Steve Pulaski
Tyler Doherty (Tanner Maguire) is an eight-year-old boy suffering from brain cancer. In order to cope with his illness, he frequently writes letters addressed to God, mailing them and hoping he receives his transcribed prayers to relieve him and his parents from his sickness. The challenge for the mailman is what exactly to do with the letters. The mailman, in this case, is Brady McDaniels (Jeffrey Johnson), an alcoholic who replaces Tyler's once-loyal mailman. Right off the bat, you have your case studies for a wholesome, family-friendly Christian film.The wholesome film in question is Letters to God, which takes two real-life, relatable stories and degrades them with the kind of weepy, melodramatic screen writing that feels less like an emotional experience and more like a forceful extraction of tears from your tearducts. We weave in and out of each character's story, following Tyler's daily struggle of assimilating back into school after a two month absence and his relationship with a young, pretty girl named Samantha Perryfield (Bailee Madison) develop. Madison works to steal every scene she's in, with her ample amounts of energy, her illuminating smile, and her ability to add the most passable emotional leverage to a film already soaked to the marrow in dreary simplification and cheap, emotional manipulation.Letters to God caters to the demographic I've long wrote about when discussing contemporary Christian cinema, which is the kind of people that seek out these films and will love them no matter how abysmal the story, how incredulous the situational drama, or how ridiculous the dialog. They want to see their faith personified on screen by people they view are as wholesome as they are, and it doesn't matter whether or not there's a sole convincing scene in the film. As long as the film namedrops God and Jesus, has some scenes that involve prayer, and continue to abide by a god-fearing playbook, the core audience will be satisfied and the film will be classifiable as a sleeper hit, with more of its kind turning up as the years go on.The film, however, manages to offer slightly more interesting family drama than the genre is used to seeing. Consider Tyler's brother, played by Michael Bolten (take note of the spelling of the last name before you jump to conclusions), who is sick of watching his mother (Robyn Lively) continuously stress about how Tyler's condition, to the point where neither her nor anyone else living under the same roof can enjoy their own anymore. A scene occurs later in the film that shows the character frustrated, venting about how he wishes life can go back to the way it was, without all the talk about MRIs and nervous, late-night trips to the hospital. Scenes like this one can appreciate because they are unexpected and break from the tiresome playbook of Christian-filmmaking in the regard that they provide us with some realistic scenarios. Not to mention, it's one of the only moments in the film where God isn't given a shoutout at least once every sentence.Reading this review, you may think I loathe Christian cinema and detest every product it has produced in recent years. This couldn't be further from the truth. I am always intrigued by the genre, making an effort to watch many of its films and developing an understanding for its characters and its situations, and often, am surprised in one way or another by what it can do with what little budget it has. Letters to God, however, isn't interested in creating a story that predicates itself off of acting and scenarios one can find themselves invested in. It cares about cheapening the gospel and milking it for all the sentimentality its worth. The core audience at hand deserves much better than what this film can give them.Starring: Tanner Maguire, Jeffrey Johnson, Robyn Lively, Bailee Madison, and Michael Bolten. Directed by: David Nixon and Patrick Doughtie.
Writer_Commentary
This movie, adapted from a true story, has more meaning then a lot of the other junk out there. Sure, as a Christian, I may be biased towards liking this movie. But I highly recommend it to anyone who has struggled with faith, doubt, or even cancer. But this movie has a great message that needs to be told. It seems strange, the places they take this movie to, but it is a heartfelt story nonetheless. I should warn you that there are sad parts to it, but there are good parts as well. You may not like the ending, but it is better than most. I would love to own this movie and watch it all the time, even though I don't know where to get a copy. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a very serious drama movie to watch that even Christians can agree on liking. If you aren't one, I still recommend it in case you have ever lost someone close to you in your life, much like the characters do at the end of the movie.
antaraxia
A friend of mine recommended this movie to me. I am usually a bit skeptical when it comes to Christian movies (although I am a devout Christian), because I rarely actually like what they put on the screen (maybe because of low budget also, that would be my guess). Despite all, I ENJOYED this movie a lot! I would recommend it to anyone who needs a wake up call, that life isn't all about fun, all about fame and all about money. It goes beyond.... it's about relationships, family and most important, your eternity. It's based on true story, which is cool! To know that the love of a young child for God actually made a difference! All I can say is Praise God! I wish I had Tylor's faith when facing such a giant as his sickness.
