I am a born-again Christian and big fan of Christian films. Yes, many are disappointing, especially ones promoted as "Christian films" that are simply wholesome, clean and family-friendly but which are ashamed to name the name of Jesus Christ. RING THE BELL is refreshingly not ashamed of Jesus or his life-giving Gospel. I was especially impressed by how well and how thoroughly the Gospel was proclaimed throughout the movie. That evangelistic message coupled with a great story catapulted RING THE BELL high on my list of favorite Christian movies.
Yes, the plot is the familiar fish-out-of-water story and one can predict its trajectory after the first few minutes. That's by no means a bad thing, however, and the journey from opening titles to end credits is thoroughly inspiring and entertaining. Ryan Scharoun as Rob Decker really shines, striking a perfect balance between playing the money-mad egomaniac and the sympathetic guy making up for something lacking within himself. I hope his strong performance here lands him more leading man roles in Christian films (as great as they are, David A.R. White and Kevin Sorbo can't do 'em all!).
Speaking of Sorbo, I will admit that when Rob's fancy sports car breaks down on the road I was immediately reminded of Sorbo's movie WHAT IF..., to which RING THE BELL bears similarities in story and theme. However, after the car breaks down in WHAT IF... the movie veers into angelic-fueled fantasy, while RING THE BELL always stays grounded. It's a pretty sober-minded movie, with the humor mostly coming from Maggie, the eccentric desk clerk of the bed-and-breakfast where Rob is staying. (Her "Middletown Meltdown" is cute, but I don't see it ever supplanting high-fives and fist bumps.)
I did wonder whether the sober-mindedness of Daisy, Scooter, and Sean would turn off non-Christian viewers. Daisy especially comes off poorly in the scene where she's hanging laundry. There wasn't a winsomeness in her interaction with Rob; it was more like disdain and left a chill. Ashley Anderson-McCarthy is a fine actress, however, and her scene at the climax sharing the Gospel with Rob was very well done. For those who complain that Christian movies are formulaic, this one does upend the convention of boy meets girl, falls in love, and lives happily ever after. There are hints of a Rob and Daisy romance early on, but it never sparks. I don't know whether that was refreshing or disappointing. I think I was hoping for love to bloom and for Scooter to sign on with Rob. And who knows? Maybe all that happened after the credits rolled.
Theologically, the film does counter prevailing evangelical teaching that a Christian can serve God in every good endeavor (to plug Timothy Keller's book). Sean and Scooter react to sports agent Rob Decker's offers to play in the big leagues as if it were a pact with Satan himself. Rob approaches ace high school ballplayer Sean (who boasts a 4.0 GPA, academic and athletic honors, and aspires to be a doctor) with a million-dollar signing bonus, but Sean rebuffs him because he has a scholarship to Stetson College. A couple years in the MLB would not preclude college, and would sure help cover the cost of medical school. Another promising prospect, Scooter, has a similar reaction to Rob's offer, implying playing baseball professionally would be a compromise and a rejection of God's call on him to ministry (yet Scooter states he admires Tim Tebow, which struck me as contradictory).
Rob at one point mentions that Middletown is a lot like Mayberry from The Andy Griffith Show. I suspected the producers were paying homage to that classic sitcom by having the gas station run by a trio of latter-day Goober Pyles and by making the barber shop the hub of town gossip. Small-town life is very much romanticized here with church picnics, high school baseball games, and the Casting Crowns concert to which the whole community parades through the street and into the 1940's-style theater to see. Middletown presents a very appealing vision for how life could be lived and serves as a sharp contrast to the cutthroat corporate world Rob Decker inhabits and perpetuates.
Rob's transformation happens fast, but is thoroughly believable. When he hears Mark Hall's evangelistic message (a high point of the film) he feels the stirrings of conviction but doesn't act on them. Later, hearing the Gospel again from Daisy, Rob teeters on the edge but doesn't step out just then either. These should be encouraging scenes to aspiring and struggling soulwinners because they more realistically show how the Holy Spirit works in and on the hearts of people as opposed to the popular Billy Graham and Chick tract depictions of people rushing the altar or falling to their knees saying the sinner's prayer after a single sermon or walk down the Romans Road.
Casting Crowns fans will appreciate the generous screen time dedicated to its performance and to Mark Hall's stirring message. It was fun seeing several baseball players in cameos, as well as CCM stars Matthew West and Steven Curtis Chapman. Chapman does a fine job playing Pastor Steve, even if his protracted recounting of the story of ill-fated missionary Jim Elliot felt shoehorned in, not fitting snugly into the narrative.
