Sunday Review: Grace Unplugged

Clean, family fare

By Morris Dean

It's Easter, so – why not? – let's review a "Christian film." Grace of Grace Unplugged (2013, directed by Brad J. Silverman) is teenager Grace Trey, daughter of Johnny Trey, who years ago, before he "found Christ," was a minor rock star with one song that rose briefly to #3 on some chart or other. Now he and Grace perform with their church band, where Grace's occasional attempts to sing or play in her own way are suppressed by her father, who reminds her that it's not about her, they are there to worship.
    Johnny's former manager comes to tell him that his old song has been rediscovered and an Australian singer's recording is "getting thousands of hits." He offers Johnny a chance for a comeback tour featuring the song. Johnny refuses. "It's not what I'm about now." But teenage Grace, feeling confined and naturally wanting to explore the world, senses an opportunity and secretly records the song. She sends it to the manager, who's wowed and sees a big chance for his recording company. He invites Grace to come on out to Hollywood. She drops everything and goes. It's Grace unplugged. Videos follow. Press manipulation. Arranged romance. Radio tour. Interviews. Provocative clothing...well, the suggestion of provocative clothing. The suggestion of sex. Nothing graphic. This is a Christian film; it's family-rated.

     Johnny and Grace's mother are floored by their daughter's leaving unannounced and of course they are worried about her, imagining all of the dangers their daughter will be exposed to out there. Their worry is relieved only when they decide to "leave it in God's hands." "He's in control," their pastor tells Johnny. Grace unplugged is also "God's grace."

Like a religious tract, the film employs the standard Christian terminology in various conversations to label the predictable arc of Grace's coming to realize that she is not on a road to fulfillment but is going against her own grain (walking away from God) and her quickly deciding to give up Hollywood (reject sin) and return home (reunite with God and Christian family).
    But the film doesn't reject Hollywood at all, just its secular branch. Grace's return home is a dramatically unannounced church performance of her first own-written Christian song. Johnny welcomes his prodigal daughter back and asks her forgiveness for failing to let her follow her own musical talents before. When they're next seen performing, Grace is singing the way we saw her doing it in Hollywood, and Johnny is following her lead.

    Flash forward two years. The record company Grace had gone out to Hollywood for has created a new division for "Christian music." Johnny's rocking again. Grace is replugged. All God's rockers rejoice.
    Christians can have it all. Even family-rated movies.

[For interesting snippets of mixed review, see "Reception" in Wikipedia.]
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Copyright © 2014 by Morris Dean

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