(Lisa recently discovered that she only has about 8 hours of space left on her DVR!  It turns out that she’s been recording movies from July and she just hasn’t gotten around to watching and reviewing them yet.  So, once again, Lisa is cleaning out her DVR!  She is going to try to watch and review 52 movies by Thanksgiving, November 24th!  Will she make it?  Keep checking the site to find out!)

I recorded Island of Grace off of channel 58 on November 14th.  Though I didn’t realize it at the time, Channel 58 is apparently the “all-faith” channel down here in Dallas.  They only show faith-based and inspirational programming.  In other words, they show the type of movies that I always dare Val to watch and review.  (Case in point: The Encounter.)

And I’ll admit that I was tempted to try to convince Val to watch and review Island of Grace, because I’m sure she would probably find ways to dissect this film in ways that I hadn’t even considered.  However, in the end, I decided to take on the responsibility myself.  After all, it’s my DVR that’s being cleaned out here.  Besides, I’m currently trying to get Val addicted to an old 90s sitcom called Hang Time so maybe I shouldn’t push my luck.

Anyway, let’s talk about Island of Grace!

Island of Grace is the story of three co-workers.  They work for a company and I have to admit that I’m not really sure what exactly that company specialized in.  However, the company did have a very nice conference room, one that looked a lot better than the conference room from Birdemic.

Megan (Jaycee Lynn) was raised in the church and still goes to church but she doesn’t want to admit it to anyone.  She’s too busy going to parties, having fun, and looking guilty in private.  When she’s given the opportunity to go on a business trip to a beach resort, she nearly forgets to pack her extremely modest bikini.  Luckily, her friend reminds her.  To make room for her bikini, Megan tosses her bible out of her suitcase.  And, as soon as you see that bible get tossed to the side, you know something bad is about to happen…

Then there’s Chris (Samuel Potts).  Chris has a huge crush on Megan.  Apparently, Megan is the one who introduced him to church and now Chris basically won’t shut up about it.  Even when Megan is visiting with her secular friends, Chris insists on dropping by her office and asking her if she’s going to church.  Chris is painfully nice and, as a result, everyone walks all over him.  Chris never complains.  We’re obviously supposed to feel that he and Megan are meant for each other but, honestly, I can understand why Megan isn’t interested in pursuing a romance with him.  There’s nothing dangerous or mysterious about Chris.  Chris is way too nice.  He also has a self-righteous streak but I got the feeling that we weren’t supposed to notice or care.

Instead, Megan is more interesting in Mark (Matthew Davis).  Mark works hard and he plays hard.  He’s ambitious and he’s quickly moving up in the company.  However, he also has no interest in church and, as a result, he becomes the film’s designated villain.  We’re supposed to look at Mark and go, “Girl, he’s no good for you!”  But the thing is — Mark is sexy.  Mark is dangerous.  Mark is confident.  Mark doesn’t let everyone walk all over him.  Mark may be a jerk and he may have a girlfriend but I don’t blame Megan for being attracted to him.

Anyway, Megan, Chris, and Mark are flying to that business meeting when their airplane crashes and they end up stranded on a desert island.  What’s odd is that none of them seem to be all that upset over the fact that they’re trapped on an island in the middle of nowhere.  Me, I would be freaking out and I would probably be looking out for the Smoke Monster, the Man in Black, Jacob, and all the other bad things that lived on the island in Lost.  Instead, Mark says that someone will come for them and then takes off his shirt and takes a dip in the ocean.  Chris gets annoyed with Megan watching Mark and says a prayer or two.  And Megan … well, Megan sharpens a stick and tries to catch fish.  She never catches any and, every time she throws that stick out into the ocean, you can hear the movie Gods shouting, “This is what you get for choosing a 1950s style bikini over your bible!”

While Chris searches for food and works on a shelter, Megan and Mark flirt.  Eventually, they kiss.  Megan falls in love, despite the fact that Mark has a girlfriend.  Even after Chris announces that he loves her, Megan continues to pine for Mark.

Until, of course, they’re rescued.  Back at the office, Mark not only ignores Megan but he takes credit for everything that Chris did on the island.  Chris humbly accepts that life isn’t fair and finally, Megan realizes her mistake.  After glancing at the bible that she so casually tossed to the side, she meets Chris on the beach and realizes that she does love him!

So, I guess the message here is that, if you get stranded on an island, make sure there’s a Christian around because agnostics don’t know how to survive in the wilderness and constantly take credit for everyone else’s hard work.

I did think that the story actually did have some potential.  Mark, Chris, and Megan each represented three differing attitudes towards life and the film’s storyline provided an opportunity to actually explore those different worldviews, in much the way that the first season of Lost used the conflicts between Jack, Locke, and Sawyer to explore issues of faith, destiny, and morality.  But ultimately, Island of Grace was too heavy-handed to be effective as anything other than propaganda.  (And it’s debatable whether or not the film even works as propaganda because, even after they returned to civilization, lying and cheating Mark still seemed like he would be a lot more fun to hang out with than Chris.)  Jaycee Lynn did a pretty good job as Megan but otherwise, Island of Grace was forgettable.