I still enjoy Christian movies even though as an adult I have widened my repertoire to include secular movies of vastly better quality. I have historically enjoyed and even own some of Alex Kendrick’s films although I wonder if I would still feel the same if I rewatched them now and not when they were originally released: Flywheel and Facing the Giants. I have never seen any of his films in theaters, but always at home with mom. His movies are generally stronger when he stars in them if Fireproof, which starred Kirk Cameron, is any indication. I never saw War Room. My interest never returned to its original levels when I saw Courageous, but it has completely fallen apart with Overcomer.

Overcomer had a promising start with economic insecurity and identity crisis. A basketball coach, John Harrison, has to improve his attitude, embrace new assigned roles and adjust to unfulfilled expectations. I prefer it when Kendrick focuses on the workplace, not home because Christian views of home life is like walking in a minefield that even the proselytizers do not believe in. I need this work ministry that my identity is rooted in Christ, not my job, because work is inevitably disappointing, which is a universal theme among all viewers even if the lesson is not.

Instead Kendrick creates a protagonist that is the least interesting, most problematic character in Overcomer. The real story is either about Hannah Scott, an asthmatic, kleptomaniac, track student who is adjusting to a new school and lives with her grandmother, or the random dying black man that John meets in the hospital and provides free therapy and work advice to the coach when the coach was supposed to be ministering to him, but they exist so John can solve their problems. Jesus called, and He thinks John is trying to upstage Him as the real savior of the movie.

I could stomach John as a main character if his judgment was not so questionable. John disregards the little girl’s guardian’s wishes. Overcomer’s adults encourage the little girl to go behind her grandmother’s back, keep secrets from her and explicitly disobey her. I actually believe that children are people, and parents and guardians do not own them. Parents and guardians should respect their kids’ wishes and not try and squash them, but when other adults decide independently that a guardian is wrong without a child seeking their assistance then encourages secrets between the child and the guardian, it could be an oasis, but it could be dangerous and the beginning of grooming. I also do not believe that the target audience for this movie would be as receptive if a random teacher did the same thing with their kid. It is literally why it is controversial to teach science or sex education in school. If the little girl wanted to get birth control or an abortion, would this movie promote a teacher doing so behind their back? I have no idea Kendrick’s views on any issues discussed in this review, but the market for Christian movies definitely includes that demographic.

So why is Overcomer cosigning this behavior? It could be unconscious bias to reinforce family norms. We instinctually want to reunite families instead of asking if it is what is best for the child. Why do kids exist: to make their parents’ lives better or for the parents to make their kids’ lives better? Sure it is a mixture of both, but the latter should be the priority. The coach knows nothing about this family, but thinks that he knows better than the grandma who was there since day one. He may, but the movie clearly paints the grandma as wrong and the villain—listen to the soundtrack. It would have been better if the principal, not the coach, intervened because at least she had more of a relationship with the family. Once again, John makes no sense as the main character. Also considering the possibly traumatic circumstances laid out in this movie, it seemed a lot to rest on this kid’s shoulders though I understand the urgency.

I was drawn to Overcomer because few films feature a little black girl as a major character, and this film has quite a few black characters, but unconscious racial bias could still be a factor. The “white American male,” who is relatable and nice, knows more than the angry, disciplinarian, black grandmother. The movie thinks that the grandmother should forgive and implies that she is unchristian to do so, which may be so, but Jesus forgives if and when she is ready. God believes in free will whereas John does not. John should have confidence that the matter is in God’s hands, not his. I know that the movie thinks that John is the fortuitous instrument of God’s hands, but I think that is rationalization and projection. The hardest part about following God is knowing that a situation is messed up, wanting to intervene, but being unable to yet still having faith through acts of petition to God for Him to do better than I can.

I do not think that anyone questioned his authority to make decisions for a child that was not his. It simply never occurred to them. Kendrick as a father would consider it unimaginable for another father not to meet his kid, not relate to the situation from the child’s point of view. Is it in the child’s best interest to meet him? Do not conflate my disapproval of his type of intervention with suggesting that a father does not have rights, and a guardian should unilaterally make a decision regarding visitation unless a court order explicitly bars a parent from seeing that child. The coach could have intervened by arranging for the father to get free legal assistance, which he is clearly eligible for, and get an emergency injunction after the guardian denied visitation. I hate the kneejerk instinct to insert legal dramas in movies, but it was actually one time where it would have been appropriate even if it made Overcomer even more trite.

Inevitably someone decides to come to Christ, but how? Everyone is going to a Christian school already. They missed one!?! I know that going to a Christian school does not make you a Christian and vice versa, but black people are serious about their faith when they roll that way. I got saved like eight thousand times before I was an adult, and with a black grandma, you know that Hannah is not new to Jesus. When grandma does not have a shift on Sundays, you know that Hannah got dragged to a neverending Sunday service dressed to the nines. It felt as if the only reason that people were so invested in fathers was to make parallels to Our Father. If people love God, sometimes it is in spite of their relationship to their fathers.

If I was forced to relate to a character in Overcomer, I would choose Principal Olivia Brooks because she guzzles Coke Zero, but Priscilla C. Shirer is way prettier. Shout out to the drama teacher and his co-judge, the potato salad lady. I would not mind if they got a more substantial role. They stole every scene. Also Hannah needs friends her own age. Some random kids cheer her on at the track meets, but they never hang out with her. I know that she likes hanging out with God. So did I? I was a nerdy, less attractive, completely unathletic kid who got picked on and still had more friends.

I would love for a Tyler Perry movie lover to watch Overcomer then let me know if it this movie felt like a ripoff of Perry’s sin and die model. Otherwise I would not encourage anyone to see this movie if it is your first time seeing a Christian movie or a Kendrick film. I would also encourage Christian films to make more movies where everything does not work out again-no victory, no tidy relationship resolutions, just messiness and God still being present.