Fireproof (2008)

In an attempt to save his marriage, A firefighter uses a 40-day experiment known as "The Love Dare".

Director:

Alex Kendrick

Writers:

Alex Kendrick (story), Stephen Kendrick (story)

Stars:

Kirk Cameron, Erin Bethea, Ken Bevel

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kirk Cameron	...	Caleb Holt
Erin Bethea	...	Catherine Holt
Ken Bevel	...	Michael Simmons
Stephen Dervan	...	Wayne Floyd
Eric Young	...	Terrell Sanders
Jason McLeod	...	Eric Harmon
Harris Malcom	...	John Holt
Phyllis Malcom	...	Cheryl Holt
Perry Revell	...	Gavin Keller
Stephanie Makulinski	...	Robin Cates
Renata Williams	...	Latasha Brown
Dwan Williams	...	Deidra Harris
Amberly Marquard	...	Ashley Phillips
Joy Joiner	...	Young Catherine's Mom
Danielle Brooks	...	Young Catherine (voice)

Storyline

In Albany, the marriage of Caleb end Catherine Holt is in crisis and they decide to divorce. However, Caleb's father, John, proposes that his son delays their separation process for forty days and follow a procedure called "The Love Dare" to make them love each other again.

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Plot Keywords:

dare | marriage | firefighter | faith | car on train tracks | 

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Taglines:

Never Leave Your Partner Behind.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for thematic material and some peril

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 September 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Prova de Fogo

Filming Locations:

Albany, Georgia, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$6,804,764 (USA) (26 September 2008)

Gross:

$33,451,479 (USA) (23 January 2009)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Samuel Goldwyn Films, Affirm Films, Carmel Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

95 % of the movie was filmed with one camera, the train rescue scene was one of the few that used more than one.

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Goofs

Calib is dispatched to the house fire responding as Engine 1, but when he arrives at the fire, he is on Engine 7

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Quotes

Catherine Holt: What are you doing?
Caleb Holt: I see you left me no pizza.
Catherine Holt: Caleb, I just lit that candle. I like the way it smells.
Caleb Holt: Well, I don't! Did you leave me any dinner at all?
Catherine Holt: I assumed you were eating with Michael.
Caleb Holt: Does it not occur to you that there are two people living in this house and both of them need to eat?
Catherine Holt: You know what, Caleb, if you would communicate with me, maybe I can have something for you.
Caleb Holt: Why do you have to make everything so difficult?
Catherine Holt: Oh, I'm making everything difficult? Seems to me like I'm ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

Before the end credits, a Biblical verse is shown: "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)

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Connections

Referenced in Jeopardy!: Episode #26.27 (2009)

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Soundtracks

"Help Me Love"
Written by Randy Crawford & Jeff Savage
Performed by Webster County

User Reviews

Fireproof - A Poor Excuse For A Film

Before I review this film, I think you should know how I'm approaching this. I'm an Evangelical Quaker (basically, a Christian who believes that you can reach anyone by being understanding, compassionate, and loving without thumping their head with a Bible) and my father, at one time, was a pastor of a church plant. My faith, even though I abandoned it for about six months and became an Objectivist (an atheist who believes in individualism), has gotten me far in life. I suffer from Bipolar disorder, and if you know anything about that would know that having this illness is a truly horrible thing. God is the only thing in my life that has been constantly helping me out in times of crisis. I have seen and been in relationships torn apart by addictions. I also want to be a film director someday. On top of that, I write short stories and novels in my free time. I've studied the craft of good storytelling and I can recognize it when I see it.

Now... on to the review... To put it as blunt as possible: Fireproof is for Christians who are really well off in their faith and have not encountered anything truly wounding to them. It's not their fault, I know, but the fact that film makers are making money off of them for money really ticks me off. Christians are a really easy market to milk. Every artist knows that. Why? Well, make a mediocre movie that's politically correct, doesn't offend anyone, and put Jesus' name in it and you'll soon find out. People, especially Christians, are so easily mislead to believe that just because the people who made the movie share their beliefs that it must be good even though the film's clearly bad. I love the premise of it. The idea of sticking by your partner and helping him or her out because you know that it can work out in the end is really rare nowadays. But they deliver it so poorly that it's laughable. And if you think that I'm being somehow "anti-Christian" and that this movie is flawless, let me point out all the things in this movie that are flawed: 1) The conversations between the firefighters is so unrealistic. No curse words at a fire department filled with men? I mean... really? 2) If a guy found out that his wife was flirting with someone at the office with an intent on cheating, his first response should be to take a shotgun, go down where he works and stick it under his chin and say something like: "I'm going to blow your brains all over the wall if you touch her again." You do not show him your wedding ring and say, "Stay away from her or... or... I'll say something even more mean!" Whoo! You tell him, Mr. Firefighter! You tell that mean doctor! 3) You do not get over addictions instantly after being converted. It's a long and hard process. That is a myth that this movie is producing that I have a huge problem with. 4) People do NOT treat you with respect for getting religion of any kind. They will manipulate, mock, and even threaten you for your faith.

Every time Christians tell me this is one of the greatest movies ever made, I die a little inside. But when a truly Christian movie comes along (like Walk the Line or The Road), they ignore it because people say it isn't "Christian" enough. Nonbelievers clearly see the contradictions in that. These are the types of Christian movies that people should look up to instead of this trash:

Tender Mercies (1983) Deals with the theme that some people need to be polished with love in order to change.

The Road (2009) Deals with the theme of persevering in the harshest circumstances presented to you. This was marketed towards Christians to show how the world will be like when the church is next to non-existent. The father-son relationship is a metaphor for passing the torch on to the next generation.

I Am Legend (2007) Deals with the theme of losing everything in your life and then regaining it again and realizing God's love.

The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005) Asks the question of how people ignore God when they have seen the Devil.

Walk the Line (2005) Again, deals with the theme that some people need to be polished with love in order to change. Christians complained this wasn't "Christian" enough even though it clearly shows Johnny Cash's faith after he's gotten clean through his actions.

Signs (2002) Deals with the theme of losing everything and losing faith. In this case, a preacher losing his wife. If you hate M. Night Shyamalan a lot, ignore the fact that he made this movie. You'll thank me for it.

I could go on and on. The point? These movies were well done, had great quality, and produced a very strong Christian message. Churches ignored them because they weren't up to their impossible standard of being politically correct and non-offensive and still having good quality. It just can't happen. Why are Christians so afraid to show the brutality of life without God? It doesn't make sense to me... and it never will.

I could go on and on about this, but I think truly open-minded people, no matter what their faith, will get what I'm saying.

God bless, -HorrorWriter7493