I speak not as somebody who is opposed to the utilization of such religious words, but somebody who is opposed to constant, cloying reminders of a film's faith when there are complex characters at hand. In addition, the film manages to understand that you can make a faith-based film without reminding the audience that you're making a faith-based film with every line of dialog.
For starters, I'm almost positive Home Run doesn't even mention the word "God" or "Jesus" until about a third of the way through the film, which is an immense step in terms of subtle filmmaking for this particular genre. Cory winds up reconnecting with his high school girlfriend, who is just disgusted at him as a person for many understandable reasons, works to start a relationship with his son after a long absence, and tries to come to terms with his father's neglectful ways. After an impulsive comment by Cory's long-suffering agent, Cory is stuck coaching a Little League team, which just so happens to include his son as a player.
The film stars Scott Elrod as Cory Brand, a professional baseball player who is forced into a twelve step, rehabilitation program in his homestate of Oklahoma after numerous alcohol-related incidents have worked to damper his otherwise shining record as a ballplayer. In comparison, and just analyzing the film on the basis of it being a religious drama, the film is not at all heavy-handed, as it finally does what I've been saying films of the genre should've been doing all along emphasizing their characters and their characters' flaws as human beings over tiresome religious themes and constant reminders that the characters are god-fearing, much like the writers, producers, and director behind the film. See the film more for it's message than for it's baseball theme, as the home run aspect of the title is ancillary.Īnybody that dares criticize David Boyd's Home Run for being heavy-handed, preachy, or incessantly moralistic hasn't seen even a fourth of the films that belong to the recent influx of independent Christian cinema. I did find the opposing traits in his character to be somewhat unbelievable, but the spirit of the picture carries through for a final reconciliation and recovery of Cory's career.
The film has it's share of baseball related scenes, and Cory's approach to coaching his team's youngsters can be well appreciated in direct counterpoint to his egotistical behavior as a major league ball player. Some will find the overt mention of God and faith to be overbearing, though I'm fairly sure there are real life situations that rely on the kind of rehabilitation experienced by Cory (Scott Elrod) and other members of a spiritual group like Celebration Recovery.
It's rewarding at times to watch a picture in which no major celebrity appears so the focus can remain on the principals who try to overcome the obstacles in their life and become a better person. The picture demonstrated what passes for often seen behavior at ball games that should be played for fun, but often turns into a spectacle because of the parents and not the players.
The guy was a jerk, just like that Coach Pejersky (Drew Waters) managing the Little League team against the Omulkgee Bulldogs. I was prepared for a fairly predictable story when during the opening scene, the alcoholic father of a young Cory Brand, holding a bottle of beer in one hand, threw nineteen straight strikes against his son while berating him for being unable to hit a pitch against a former Double A minor league hurler.