A fellow reviewer scored RING THE BELL low on logic, and yeah, it didn't make sense that the only gas station in what appeared to be a bustling town was in a shotgun shack set back and off of the main road. It was also illogical that a band as big as Casting Crowns would play in a one-gas-station town, but these are things you just gotta roll with to enjoy the movie on its own terms. And it was a thoroughly enjoyable movie, one that draws you in and makes you care for the characters and to sincerely rejoice whenever that bell is rung.
Yes, the plot is the familiar fish-out-of-water story and one can predict its trajectory after the first few minutes. That's by no means a bad thing, however, and the journey from opening titles to end credits is thoroughly inspiring and entertaining. Ryan Scharoun as Rob Decker really shines, striking a perfect balance between playing the money-mad egomaniac and the sympathetic guy making up for something lacking within himself. I hope his strong performance here lands him more leading man roles in Christian films (as great as they are, David A.R. White and Kevin Sorbo can't do 'em all!).
Speaking of Sorbo, I will admit that when Rob's fancy sports car breaks down on the road I was immediately reminded of Sorbo's movie WHAT IF..., to which RING THE BELL bears similarities in story and theme. However, after the car breaks down in WHAT IF... the movie veers into angelic-fueled fantasy, while RING THE BELL always stays grounded. It's a pretty sober-minded movie, with the humor mostly coming from Maggie, the eccentric desk clerk of the bed-and-breakfast where Rob is staying. (Her "Middletown Meltdown" is cute, but I don't see it ever supplanting high-fives and fist bumps.)
I did wonder whether the sober-mindedness of Daisy, Scooter, and Sean would turn off non-Christian viewers. Daisy especially comes off poorly in the scene where she's hanging laundry. There wasn't a winsomeness in her interaction with Rob; it was more like disdain and left a chill. Ashley Anderson-McCarthy is a fine actress, however, and her scene at the climax sharing the Gospel with Rob was very well done. For those who complain that Christian movies are formulaic, this one does upend the convention of boy meets girl, falls in love, and lives happily ever after. There are hints of a Rob and Daisy romance early on, but it never sparks. I don't know whether that was refreshing or disappointing. I think I was hoping for love to bloom and for Scooter to sign on with Rob. And who knows? Maybe all that happened after the credits rolled.
Theologically, the film does counter prevailing evangelical teaching that a Christian can serve God in every good endeavor (to plug Timothy Keller's book). Sean and Scooter react to sports agent Rob Decker's offers to play in the big leagues as if it were a pact with Satan himself. Rob approaches ace high school ballplayer Sean (who boasts a 4.0 GPA, academic and athletic honors, and aspires to be a doctor) with a million-dollar signing bonus, but Sean rebuffs him because he has a scholarship to Stetson College. A couple years in the MLB would not preclude college, and would sure help cover the cost of medical school. Another promising prospect, Scooter, has a similar reaction to Rob's offer, implying playing baseball professionally would be a compromise and a rejection of God's call on him to ministry (yet Scooter states he admires Tim Tebow, which struck me as contradictory).
Rob at one point mentions that Middletown is a lot like Mayberry from The Andy Griffith Show. I suspected the producers were paying homage to that classic sitcom by having the gas station run by a trio of latter-day Goober Pyles and by making the barber shop the hub of town gossip. Small-town life is very much romanticized here with church picnics, high school baseball games, and the Casting Crowns concert to which the whole community parades through the street and into the 1940's-style theater to see. Middletown presents a very appealing vision for how life could be lived and serves as a sharp contrast to the cutthroat corporate world Rob Decker inhabits and perpetuates.
Rob's transformation happens fast, but is thoroughly believable. When he hears Mark Hall's evangelistic message (a high point of the film) he feels the stirrings of conviction but doesn't act on them. Later, hearing the Gospel again from Daisy, Rob teeters on the edge but doesn't step out just then either. These should be encouraging scenes to aspiring and struggling soulwinners because they more realistically show how the Holy Spirit works in and on the hearts of people as opposed to the popular Billy Graham and Chick tract depictions of people rushing the altar or falling to their knees saying the sinner's prayer after a single sermon or walk down the Romans Road.
Casting Crowns fans will appreciate the generous screen time dedicated to its performance and to Mark Hall's stirring message. It was fun seeing several baseball players in cameos, as well as CCM stars Matthew West and Steven Curtis Chapman. Chapman does a fine job playing Pastor Steve, even if his protracted recounting of the story of ill-fated missionary Jim Elliot felt shoehorned in, not fitting snugly into the narrative.
A fellow reviewer scored RING THE BELL low on logic, and yeah, it didn't make sense that the only gas station in what appeared to be a bustling town was in a shotgun shack set back and off of the main road. It was also illogical that a band as big as Casting Crowns would play in a one-gas-station town, but these are things you just gotta roll with to enjoy the movie on its own terms. And it was a thoroughly enjoyable movie, one that draws you in and makes you care for the characters and to sincerely rejoice whenever that bell is rung.