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Flywheel (2003)

User reviews

Flywheel

60 reviews
6/10

Faith based drama.

  • michaelRokeefe
  • Mar 18, 2009
  • Permalink
7/10

"You lazy, fat, last-chip-eating thief!"

Refreshing non-Hollywood style drama. It was obviously made on a shoe-string budget by relative unknowns, but that's part of this sweet little film's charm. It is a fine example of a thoughtful effort to get a point across without explosions, car chases, or four-letter slang.

The writer and lead Alex Kendrick has offered up a very sincere and cleverly told story. It's not polished; its independent roots are evident (tops of people's heads get chopped off a lot, for example). Nevertheless, the characters are likable and the acting isn't bad at all. The writer puts a lot of humorous one-liners in the script ("You lazy, fat, last-chip-eating thief!"), and the story rolls along nicely.

Used car salesman Jay Austin makes a perfect modern Ebenezer Scrooge type, a dishonest and ruthless businessman. His life (both business and private) starts crashing down, and he cries out to God for forgiveness and help. His revival seems rushed in the story, but it's believable. But it's not just his personal epiphany and the changing of his ways that this story focuses on, it's the result of that change. The dishonest employees of Austin who do not change, make a great counterpoint between his past and present behavior. A couple of plot twists near the end can be seen coming from a mile away, but that doesn't really hurt the film.

Certainly there's a moral, and the movie succeeds at presenting food for thought. It makes for a good rental.
  • MartianOctocretr5
  • Sep 1, 2009
  • Permalink
8/10

Have fun watching this, Church goer or no.

Student like production quality does not stop the enjoyment of this film. Unlike Hostle, people in this film actually redeem themselves, life is good, and can get better, and the world is NOT falling into ruin.. People really want Love and Light and venture to improve the human condition, and not just rape and torture for fun and profit. I really wish there were more films like this produced by major studios, but some of them must think only Death and Dishonor sells tickets. I see this film and know there are people out there who want to spend their time and money on GOOD thoughts and feelings.

(Thank God, or whoever your "higher power" may be)
  • jordan_smith
  • Aug 9, 2007
  • Permalink

surprisingly good

Okay, let's be honest. Low-budget, amateur actors, and a blatant agenda. All this has been commented on. Rather than "getting past" all this, though, I think much of the charm in this movie is in constantly remembering these factors.

I have seen dozens of Christian themed movies done with similar talent, technology and budget. Most are disappointing on more than one level. I'm not enough of a connoisseur to put my finger on it, but something about "Flywheel" transcends the genre. I was moved by several scenes; and the performances, while not stellar, were powerful and real. I was nearly asleep when I started watching, and I was captivated for two hours. Part of what held my interest was my awareness that these are not professional filmmakers or actors; watching them grapple with these roles was a treat, and the result is surprisingly satisfying. Once you take it as a given that the goal is to present a particular message, I think you have to hand it to the Kendricks for handling it like they do. Just real enough to be effective; just sanitized enough to make it completely family-friendly. Nothing, wrong, in my mind, with a rawer approach, but given certain self-imposed limitations, an admirable movie.

Worth the time, worth the rent, worth a second look
  • shanghai777
  • Feb 24, 2005
  • Permalink
10/10

Wonderfully Inspiring Movie

I happened upon this terrific film tonight and just had to come here to comment on it.

Christian Films has outdone themselves in this little gem! It warmed my heart and strengthened my already strong faith in God, and the way He works in our lives.

We often think that God has too many big things to do and He doesn't have time for our tiny lives. But that is where we err. God works in big and little things, and brings blessings to our personal worlds when we are patient and have faith in Him.

The production values were such that I knew this film would not waste time with special effects or high production values but instead would concentrate its focus upon the message and the story. For me, any consideration over its production were melted away when the simple but inspiring effects of the storyline unfolded.

I recommend this movie without reservation to anyone, believers and non-believers. I promise that God will move you. Blessings.
  • Enrique-Sanchez-56
  • Nov 19, 2005
  • Permalink
9/10

Must be doing something right

Based on previous comments, apparently the movie made its way across the country. But I am disturbed by some comments.

