October Positivity: The Climb (dir by John Schmidt)

Posted on October 6, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

2002’s The Climb is about two mountain climbers who begin as rivals and end up as friends.

Derrick Williams (Jason George) is an arrogant and cocky climber, the type who enjoys conquering mountains for his own personal glory. (See where this heading?) Even though his girlfriend’s father (Clifton Davis) does not approve of him, Derrick still says that he’s planning on marrying her. Or at least, he does until he finds out that she’s pregnant and he realizes that being a father will require him to take on a lot of new responsibilities.

Michael Harris (Ned Vaughn) is a selfless climber who sees every climb as a team effort and who does everything for the Glory of God. (Again …. see where this heading?)

Businessman Mack (Dabney Coleman, bringing a villainous edge to a character who I don’t necessarily think was meant to come across as being villainous) hires Derrick and Michael to climb a notorious mountain, all as a way to promote his business. At first, Derrick doesn’t want to climb with anyone else but when his girlfriend tells him that she’s pregnant, he decides that he could use some time away from her and promptly heads off to the mountain. Michael, on the other hand, is reluctant to climb because he doesn’t trust Mack’s company to keep all of their promises. Michael feels that climbing the mountain for Mack would be the same as endorsing the company and telling people that the company is an honest company.

You can probably guess what happens. Michael and Derrick climb the mountain. They talk. They bond. They discuss they’re differing views on religion. And then one of them tragically dies and the survivor is forced to reconsider his life. It’s not a surprise when one of them dies because a movie like this can only really work if one of the two friends has tragically passed away before the end credits. And it’s not really a surprise as to who passes away because it’s not like a faith-based movie is going to kill the guy who needs to learn a lesson about taking responsibility and being a father. From the start, it’s obvious who among the two is doomed and, as such, there’s not much suspense to be found in The Climb.

On the plus side — and yes, I realize that I do always go out of my way to find something positive to say about nearly every movie I review but that’s just because I think every movie has something about it that can be appreciated — some of the climbing sequences are visually impressive. It’s obvious that the film’s producers decided to spend a little money on the mountain scenes and, as a result, the scenery is nice to look at. I’m a fan of nice scenery and I’ve sat through more than a few bad films just to see a pretty mountain.

Personally, and this won’t come as a surprise to anyone who knows me, I’ve never felt the need to climb a mountain. If I can see what the top looks like from the ground, that’s enough for me.

October Positivity: The Crossing (dir by John Schmidt)

Posted on October 7, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The 1994 film, The Crossing, tells the story of two teenage friends. Jason (Kevin Downes) and Matt (David A.R. White) used to be cheerful juvenile delinquents. But now, Matt is dying of what appears to be leukemia and Jason …. well, Jason’s in denial. Jason does not want to admit that his best friend is going to die. But then his best friend does die and Jason really doesn’t have any choice to admit it. But then, at Matt’s funeral, Matt suddenly shows up and starts talking to Jason.

That’s right …. MATT’S BACK!

Unfortunately, Matt’s only back for a little bit and only Jason can see him. Having died, Matt has not only witnessed Heaven but also discovered that it’s really difficult to get in. He takes Matt to a heavenly court where they watch as another one of their friends is condemned to Hell by a sympathetic but firm-handed judge. Matt also visits the big computer room where all of the records are kept. He’s given a big dot-matrix printout that lists all of his sins. There’s a lot of them!

However, Jason tells Matt that there’s still hope for him and then invites him to come check out Heaven. They just have to walk over a wooden cross that is used as bridge between Purgatory and Heaven. Underneath the bridge is Hell and no one wants to go down there. However, no sooner have Matt and Jason crossed over than Jason notices that his mother is following them! And she can’t see the bridge! Uh-oh!

The Crossing is an early example of the Christian scare film, where the main message is that, if you displease God, you’ll go to Hell and suffer for all eternity. Obviously, that’s a very cinematic message and these films always seem to spend a good deal of time in trying to find new ways to visualize Hell. That said, I’ve always felt like that message was a bit counter-productive. Instead of emphasizing what Jesus preached and what the Church is supposed to stand for (even if it rarely lives up to its own standards), these films instead seem to say, “Convert or we’ll punish you forever.” People will do a lot of things under the threat of eternal pain and damnation but I’m a bit skeptical as to how sincere any of those actions will be. Indeed, many evangelical films seem to take a bit too much pleasure in imagining people being condemned to Hell. There’s definitely an element of, “You think you’re so smart but we’ll get the last laugh!” to these films. That’s not exactly the best attitude.

That said, The Crossing is slicky produced and it gets a lot of mileage out of its low budget. The scene in the computer room actually had a few intentional laughs as Matt marveled at how business-like and matter-of-fact all the record keepers were. They were just doing their jobs with an attitude that said, “We’ve seen things you can’t even imagine.” Who wouldn’t want that job? Still, one has to wonder why Matt got to go see all of this and change his life but his friend who was condemned to Hell didn’t. That doesn’t seem quite fair.

Film Review: Super Christian (1980, dir. John Schmidt)

Posted on July 9, 2015 by Valerie Troutman

Super Christian played by John Schmidt

I’ll admit it, I saw the title and thought this had to be hilariously bad. I mean it’s called Super Christian for crying out loud. But you know what, it wasn’t bad. It’s goofy and it’s low budget, but for a Christian movie, it has it’s heart in the right place. It’s not like God’s Not Dead.

Here’s the gist. It’s about a guy who during the week is a bit of douchebag. Let’s not mince words, he’s a total jerk. However, on Sunday, this happens.

During this spectacle a man takes notice and pays Clark Kant a visit. Yes, that is his name in the movie. He sits him down and explains that he knows what he is doing. He once did it himself. Then, the grand reveal. He was once The Lone Christian!

The Lone Christian

He tells him that he used to show up on Sunday to be the ideal Christian, but wasn’t a good guy the rest of the time. Clark gives up the secret identity nonsense and decides to just be a decent person all the time. Of course he still attends church, but the message applies to anyone who only acts like a great person when it’s convenient. It’s only 27 minutes which is perfect for getting the short point across to the audience. I liked it.

Apparently, Schmidt still makes movies. I wonder if he’s stayed above films like God’s Not Dead. Now I just need to find Super Christian 2. Yes, there is a sequel.