Movie Review: Family Camp

 

Michael's Movie Grade: B

A really fun Christian family comedy. 

As this film started, I became sure I wasn't going to like it. The jokes didn't come off as that funny, the plot seemed to be going through the motions and the dialogue came off as forced. This seemed like the type of Christian film, that many people who don't watch Christian cinema think all Christian movies are like. However, despite this really rough start, as the movie went on, I found myself really enjoying it. I was glad that I stuck with this movie. Everything got better as the film went on. The humor was funnier, the characters felt more real, and the drama became more effective. At first the characters come off as bland stereotypes such as the bickering married couple and the perfect Christian family that makes others feel inferior. However, they turned out to be more than this. Our main family has a really sweet relationship with each other and even though they have hit hard times, you can tell they really care about each other. The husband and father may be constantly working and focusing on work related issues, but he is not purposely neglecting his family for work. He feels he is doing this for them, even if what they want from him is something else. The seemingly perfect Christian family is far from perfect. This is a great reminder for us Christians (I am grateful to call myself a Christian), that even for those of us who have walked with the Lord for a while and outwardly seem to have it all figured out, are still sinners in need of a savor. We all have times where we fail or even do things that we know morally are not right. As this movie shows sometimes the Lord will send those who look like they need more help, here to help those who look like they have it all figured out. This movie sends important messages like these to us in a way that does not feel simplified or sugarcoated. As a Christian, despite any faults I find with this film, this makes me grateful this film exists and for the people who made it. The humor can be hit or miss. There are times (especially towards the start of this movie and the scenes with the Bigfoot trackers) where the humor falls completely flat. However, there are also times when the humor can be quite funny and by the end I was surprised by the amount of times I laughed watching this movie.

This film may not be perfect by any means, but what works does work very well.