Who's to say a movie needed actual actors to play the parts? I have seen no-name actors go on to do huge movies.

Who's to say a movie needed a million dollar budget? Clerks was made with a 30,000 dollar budget and the movie was excellent. It also paved the way for at least five other movies such as Mallrats, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and even Clerks 2. Meanwhile, Sherwood Pictures has a new movie in September and I imagine there may be more to come.

And so "they shove religion down our throats". Big deal. Lots of movies have shoved a lot down our throats. Some negative, some positive. People can be influenced so much by movies. And I believe that is why the movie was made in the first place.

The characters were great. The Kendricks proved that you can make a clean family movie and yet have a villain(Bernie). I love villains. And he was brilliant.

The scene with Bernie and Vince about biscuits was about the funniest I have seen in any type of genre of movies.

Just thought I'd throw in my 53 cents in.
  • GADude79
  • Jul 28, 2006
  • Permalink
6/10

Lacking production value, but an enjoyable story!

This is a movie for Christians by Christians. While it could be used as an outreach tool, my personal opinion is that it is geared more toward being an enjoyable film for those already saved.

Now... was it good? Depends on the standard you rate it at. It's not very well shot, some scenes could use better transitions, some dialogue feels forced, and the sound needs work (the background noise when going from indoors to outdoors is noticeable like on any home movie camera). So don't, whatever you do, try to compare this to today's big-budget Hollywood productions!

HOWEVER, all that said, the storyline is great, and story is what makes a great film! For a low budget movie, I think they did a wonderful job. It evokes real feelings of anger, sadness, joy. You forget about the production value once you get into it and look to the characters and story. You'll be asking yourself, "How's it going to end?" There were a couple shake-ups I didn't see coming which made it quite interesting.

I hope we see many more movies like this being produced. With time and experience, and with the viewing public's support, I believe the quality of such films will improve. And the more improvements, the more appeal to a wider viewing audience.
  • jason-1869
  • Oct 12, 2010
  • Permalink
5/10

Christians Will Rejoice, While Secular Audiences Will Reject This Preachy Parable.

  • zardoz-13
  • Sep 28, 2008
  • Permalink
10/10

Heartwarming... story triumphs low budget!

Alright... first of all, the movie was done for a $20k budget. You'll see in the first five minutes that it was shot with a video camera and, while the best that could be done with a prosumer video camera, it just doesn't look like a feature film quality production. Then you get past that and ignore it... that's when God starts working through the film.

Alex and Stephen have created a fantastic story here, and one you'll want to share with others. Afterwards, you'll realize, as I did, that they have managed to created a film with $20k that's better than most of the multi-million dollar productions out of Hollywood today. You'll laugh, cry, and more importantly, you'll feel the presence of God in this film. Highly, highly recommended.
  • bweston-1
  • Dec 21, 2004
  • Permalink
7/10

Great little independent movie with a message that everyone can learn from!

First off, this is a great story...honesty is not the subject of many movies anymore and I commend the writers for coming up with a great story.

This of course was their first movie, so from a technical standpoint there are a lot of goofs and technical things wrong.

The lighting is the most prominent of these, and you do spot the microphone in one scene, but these are understandable on a very small budget from a new film maker.

I really recommend this and Facing the Giants. They are both great stories and well acted from unknowns.

I can't wait for their 3rd film!
  • coasterwes
  • Apr 29, 2007
  • Permalink
5/10

Poor low-budget acting but films message remains good throughout.

The first time I watched this film was several years ago with my Church's Youth Group and I found it hilariously ridiculous due to it's poor acting and bad cinematography over all. I was so focused on the poor acting to notice that there was a message being told and a pretty good one. I'll admit that this movie is not for everyone. It is very lighthearted and has an innocent comedic nature about it but the message remains strong either way. The story follows the life of a crooked car salesman who finds that instead of being crooked and blatantly ripping off his customers that God is the only way to keep his business successful. Whilst the story holds strong bear in mind that this is a low budget film, and that not all the main protagonists circumstances are presented in a way that you feel sympathetic for him, not to say that you can't though, it is just fairly difficult from my point of view. This film had a lot of potential the story is great, if a larger Christian film producer had this in their hands it would be fairly good. Overall I do not recommend this film to everybody as I do not think people without Christian beliefs would be able to appreciate the message as much as people who do would, due to it's poor acting. I do think people that do have Christian beliefs or are fairly open to a film that is solely based on the fact where God is the solution to it all then yes. The film has a lighthearted feel and a good message. Would recommend to families as it has an understanding message and is simply easy to follow.
  • marktuovinen32
  • Jun 22, 2016
  • Permalink
10/10

