Bait and Switch – Fireproof
Okay, bait and switch may be a bit harsh. I am at my parents-in-law for the weekend, and they pulled out this movie to watch last night. Nobody really had any idea what the movie was about, but I guess they heard about it through friends or whatnot.
The movie starts out normal enough, though the first thing I noticed (and I’m not one who usually catches on to this) is just how badly this movie is acted. The main character is played by Kirk Cameron, and he’s okay, but the others… wow. As things go on, and before the real intent of the movie is known, one starts to wonder how a major release can be this bad.
As it turns out, it isn’t just a regular old movie. One look at the DVD cover reveals the copyright to be held by the Sherwood Baptist Church of Albany, GA. As it turns out, this movie plays like a Evangelical Christian Marriage Counseling video thinly disguised as a movie with a commercial for the Love Dare Book thrown in for good measure. If they had left the Love Dare Book out of it, I could forgive the movie entirely and pass it off as good intentions on the part of the Evangelical Christians, but having it in there puts this movie in the realm of the pathetically shameless.
I was nice. I sat and watched the whole thing. There are some funny parts that have nothing to do with the main plot. But these pale to the issues above, as well as the borderline-racist treatment of the non-whites in the film.
I’m glad I was with my wife and parents-in-law when I saw this movie. I probably wouldn’t have been able to sit through the whole thing otherwise. It was just that bad.
