I attended the World Premiere of this film as a guest of the filmmakers. I know them personally but have no loyalty holding or requiring me to love what they do. (I, like many, thought "Home Teachers" was the nadir of the company's efforts.) Church Ball, like "Mobsters & Mormons" before it, (and coming from half of the writing team that worked on Halestorm's original "Singles Ward" who went on to do "Mobsters") is a slam-dunk. A late season streak, as it were, after a number of difficult pictures where Halestorm had been sucking their market dry.
The return to form comes none too soon, (what with the new studio in the works) and the recruiting of top-notch talent like Fred Willard and Clint Howard helps make it look easy.
Not that it's perfect. Despite the "generalization" of the dialogue this is still a Mormon Movie. Who else puts Basketball courts in their chapels and calls their leader Bishop (without him wearing a special collar)? A larger budget may have been too much to hope for, but it would have helped, because as some people have noted many scenes looked grainy--but what they don't know is that it was a budgetary constraint, not a photographic error. Scenes at the games were shot on Hi-Def video instead of film, to ensure all the action could be captured without wasting precious film stock.
I almost fell over laughing just about every time Fred Willard opened his mouth, but there were other characters without quite enough to do or say--most notably Gary Coleman. I personally thought his part was as short as his frame, but I loved the "Pudding in the Clouds" play! Those who saw it will know what I mean, but the best relationship that was the most underutilized was the janitor and the organist--it needed either to be played up more, or actually scaled back just a tad (specifically, to have the dance number removed).
All in all, Halestorm has put out a great little feel good film with heart. (And I can taste the sugar on my tongue as I say that.) But I mean it; especially in the way the team comes together to recruit their new Center.
Now save me the center aisle seat.
The return to form comes none too soon, (what with the new studio in the works) and the recruiting of top-notch talent like Fred Willard and Clint Howard helps make it look easy.
Not that it's perfect. Despite the "generalization" of the dialogue this is still a Mormon Movie. Who else puts Basketball courts in their chapels and calls their leader Bishop (without him wearing a special collar)? A larger budget may have been too much to hope for, but it would have helped, because as some people have noted many scenes looked grainy--but what they don't know is that it was a budgetary constraint, not a photographic error. Scenes at the games were shot on Hi-Def video instead of film, to ensure all the action could be captured without wasting precious film stock.
I almost fell over laughing just about every time Fred Willard opened his mouth, but there were other characters without quite enough to do or say--most notably Gary Coleman. I personally thought his part was as short as his frame, but I loved the "Pudding in the Clouds" play! Those who saw it will know what I mean, but the best relationship that was the most underutilized was the janitor and the organist--it needed either to be played up more, or actually scaled back just a tad (specifically, to have the dance number removed).
All in all, Halestorm has put out a great little feel good film with heart. (And I can taste the sugar on my tongue as I say that.) But I mean it; especially in the way the team comes together to recruit their new Center.
Now save me the center aisle seat.