Great Movie

This movie is a great story as well as touching & inspirational. Any Christian businessperson should definitely watch it but anyone would love it. I enjoyed the part of the young son in the movie and how he watches everything his dad does whether or not the dad knows it. So true of children. The wife in the movie got on my nerves at first because I wanted her to tell her husband how it was, but it taught me the lesson of praying for him and waiting for God to speak to him, then she stepped in and encouraged him and stood by his side through it all. I plan to buy some copies to share! If you can't find it, NetFlix has it to rent!
  • carrieg-2
  • Dec 19, 2005
  • Permalink
6/10

Surprisingly better than expected

  • Seraphion
  • Oct 11, 2015
  • Permalink
1/10

A Christian allegory that hits as lightly as a nail on the head

In the beginning, we are faced with a character who is a terrible father and husband, a ruthless salesman, is in debt, and is lost in faith. This movie supposes that only addressing one of those issues is enough to solve all of his combined problems (I'll leave it to you to guess which one...) Still, chronicling one man's discovery of faith isn't this movie's problem, and in fact it could have been it's main strength; Christian values have their places in movie dramas, but this movie uses charm as an excuse for blandness and its boasted do-it-yourself/preaching attitude as a cover up for uninspired writing/acting. It's especially painful when the movie reaches the end of the road and makes its point halfway through the running time, but then decides to spend the rest of the scenes rubbing our faces in it, making sure that it's ingrained enough in your head.

Most of all, even though this movie has a lot to say about what we should believe in, one thing the writers definitely don't believe in is a personal conscience - the power of oneself to extend goodwill to others based on right and wrong, not because a threatening God is judging everything you do. I guess I just have a little more hope for humanity than they do....

If Carl Dreyer could see how low the state of spiritual movies has fallen, he would be rolling in his grave.
  • ryancarroll88
  • Sep 27, 2010
  • Permalink

A GREAT way to spend two hours.

  • iced_light
  • Jan 6, 2005
  • Permalink
10/10

Awesome movie; Excellent story; A must see!!

This movie is truly one of the best movies ever produced. Hollywood CANNOT do what has been done with Flywheel. What it lacks in production value it makes up for in everything else...and is not even noticed within 3 minutes after the movie opens. "Audiences have been brought to tears and happiness" is right on the box and I have personally watched this movie in a theater with hundreds of people who were shaken from their foundations...and moved to change. Much has been said and written about this movie, and much will be in the future...but one thing is for certain...this movie will thoroughly entertain you as well as cause you to look differently at your situation. Shot completely on location in South Georgia by an independent film company, the heart of the movie is bigger than Hollywood's big budget box office flops and hits. I give this movie an all around "A" for its emotion, storyline, humor and drama. Thanks FLYWHEEL for such a tremendous movie that shows us a world view that is much different than the usual Hollywood slant!
  • allen808
  • Dec 26, 2004
  • Permalink
8/10

Reply to .... for people who hate movies

I completely disagree with the reviewer "Obliv". He is obviously pretty nutty. I mean to bash people just because they say they enjoyed the movie... PLEASE! And then he was bashing Christians throughout his review while claiming to be one, yeah right! So If you want a true review, I don't think you will get it from that guy.

My two cents.... I watch a lot of movies (pretty much everything) and I really enjoyed this one. The story line was great, I found it very touching and refreshing. I thought the main character did a great job too. My only criticism would be to work on the film quality as it was not the best and some of the acting could use some work too. However, this was a very good start and I look forward to more movies by this church in the future! By the way, I loved "Facing the Giants" too.

