Sweet Sunshine (2020) User Reviews

An Uplifting Story

[buckeyealum-24568 · 8/10 · 6 April 2020]

Sweet Sunshine beautifully combines the roller coaster ride of the music industry and romantic relationships. Also surprisingly the music is very good for an Independent film. Two thumps up for me.

A coming of Age romantic film

[mahayanafilms · 8/10 · 15 May 2020]

Great Country Music and good performances by both of the key casts.....An awesome indie, The production value is impressive for an indie, Great locations.....Sweet Sunshine will probably remind people a bit of A Star Is Born and I definitely mean that as a compliment. A Star Is Born is one of my favorite films . A must watch

Heartfelt movie! Great for the entire family.

[evelyne-8 · 8/10 · 5 April 2020]

What a heartfelt movie. Watching someone go after their dreams and have a passion for what they love. This was really well acted and directed and the music was great. Great for the entire family.

Faith-Based, Family-Focused "A Star Is Born"

[TheAll-SeeingI · 9/10 · 2 April 2020]

As pop stars continue to be constructed from increasingly younger and less world-weary materials, director-screenwriter Craig McMahon's "Sweet Sunshine" expertly distills the convergence of fame and youthful coming-of-age confusion that we increasingly understand to be a true alligator to wrestle for those few that manage to blast off into that space.

Young country singer T.J. Millhouse (John Way) is just old enough to be learning in real-time that even a perfect skyward trajectory incurs costs. For T.J., the paradox of it all stirs questions around faith and family. He's ascending, but so is his learning curve, and it all becomes fraught with risk when tragedy comes calling. Fortunately, a young woman by the name of Sunshine (Savannah McMahon) emerges from the pain, and helps TJ piece himself back into a more fully realized whole.

"Sweet Sunshine" is earnest family fare running on the battery of faith-based storytelling, and doing it at an elite level. The production values in particular are hyper-strong, from terrific stage performances that defy indie convention to a soundtrack loaded with expertly placed original songs that prove spot-on for their intents and purposes. "Sweet Sunshine" is a sweetly-told, big screen reflection of our true-to-life contemporary pop stars, their meteoric rises, and all the first-time feelings and life situations that follow closely behind. - (Was this review of use to you? If so, let me know by clicking "Helpful." Cheers!)

Inspirational family friendly music themed western

[lbruhnca · 10/10 · 22 April 2020]

This film is right in my wheelhouse for what I like. A western, ladened with music, inspiration from overcoming obsticles, love, faith, all wrapped into one entertaining indie film. It's clear in the finished product when all things come together - the acting, settings, and story are all well done making Sweet Sunshine an enjoyable watch, for the whole family. Some films with a message, that have faith elements, are preachy but this one is not. It's a western version of Star is Born.

Heart-warming

[Phil_Chester · 3 May 2020]

A heart-warming tale about the ups and downs of following your dreams. Some great country and western music makes the film even more entertaining. A good watch.

Strong Faith Based Film About Fame

[turrou-66-907048 · 7/10 · 5 April 2020]

If you with you could watch A Star is Born with your entire family, you've found the right movie. Sweet Sunshine is a sweet story about the double edged sword of newfound fame, and the faith that it takes to navigate it. The production value is excellent as is the message. Very strong indie.

If You Like Your Coffee Sweet...

[colinmardell · 1/10 · 30 May 2020]

The storyline was pure treacle. In the absence of anyone who could act, direct or write a decent script the cast and crew made a courageous attempt to create a vehicle a few quite nice songs. I'm not sure if the cast actually provided the voices for the music, the lip sync was awful but if you closed your eyes and listened they were quite good.

Feel-good romance with some grit

[JCanni68 · 9/10 · 3 April 2020]

Fans of the genre will be delighted with the film as it check's all the Hallmark boxes, and in a tasteful way. The lead characters are endearing and easy to root for, and thus you particularly feel their highs and lows. The story doesn't shy away from being gritty and doesn't conveniently tie everything in a ribbon, but ultimately remains positive and inspiring. And the music and vocals are top-notch.

Sweet film with great music

[benhallfilm-1-795743 · 7/10 · 3 August 2020]

Great music and a sweet little picture make for a good family film!

Good story terribly structured, acted and directed

[csmays · 3/10 · 23 May 2020]

The only decent thing about this film was the music and the potential storyline. But there was no sense of the tragedy TJ had gone through emoted in the story or acting, how hard his father was on him wasn't really played upon too much, how talented he or his soon to be wife was didn't really come across, he got married, sick miraculously better, had a baby, film ended. To sum, up it felt like an amatuer film, poor acting, dodgy accents, weak dialogue, rubbish direction, music was ok though.

A really good indie film

[craigahrens · 9/10 · 1 April 2020]

I really enjoyed this indie film from beginning to end. It certainly hits all the right boxes for a family night movie watch. I thought the story was good and acting too! This is not just my opinion. But the shared opinion with those family members that watched it with me. This film was a solid hit with all of us. Bravo, well done folks!

