What Hollywood could learn from Fireproof

This weekend I saw a movie named Fireproof. This movie is a religious movie with overtly religious themes. I am not suggesting the Hollywood start making exclusively religious movies.

The movie centers around a couple who has seen the spark leave their marriage. They have forgotten how to respect each other and they have forgotten simple decency. They are moving head long toward divorce. This is where the faith came in. At the beginning of the movie neither the husband or wife were faithful people. Through guidance from his father he comes to God and saves his marriage. He undertakes a "Love Dare" to try to save his marriage.

What I believe Hollywood could learn is about telling a story. This movie could have been made from a secular point of view and been equally as compelling. It starts from a perspective that marriages are better saved than not. I believe most people in our country believe that. That is not a common belief in the artistic community. The aspects that the character follows through the dare while backed up by scripture are not religious in nature. The first day he is dared to do something for your spouse to help them they would not expect. It says to do these things with no return in mind, just spontaneous kindness. This is not a religious component. We can all agree I think that kindness is not exclusively religious. We can also agree that a change in a relationship will never happen as long as both parties are practicing everything except kindness. Along the way he is to plan a romantic dinner. This again is not religious in nature. The events in the dare caused the person to think of the other persons point of view and get out of their own skin for a moment.

Another thing that Hollywood would not understand is that you can have romantic scenes without overt sexual references. During the movie the character of the wife has a flirtation with a doctor at the hospital where she works. I can envision if this were a Hollywood movie we would be treated to steamy sexual liaison where they would have consummated their relationship. If a secular movie were made we could get the idea of a physical relationship without seeing it plastered on the screen. I am not suggesting the physical love is never to be tolerated on screen, just not here. This was a movie about relationships and a physical scene may have taken away from that.

One last thing to Hollywood. I personally don't need to see a movie where every actor is a blockbuster A list actor. This movie had a cast that was mostly made up of unknown people from the church who sponsored the movie. In a secular setting how about keeping the budget down by using lesser known actors. That way I might be able to take my family to the movies for less than $50.

There were aspects of the movie that are predictable and formulaic. I admit this, but we also get that from secular Hollywood. Hollywood proves again and again they have no clue of what the vast majority of people outside of New York and California are looking for in entertainment. If they cared to find out they might make more movies that deal with relationships that resemble the rest of us and not them. I don't expect to see this any time soon. I don't even expect them to stop making the dark melodramas they love so. Just make a few for the rest of us. We might even give them some of our money if they did.