2008-10-01 13:45:54

FIREPROOF SIZZLES, HOLLYWOOD CHOKES

Filed under: Faith,Film
Posted by: Craig

Last weekend, two smaller independent films opened in limited release. Both deal with sexual addictions. Both hold up Jesus as central to their characters’ transformation. One featured the former star of Growing Pains, Kirk Cameron and a cast of nonprofessional actors. The other won a Special Jury Prize at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival for an ensemble cast that includes Angelica Huston, Sam Rockwell, Clark Gregg and Kelly McDonald. One arose from the famed pen of Chuck Palahniuk, author of Fight Club. The other came from two brothers at Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia. So guess which movie surpassed expectations and surprised Hollywood this weekend?

Evidently, sex doesn’t sell (or at least, not as depicted in graphic detail within edgy, independent films). Fireproof debuted at number four on the weekend box office charts. It earned almost $7,000,000 in three days with a per screen average of over $8,000. Choke didn’t crack the top ten, netting $3000 per screen and $1.3 million total.
Fireproof will offer a massive windfall for tiny Samuel Goldwyn Films. It is already hugely profitable compared to its modest $500,000 budget. Choke will not duplicate the Sundance success of comedies like Napoleon Dynamite or Little Miss Sunshine for Fox Searchlight. They will struggle to recoup their $5 million purchase. What made one film click with moviegoers while the other fizzled?

Fireproof satisfied an underserved niche. Christians who normally avoid movies came out to support Fireproof. The earnestness and sincerity of Fireproof connected with viewers eager for reassurance. It allows couples to renew their wedding vows in small but tangible ways. Choke is a satirical farce decided to wake up audiences from their self-destructive behaviors. An oversaturated market of independent hipsters greeted Choke‘s blatant provocation with a collective yawn. These cult film watchers decided to wait for it on DVD.

Fireproof depicts the pornography addiction of firefighter Caleb Holt with considerable restraint. He has neglected his wife, Catherine.. In Choke, we follow Victor Mancini to twelve step meetings for sex addicts. He doesn’t attend to cure his addiction, but to pick up equally desperate women. Fireproof follows a forty-day “Love Dare” toward marriage recovery. Choke deals with Victor’s downward spiral, his desperate quest to discover his origins before his memory-impaired mother passes away.

Lost amidst their disparate styles are some fascinating similarities. Both movies were created by filmmakers with strong church roots. Alex and Stephen Kendrick serve on staff at Sherwood Baptist Church. Each of their three feature films have been a low budget, community project. They built upon the success of Flywheel and Facing the Giants to forge Fireproof. Their chutzpah and determination is commendable.

The Southern accents of their actors are real. (The female lead of Fireproof, Erin Bethea, is even their pastor’s daughter.)

Clark Gregg spent a summer away from his role as Richard on The New Adventures of Old Christine directing Choke. It was also clearly a small-sized, labor of love, filmed in and around the colonial heritage sites it mocks. Gregg is the son of a clergyman and Bible scholar. He grew up in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, so he is well acquainted with the beauty and horror of the South. Choke is a redemption story emerging from deliberately provocative satire.

While audiences expect to hear Jesus invoked in Fireproof, his name pops out in Choke as an unexpected plot twist. Victor’s mother discloses that he was cloned from DNA taken from a relic of Jesus—his foreskin. Could Victor be a direct descendent of the Son of God? Is this blasphemy or a medical miracle? This news sends the sex addicted Victor into an even greater tailspin. How can he reconcile his fallen ways with his divine roots? Director Clark Gregg slips an unexpected scripture from Galatians into the answer. Christ offers freedom rather than compulsion, essential news for the addicted.

The question remains—how do you like your salvation served? Obviously, many Christians have been encouraged by Fireproof. It is a spiritually nourishing experience for those who rarely patronize the Cineplex. Yet, Choke can also be an equally cathartic experience for those who would rarely feel safe inside a church. For those on the margins of society, struggling with their demons, Choke offers a strong tonic for their troubles. Caleb and Catherine Holt and Victor Mancini all discover, “For freedom Christ has set us free.”

Comments (3)

3 Comments »

1. Gosh, great post Craig! This is some of your best writing. I saw Choke to review for the Chimes and I loved it! I thought it was subversive, heartfelt, and hilarious all at one time! When they post my article online, I’ll send you a link.

   Comment by Matthew Groves — October 2, 2008 @ 11:22 am

2. Interesting comparing/contrasting of two very different films. I liked Sam Rockwell and Anjelica Huston in Choke, but I got turned off at the film turning women into sex objects. I haven’t seen Fireproof because it’s not playing near me, but I will rent it when it comes out on video. I wonder if Hollywood will start making films that appeal to an untapped Christian niche audience, since the potential for profit is there.

   Comment by Allison — October 18, 2008 @ 8:01 am

3. Absolutely valid critique, Allison. In not judging Victor, the creators of Choke unfortunately forced viewers into his myopic mindset. We were forced to live like a sex addict as well. While that transference may be helpful to wake up some viewers, for others, it may well prove to be too toxic….

   Comment by Craig — October 22, 2008 @ 4:26 pm

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