Leaves a glow in the mind's eye

[sdavidsongreen · 7/10 · 5 May 2020]

His passion to create drives this country music Orpheus to tragic loss, to fame and fortune, and ultimately back home to redemption. The lead actors bring big hearts, charm and earnestness to their roles. The original country music soundtrack takes the audience along for a great ride. Evoking Walk the Line, A Star Is Born, Crazy Heart, and other classic movies based on the love stories behind the country music, it plucks the heart strings. Cinematography lives up to the title, leaving a glow in the mind's eye.

Rhymes with sappy

[michaelmain-62884 · 2/10 · 16 May 2020]

I like a sappy movie as much as the next guy, but this is actually just crappy. There's no character development so the shallow characters are completely stereotypical and flat, the two or three songs are not good with essentially just a chorus repeated over and over, there's a really cliche plot and the sound dubbing is often out of sync. Other than that, it's a lovely little film if you're not expecting a plot or good acting.

A compelling drama.

[harriscalvin-1 · 9/10 · 9 April 2020]

Sweet Sunshine was a very compelling dramatic film. Director Craig McMahon did a great job working with his cast & crew. Lead actors John Way & Savanah McMahon both delivered sound performances. This film not only demonstrated the very essence of finding your true love but also delivered some great country music and performances. It teaches us that regardless of what adversities we might face in life, its never too late to reconcile with love ones and to complete one's purpose in life. The music, editing, and cinematography were all on point.

Great find!

[donwandoza · 9/10 · 17 April 2020]

Really enjoyed this one! A gifted musician struggles with his personal life living on a farm with his father as he's trying to make it in the music industry. If your into musicals or movies that hybrid music into it a good story your going to love this indie film. The passion is there and it shows!

Sweet is the word

[thejhorton · 13 April 2020]

Would be right at home on the hallmark channel. Performances, production values and all the feels are there.

Appalling acting but good music.

[terryarnottau · 6/10 · 9 October 2021]

To say the acting was "bad" would be generous and admittedly, some were far worse than others. The leads weren't toooooo bad other than terrible lip-sync, but others, well, I can't believe they actually left those scenes in and didn't just cut them. Like when sunshine's boss fires her, that was utterly laughable. The music was good though, and saved the movie from being a total write-off. The one thing I am surprised by is.... Did people REALLY not realise that he died at the end? I mean, one moment he is lying on his death-bed "fighting for his life" and the next, he's up and walking fine. Sunshine asks him where his oxygen tube is and he says "I don't need it anymore"? He SAYS...... the person who has had BOTH his vocal cords removed, who can no longer speak SAYS he doesn't need the oxygen anymore? Hello? That is his ghost/spirit...... He died.

Horrible

[colettek-64241 · 1/10 · 10 September 2021]

This is bad even for a B-movie. These reviews were definitely written by the cast and crew because there's no way anyone actually enjoyed this movie.

Can be watched with the whole family

[caseykilloran · 10/10 · 18 April 2020]

This film has such sweet story. I defiantly see the "A Star is Born" with more of a lighter hand and based in faith. So it is something that can be watched with the whole family, even the little ones. Love the actress that plays Sunshine.

Great Music

[jbmaughon · 7/10 · 9 July 2020]

Sweet Sunshine is a well-crafted heartfelt film with great music and even better acting. Sweet Sunshine follows two kids trying to find their voices in a small town. The film delivers on great production value, song, and direction. Highly recommend if you enjoy watching people journey through song.

So Sweet!

[directortim2012 · 9/10 · 1 April 2020]

A sweet, beautiful, positive film. In these ultra-gloomy times, I can't tell you how much I appreciated that! I got really emotionally involved. Truly cared about and cheered for the characters. And the singing was great, too. So glad I rented this!

Poorly made. Thoroughly enjoyed.

[jsdoxey · 7/10 · 26 October 2021]

The sound editing was really bad. The acting was pretty poor. The storyline was pretty choppy. The production quality was low. Despite all this, I gave it. 7 somehow. The music was enjoyable and the simple nature of the two leads was quite enjoyable.

Reminds me of the movie "Once" about the making of the song "falling slowly". Low budget production with much higher value for content and feeling. Great voice to the movie.

I think I was able to look past the low budget production and see the story for what it was meant to be. Would love to see this redone by a real studio.

A Sweet Story

[JGReviews · 9/10 · 5 April 2020]

Sweet Sunshine will probably remind people a bit of A Star Is Born and I definitely mean that as a compliment. A Star Is Born was one of my favorite films of the past few years. Both films feature stories about musicians, romance, and the ups and downs within the industry. Sweet Sunshine offers more of a heartwarming plot and a dose of spirituality, which are probably very appealing to so many us these days. If you're looking for something sweet that you can watch with your family, then check out Sweet Sunshine.

Charming indie flick

[Anmer93 · 9/10 · 4 April 2020]

A really charming indie flick. Has everything you want from a country & western/rock music picture, with great musical set pieces that really capture the atmosphere of live performance. On top of that you get charming characters made relatable from an extremely likable cast.