Review: Overcome / Turn Around (C-)

Overcome, written by “Dani Franklin” and directed by “BJ Alexander”, stars “Jaycee Lynn” and was released to video in 2008.

Yes, I’m using quotes deliberately here.  “BJ Alexander”, “Dani Franklin”, and “Jaycee Lynn” do not, in fact, exist.

Overcome (subtitled “Based on the Conversion of Paul”) is actually a repackaged, rebranded version of Turn Around, a local LDS film originally “based on the story of Alma the Younger”.  “Jaycee Lynn” is actress Jaci Twiss (Rescued), and “BJ Alexander” is director Brian Brough, director of Rescued and the LDS Beauty & The Beast.

Turn Around is not the only film that has been rebranded as a generic Christian film, presumably to take advantage of larger Christian distribution channels.  Brough’s Beauty & The Beast: A Latter-Day Tale, and Rescued, all written by Brittany Wiscombe (aka “Dani Franklin”), have also been repackaged as Belle & The Beast: A Christian Romance, and Island of Grace respectively.

All of which begs the question:  why?   Is there a reason actors like Summer Naomi Smart, Jaci Twiss, and Matthew Reese can’t simply be credited using their real names?  Is there a reason LDS filmmakers — ostensibly Christian to begin with — would feel the need to put on a charade to attract a general Christian audience?

Evangelical movie viewers aren’t stupid, of course.  In the Internet age, it doesn’t take much digging to discover that “BJ Alexander” and “Jaycee Lynn” don’t exist, and that these movies are just repackaged LDS films sold through a fake “Christian film” front company.   The comments on Amazon for Overcome already contain a handful of disgruntled Evangelicals warning potential viewers about the “deception” — sneaky Mormon filmmakers attempting to secretly expose True Christians ^(TM) to Mormon messages through a cynical and deceptive marketing strategy.

Clearly, Brian Brough and Candlelight Media aren’t trying to do anything underhanded — they want to expand their marketing scope and probably figured Evangelical audiences would just reject their films out of hand if they were open about being LDS.    But doesn’t the subterfuge with fake names and non-existent production companies just end up contributing to the Evangelical paranoia in the first place?  Why act like something nefarious is going on among a demographic that is inclined to believe the worst about LDS motives to begin with?

Marketing decisions aside, let’s move on to the actual film.  (Note that this article is based strictly off of Overcome, not Turn Around.  Ironically, Overcome is available through Amazon Instant Video whereas Turn Around is not.)

Colton is a rebellious teen in every sense of the word.  Beyond being rude and dismissive to his classmates and family, Colton and his friends steal, vandalize, and commit assault as well.  His parents and sister are good people who try to show compassion and understanding, but feel helpless to do anything about Colton’s attitude and behavior.

One day Colton’s parents receive counsel from their (bishop/pastor) who discusses the scriptural story of (Saul / Alma the Younger) and how divine intervention caused them to turn their lives around and become a service rather than an opponent to the Lord and his church.  His parents kneel to pray and hope that the Lord Himself can show Colton the proper way.

Soon after, a car accident leaves Colton in critical condition with no life signs.  When he snaps back to life unexpectedly, he talks of a vision or dream showing him he needs to change his life.  Colton vows to take advantage of his second chance, although the process won’t be easy:  his current friends are bad influences and most everyone else has been hurt by the old Colton and may not find it easy to forgive and accept the new one.

Overcome’s biggest problem is that the main character’s arc is portrayed in complete black-to-white fashion.  Before his transformation, Colton had no redeeming qualities nor any hint he’s actually a good kid just acting out some personal issues.  After his transformation, Colton becomes a saint and a perfect example of everything his parents and Church friends were hoping for.

All of which mirrors the source material in its broad strokes, of course, but the scriptural stories were deliberately written as brief summations rather than detailed biographies.  A full feature-length film centered around either story demands more detail and nuance, especially if the intent is to provide an example and positive message for kids today similar to Colton.  Many elements of Colton’s pre-transformation personality — his temper, competitiveness, issues with family, attitude towards school, etc — are such that they wouldn’t simply disappear overnight no matter how significant a religious experience he may have had while unconscious.  Colton goes from being unrealistically bad to unrealistically good so quickly, it undercuts the ability for modern audiences to identify with the story.

(A better example of this kind of redemption story can be found in Richard Dutcher’s States of Grace, where Carl the former gang member has a ‘mighty change of heart’ like Colton but finds he can’t let go of his previous life that easily.)

The simplicity of the plot affects the film from a dramatic standpoint as well.   The setup is there for the post-awakening Colton to have temptations or struggles with his old life (aside from simple guilt), or that people will have difficulty accepting the new Colton out of fear or doubt.  Neither happens, which makes the second half of the film fairly drama-free.   Without any real “conflict” to drive the story once Colton’s transformation has taken place, I’m not sure there is enough content to justify a feature-length running time.  With the given story arc as simple as it is, there’s no reason Overcome / Turn Around couldn’t have been condensed to a 30-minute short film, similar to the Church film Money or Mission.