Funniest part of the movie was the joke about how the film staff at their church only copied tapes all day and did nothing else… I'm sure they got a kick out of that!
  • jennyjustjen
  • Aug 28, 2007
  • Permalink
7/10

Easy to appreciate no matter which side of the spectrum you fall under

I suppose if there is one segment of the working population that needs Jesus and needs some salvation and reformation in their attitudes and practices it would be the car salesmen. It seems that with the already trying and confusing process of buying a car, they exist to further complicate and subtly hinder the process by tacking on added warranties, surcharges, and ostensibly beneficial packages seemingly geared to help you but really help their commission. I guess associate pastor of the Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia Alex Kendrick recognized this because he decided to make the debut feature film for his company Sherwood Pictures about a financially-strapped used car salesman who intentionally inflates his prices and is hardly mailable regardless of who's buying a car. Despite turning a good profit, those around him, like his persistent wife and child, see his practices as dishonest and unethical, to which he decides he needs to dedicate his life to serving the lord. In which case, he begins selling cars at honest prices, even though those honest prices may not make him the richest used car dealer in Albany, it will still make him the most loyal and fair.

The salesman is Jay Austin (Alex Kendrick), who, to his credit, has clear motivations for why he does what he does. He doesn't take pride in screwing the average customer financially, but he has a family that he needs to run, employees he needs to compensate, liabilities he needs to attend to, and numerous forces, some of which are looking to shut him down. Not to mention, he has serious competition just down the street from a man who is also overpricing his vehicles. When his wife (Janet Lee Dapper) finds out he cut a poor deal to an innocent and helpful local pastor, she becomes angry with him, and their son begins to frown on his father's practices and not even consider him a role model any more. This further leads Jay to discover the word of God, but more importantly, discover a more human side of reality, which is just because he is struggling, that's no excuse to rip off other in his path.

Writers Alex Kendrick and his brother Stephen paint Albany, Georgia in a realistic, unglamorous light, which is part of the reason the film succeeds on an unforeseen level. Rather than paint the town and its locale as the kind of bland, vanilla caricatures that should exist as real people but don't, the Kendrick brothers keep the whole thing honest and ruffled in the sense that no characters appear perfect, everyone's wearing clothes that have a little stain on them or need ironed, and everybody looks like practical, working class people. Even the way the film is shot - for a paltry $20,000 by film industry standards - the film looks as if the Kendrick brothers simply took a camera into the town of Albany and filmed its aesthetic and local residents in a "come as you are" kind of format. This results in a style that looks very similar to a documentary, which is perfectly fine with me. When so many modern examples of Christian cinema look to sugarcoat and beautify, the Kendrick brothers - at least in this case - look to humanize and shoot reality in terms of appearance.

With that, even the acting is solid for the most part. Excluding Dapper's occasions to overact (especially when her husband is facing an interview that could tarnish his reputation), every here does solid work. From Kendrick's believably hardpressed salesman character, to his character's rotund salesman Tracy Goode and Treavor Lokey, who act as workers in desperate need of money, the acting is uniformly solid. This is because nobody delivers long-winded monologues in a cheesy way and nobody tries to make their character out to be more than they are, in a metaphorical or allegorical way. And most important, the Kendrick brothers don't feel the need to insert the word "God," "Christian," or "Bible" into every one of the characters' sentences. Because this is absent, the characters can carry on with being just that - characters in a film about one person's desire to change hi sold practices and become more morally good.

Yet Flywheel does still have some issues it needs ironed out. For one, the disposition becomes too sunny at times, especially with the ending, where everything goes from possible calamity to just a happy ending in about a minute and a half. Just when the film is seemingly trying to disregard shortchanging simplifications it tacks one on at the very end of the film in a way that is almost unacceptable. However, the one thing that is present here - as it would also be in the Kendrick brothers' financial home-run Fireproof - is the slow, gradual change that our leader character must go through. Both Flywheel and Fireproof (though the first one better than the latter) show change in a slow-progressing manner and not an instantaneous change like some films have the tendency to do. With this, the film doesn't seem to shortchange and simply seems like it's trying to enlighten.

