If you’re a parent, then you know that surge of terror that hits your abdomen when you turn around to see that your little one is not in your line of vision. You fear the worst, that they are lost and in that moment there is nothing more important than finding them. Of course, most of us have never actually lost our children. They are usually just in the next aisle at the supermarket or playing hide and seek in the closet. But in the movie The Way Home Randy Simpkins and his wife Christal understand fully the emotions that follow losing a child when their two year old son Joe disappears from their driveway after Randy left him alone for only a minute or two to talk with Christal. What follows are hours of uncertainty as hundreds of their friends, family, and neighbors work together tirelessly to locate their little boy. And as the search progresses, Randy discovers that it’s not only little Joe who needs to find the way home, Randy needs to find his way back to his heavenly father as well, and back to a healthy relationship with his wife.
The Way Home is a Christian movie based on a true story and it is written and directed by Lance W. Dreeson and stars Dean Cain and Lori Beth Edgeman. I found, that though the idea behind the movie was very realistic, the script and the acting were not up to par with the storyline. Dean Cain did a great job portraying the terrified father, but Edgeman lacked some of the acting skills necessary to play his wife, as did many of the other supporting cast members. At points, I felt that the acting was subpar simply because the lines they had to deal with just didn’t lend themselves to a realistic portrayal. Also, I felt that the whole ordeal was unnecessarily drawn out and lacked the cinematography or music, or events to make it dramatic enough for sustained viewing. I had to watch this movie twice to see the whole thing and I fell asleep both times at one point or another. I did, however, appreciate the Christian angle of the movie. I loved how everyone got together and prayed and how they were all so positive and supportive as a Christian support system. At first I wondered if the movie wasn’t just too positive in that aspect in that everyone’s faith seemed to surge and grow stronger in the face of this tragedy, but I feel that when I see tragedy in the lives of Christians, God within their lives gives them the ability to be strong, trusting, and positive in the face of many awful things.
Overall, I don’t think I’d recommend this movie because honestly, I just got easily bored. I postponed this review for months because I just didn’t want to go back and finish the movie after falling asleep the first time. Unless you’re a pastor or youth pastor and you just want to use portions of it to illustrate your sermon, I wouldn’t suggest you watch it.
This DVD was provided to me by Thomas Nelson for free in exchange for my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
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