The use of Saul (or Alma the Younger) as the source for a Church film set in modern times brings into question what lessons those two stories are meant to teach in the first place.     Many parents today (LDS and non-) struggle with rebellious children and often feel as helpless to do anything as Colton’s parents did.   What message does Overcome have for them?

On the face of it, both stories show that no one is past redemption and any sin can be cleansed by the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  However, a reliance on direct divine intervention (as in the scriptural stories and copied here) complicates this message. Parents of wayward teens (as Colton’s parents do in the movie) may hear the story of Alma the Younger and ask: “That’s great for Alma…but how does that help *us*?  We’ve prayed fervently as well and no divine manifestation from the Lord has altered our son’s/daughter’s path in life.  What hope do *we* have for help and peace?”

Other than waiting for a miracle, Overcome doesn’t really have anything to offer those parents.  Whether miracles of the sort depicted in the scriptures still happen today is an open question even for LDS, but certainly aren’t common and routine. (They probably weren’t common in scriptural times either — the scriptures of necessity represent the ‘exceptions’ rather than the rules, the exceptional and noteworthy events from thousands of years of history.)   Overcome shows basic solutions — parents showing love and patience, friends from church encouraging better choices — to be ineffective at changing behavior, so parents not lucky enough to have the Lord step in personally don’t appear to have many helpful options.

Overcome then represents only a fictional “fantasy” — what parents of wayward teens *wish* would happen, but rarely does.  If  Overcome  was sharing a true story from a modern era with similarities to those stories from the scriptures, it would probably have more power in speaking to modern audiences.  As a purely fictionalized dramatization of a scriptural story, however, it may actually be a depressing experience for those parents who don’t see the hand of the Lord helping their teens in the way depicted in the film.

(Obviously, that doesn’t mean He isn’t helping those teens and their parents somehow, but perhaps not in a direct way comparable to Alma or Saul.   If so, the film may actually be sending the wrong message:  that parents should be focusing on more practical solutions and looking for more indirect inspiration and guidance rather than pinning their hopes on direct divine intervention.)

If the intent of the story was to offer comfort and positive suggestions for rebellious teens or their families, the film might have actually worked better without the element of divine assistance.  Many LDS and non-LDS individuals today end up hitting “rock-bottom” at some point in their lives (through drugs or other addictions, or perhaps near-death experiences like Colton’s) and make the effort to turn things around without necessarily needing a divine voice commanding them to change.   Many of those individuals testify of the support and love they received from their family members and good friends even when they may not have deserved it.

There is a compelling story here even without the addition of miraculous visions.  Perhaps an approach to this same story with a more nuanced view about what teens struggle with today, and how to love someone who has difficulties — with or without a traumatic event as a catalyst — would be a positive spiritual experience for LDS viewers and more helpful to parents without depending on a faint hope for a divine miracle.  Indeed, for parents who have prayed just as hard as Colton’s parents without any divine manifestation, they deserve a message that their prayers and efforts aren’t in vain even if their experience differs from what they are shown in the film.

As such, discussions of the quality of acting and writing (just so-so) in Overcome / Turn Around are almost beside the point.  The key question:  is this a scriptural story worth dramatizing in the first place?  Who is the target audience and what message do the filmmakers hope viewers take away when the credits roll?   LDS leaders have encouraged filmmakers to utilize stories from the scriptures when creating movies — the question is whether Alma the Younger or Saul actually have a relevant message to the youth (and parents) of today worthy of making the effort.  If they do, Overcome isn’t the film to demonstrate it.

Final Grade:  C-

Other Comments:

(1) Having not seen Turn Around, I can only presume the only difference between it and Overcome is two different versions of the scene with Colton’s parents and their bishop or pastor where he discusses the story of Saul here or Alma the Younger in the other.  Those specific stories are never referenced again after that point.  Since this requires the actors to film the scene twice with different dialogue, everyone presumably was aware they were creating two distinct movie versions, although having all the actors use fake names still seems puzzling.

(2) Overcome shares a minor production problem with Out of Step where the films spend a lot of time describing the main character as a highly skilled dancer there and a highly skilled tennis player here.  A large section of the film is centered around Sara’s practicing tennis and preparing for an important tryout.  Unfortunately, it’s obvious from the (many) tennis scenes that actress Jaci Twiss is NOT a highly skilled tennis player, and the filmmakers had to go to great lengths to hide her lack of skill in the tennis shots.  Not vital to the film, but when movie characters spend effort praising Sara’s tennis ability, it’s somewhat distracting for anyone who actually plays tennis to see Sara’s real tennis ability.