Flywheel may not be polished in terms of production values, nor perfect in its representation of events, but it is a solid start for a Baptist Church turned film company to make and produce above-average Christian films for a clearly demanding and willing audience. The film has just enough relatability and ideology to appeal to its core fanbase, but also has the ability to be at least enjoyed and maybe even appreciated by the irreligious demographic, like myself, who look at films like this as a way to connect with another group of people. For that regard, the film succeeds on a level all its own.

Starring: Alex Kendrick, Janet Lee Dapper, Tracy Goode, and Treavor Lokey. Directed by: Alex Kendrick.
  • StevePulaski
  • Jun 11, 2014
  • Permalink
1/10

Do not rent this movie!

  • purplemartin
  • Nov 24, 2006
  • Permalink
9/10

Are you sure the acting is all that bad, look carefully

  • Growler_Griz
  • Mar 2, 2008
  • Permalink
7/10

Beautiful story for the Christian

  • plantsvszombiestim
  • May 4, 2019
  • Permalink
5/10

Move those clunkers

Flywheel is the story of Alex Kendrick a member in good standing of a profession that's looked down on, selling used cars. I well remember back in the day when a picture of an unshaven Richard Nixon with the caption, "would you buy a used car from that man" was very popular. In fact it summed up the standing of the profession.

And Kendrick is owner of such a lot in Albany, Georgia where this film was shot on a shoestring budget. The watchword there as in other places is 'move those clunkers'.

But Kendrick who is in a cash flow problem has a religious reassessment of his life and then decides to bring honesty to the profession. As is shown in Flywheel the Lord does move in mysterious ways.

As a Christian film it's not a bad representation for the genre. Still the acting is on the college theatrical level and the production values are slim. And to say it's highly unrealistic is putting it mildly.
  • bkoganbing
  • Jun 17, 2016
  • Permalink
10/10

Finding inward joy brings it outward

The first comments that I read had such a bitter tone to them...a negativity that is part of the problem in our world today. It is always better to live as honestly as possible both personally and professionally. Have we gotten so cynical that we think it is better to cheat others to get ahead in life? This movie was a welcome surprise and joy to me. I found it to be inspiring and a reminder of the true values in life. This is one movie that I will definitely purchase! And the movie does not suggest that if you turn your life over to God that everything will be instantly better. Instead, it reinforces that our faith is constantly challenged, that we will find high roads and low roads in our walk to live an honest, Godly life. Jay did not turn his life over to God because he had lost everything. He turned his life and business over once he admitted to himself that inwardly he was miserable with himself as a man and a human being. There was a joy missing inside of him. By finding that inward joy, his relationships began to improve. And he found that living with himself became much easier also.
  • tlawson-5
  • Oct 2, 2005
  • Permalink
6/10

Good wholesome film

This was obviously a low budget flick and I only picked it out at the video store due to lack of other options. Having never heard of the movie, the description on the back of the DVD sounded OK so I rented it.

I'm not much of a religious man but I found this movie to be heartwarming, philosophical, and entertaining (although the middle was on the edge of boring.) And I disagree with the earlier reviewer who took issue with the movie's description of the flywheel. I don't think the guy said or implied that the sole use of the flywheel is starting the engine. What he said was that the flywheel was bad, which prevented the engine from starting. If he fixed the flywheel he would then fix the car.
  • salesguy-286-525666
  • Feb 8, 2012
  • Permalink
1/10

What can I say? Pure trash!

I rented this movie by mistake and oh what a mistake it was! This movie is nothing but pure, unadulterated re-born Christian Bible-thumping. From a technical standpoint, the movie was even worse. It looked like someone ad-libbed the lines as they went and filmed it with a $200 home video camera. It actually looked like they were reading off of prompt cards at times! Absolutely awful! If you have little patience for Christian bigotry and holier-than-thou Bible thumping, this movie is guaranteed to raise your blood pressure. Then again, you could just view it as a comedy - a very poor comedy. I don't like to make negative comments like this but this movie will be an exception. I actually feel like I was ripped off by renting this movie.
  • thomas-johnston
  • May 27, 2005
  • Permalink

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