The Grace Card
Michael Joiner, Louis Gossett Jr., Michael HIggenbottom, Dawntoya Thomason, Rob Erickson
PG-13
107 Minutes
Director: David G. Evans
Screenwriter: Howard Klausner
“Strap on your seatbelt and brace yourself for one hell of a ride.”
-Roger Ebert
No, Roger Ebert didn’t really say that. This movie was never screened for critics. Which makes this review all the more important. I watched a preview of The Grace Card the other day. I couldn’t determine what this movie was actually about. It looked cheesy and sentimental. I knew I paid money for something that will eventually be played on the Hallmark Channel. It’s full of unpaid ‘actors’ nobody would recognize. A $200,000 dollar budget. The Rite, had characters you would see in a Kirk Cameron movie. The Grace Card is a movie Kirk Cameron inspired. Howard Klausner, the screenwriter of this film said, "we look at this project as Fireproof 2.0.”
Mac McDonald (Joiner) is a 17-year veteran of the Memphis police department. He joined the force after his son was ran over by fleeing suspect. He is a white man, with a wife and another (non-dead) son. He is always angry because he blames himself for his son’s death. He has lost his faith in God and has turned to the bottle.
Mac’s son is Blake. A 17-year old high school senior at a private school. He’s been slacking off lately, hanging out with the wrong crowd, and he’s up to no good. Mac discovers a pipe in Blake’s bedroom. Blake wanted a little financial help with purchasing a car. His father holds the pipe, and says something about having money to use this recreational vehicle. There was also a Doobie Brothers joke thrown in for good measure.
Sara is Mac’s wife and she is a nervous wreck. Sara was injured on the job and their family has only have one source of income. Eventually, she and her son goes to see a counselor. Blake dramatically transforms his life. His relationship with his mom and dad improves.
Sam Wright (Higgenbottom) looks and acts like a heavy-set Theo Huxtable. The type of guy you would see an Allstate Insurance commercial. Wright is a police officer and reverend at his own church. An upstanding man with no bad qualities, like Ned Flanders.
Mac and Sam become partners. Sam got promoted to Sergeant, much to the chagrin of Mac. Their professional relationship gets off to a rocky start. This is because… well you know why. You have all seen Lethal Weapon. They get along eventually …kind of.
The two officers respond to a break-in at a warehouse. A suspect with a ski mask is spotted. After he fails to obey his commands, Mac shoots him in the chest. Mac was wrong. Dead wrong. It was his son.
Blake is rushed to the hospital. He is in stable condition. Things look very dire, soon after. He needs a kidney transplant within 24 hours or he will die.
Mac is a little down in the dumps. He is praying and drinking out of a flask at a nearby church. Sam is there, supporting his friend and partner.
Sam (Rev. Wright) ends up donating a kidney. This was the most painful part of the movie. You know what’s going to happen. It takes an inordinate amount of time before someone notices that Sam and Blake have the same blood type. That blood type they share is A+. That’s right, Sam‘s ‘A Positive’ donor.
Made the mistake of raising profound philosophical and theological questions. And pretending to address them. Additionally, The Grace Card addresses how difficult it is love the people we hate. It does not really talk about the process of forgiveness, or how it comes about.
There is a market for this type of picture. This movie just doesn't serve the intended audience very well.
The plot and characters are hackneyed and cliché. The acting is just awful. I found this movie hilarious in parts. It's like someone stole a (post-Jessica Biel) Seventh Heaven script and decided to extend it to 107 minutes.
Final Verdict: 35 out of 100