holding hand so forget kissing. Just some smiles, looks and suggestions.
A better title for this film would have been: Destitute Gavin returns home, finds religion, smiles at a girl and wishes he had transferrable skills
Feel Good Inspirational Drama. MUST SEE!
baPhatz7 January 2017
In Theaters on January 20th. Guaranteed you will laugh out loud, likely you will cry and cheer as well, as you get the opportunity to peer into a slice of life in this character driven comedy drama with broad appeal. The Resurrection of Gavin Stone is an exceptional script using a "fish out of water" story telling formula to effectively pull off the delicate balance of engaging and likable characters, anecdotal comedy and is sprinkled with sidesplitting humor. Brett Dalton is perfectly cast to play the role 'Gavin Stone' an arrogant self-centered childish man who runs into trouble with the law. Gavin Stone is an actor with tremendous talent, a 'has-been' child star. After his mom's death and endless string of indulgent partying left him out of the scene and off the screen for years. One "off the hook rager" lands Stone sentenced with 200 hours of state mandated community service hours to be served at local Masonville Bible Church. A party boy in a church lends itself to a hilarious string of missteps that make you laugh and still love seeing the changes in Gavin as he engages with the locals and eventually come to care about more than just himself. Stone gets out of mopping bathrooms by playing Jesus Christ in the Church's stage production. Three quirky characters, local church boys, come around Gavin to help him, and he in turn then helps them be better actors in the play. You will love these 3 amigos. John Mark - hilarious bible nerd with a heart of gold. Anthony – a wanna be actor and über Stone fan boy. And the most surprising character, Doug. Doug is a tough guy biker, dedicated to helping others in need, played convincingly by Shawn Michaels. At the same time, Gavin has a volatile relationship with his father (played by Neil Flynn) and a budding interest in Kelly (Anjelah Johnson-Reyes) the director of the play, who by the way is the Pastors Daughter. This movie may be categorized in the Faith Based Movie genre and still will appeal to the larger market of movie-goers as a top shelf feel good inspirational drama. The Resurrection of Gavin Stone sits next to my favorite inspirational films, sports dramas, and 'It A Wonderful Life' type films that I truly enjoy with the entire family. In short, it's a must see!
Weak acting, weak movie, overrated due to religion
zeller-525 June 2017
I would like to say that the worst part about the movie is the score/music. I was trying to figure out what it reminded me of. And there it was. My friend used to play "The Sims" all the time. I think they stole it there :)
About the rest of the film: I switched it off about an hour into the movie when something dramatic was happening and I couldn't take it any more. The acting is so horrible. I don't buy the not-so-Christian Hollywood dude, and I bet he's going to become a real Christian by the end of the movie, and I don't buy the girl either.
I guess that is what happens when you have a very weak script and try to force god into the story. Finish it up with a bunch of bad actors and you end up with a very bad film.
I gave it 2/10 because cinematography wasn't all bad. Everything else was horrible.
About the rest of the film: I switched it off about an hour into the movie when something dramatic was happening and I couldn't take it any more. The acting is so horrible. I don't buy the not-so-Christian Hollywood dude, and I bet he's going to become a real Christian by the end of the movie, and I don't buy the girl either.
I guess that is what happens when you have a very weak script and try to force god into the story. Finish it up with a bunch of bad actors and you end up with a very bad film.
I gave it 2/10 because cinematography wasn't all bad. Everything else was horrible.
Well done
reneerickard18 January 2020
Some good elements, but very laissez-faire.
fitforfaith-ministries5 May 2024
This movie is difficult to review. It has the Christian element of restoration. But sadly there is no restoration when it comes to the main actor.
PROS + Great actors.
+ Great script.
CONS
This whole movie has some beautiful elements, but is laissez-faire in many regards and puts pressure on American churches to rather not chose the "boring and real" Christians to play a role, but to put up a show no matter what.
It is hard to write those words, because the movie causes positive emotions. But from a Christian perspective and for the sake of building up healthy churches, stay away from this movie.
PROS + Great actors.
+ Great script.
CONS
- When he looks for a Christian testimony, he gets to Bono. To mention him as a Christian, is ridiculous.
- The pastor states that the other candidates are horrible actors, which is a strong anti-Christian attitude.
- They quote the Catholic Assisi.
- They allow him to take communion even though he is obviously not a Christian. This displays a very bad example for churches in America.
- They play the scene of the women caught in adultery, a passage that is foreign to the original Bible.
- At the end of the movie the pastor's daughter falls in love with an unbeliever who would probably lead her in real life away from church or cause serious problems, if no conversion occurred. Worse than that, they offer him indirectly new roles in the church.
This whole movie has some beautiful elements, but is laissez-faire in many regards and puts pressure on American churches to rather not chose the "boring and real" Christians to play a role, but to put up a show no matter what.
It is hard to write those words, because the movie causes positive emotions. But from a Christian perspective and for the sake of building up healthy churches, stay away from this movie.
Nice christian family entertainment
axibxi4 June 2020
We enjoed this movie as a family. The plot is quite clichéd and esay to forsee. But the acting is good and there is some nice slapstick dialogue and a good natured humor which - if you are familiar with church culture - makes you laugh about yourself/your church culture in a refreshing way. It is a clearly faith based film centred around the message of love, forgiveness, grace and getting a second chance. Entertaining and family friendly. Not very compelling but not too cheesey.
Low budget but charming
diggler_inc24 April 2017
It is easy to see that this is a very low budget film that comes with some of the faults that low budget films have. If you can accept that and watch it with an open mind, you will enjoy it.
The story is predictable and the bad boy isn't really that bad, but this is a Christian film.
Acting is excellent and it was refreshing to see a movie that is about human relationships instead of the formulamatic nonsense that you see in most movies these days.
The story is predictable and the bad boy isn't really that bad, but this is a Christian film.
Acting is excellent and it was refreshing to see a movie that is about human relationships instead of the formulamatic nonsense that you see in most movies these days.
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