A tale of two very different assemblies in the heart of America
The associate pastor of a megachurch outside Nashville (Michael W. Smith) is given the temporary assignment of helping out his dad’s original assembly in the inner city, pastored by a “loose cannon” (Jeff Obafemi Carr).
“The Second Chance” (2006) was helmed by Steve Taylor, known for his good run in the 80s in the Christian rock market and songs like “I Want to Be a Clone,” which satirized mindsets or practices that irked him.
It’s in the mold of films like “Grand Canyon” and “Levity,” which try to balance the reverence and beauty of life with the profane, foolish and ugly. Yet those movies had way more money to work with and so could afford grade ‘A’ actors in the cast. While “Grand Canyon” is far superior to this, this is about on par with “Levity,” just with slightly more overt spirituality. The future “Do You Believe?” is similar, but all-around better.
It starts with potential and is quite good through the first half, but then sort of fizzles out in the second. The script needed rewritten for a more compelling last act. Nevertheless, there’s a lot of worthwhile bits, like the conundrum of walking in love when, at certain times, you might want to kick someone’s butt.
Yet there are some bothersome aspects, such as the idea that the plight of minorities in the inner city is more important than people living in the more affluent suburbs. The location doesn’t change the fact that people are people and have to deal with the same core issues of life in a fallen world, along with the struggle with one’s own flesh, aka sinful nature. Also, Caucasians aren’t to blame for the problems in the black community. Those of African descent need to look after their own and manage their own affairs, not to mention appreciate any assistance by “whitey” and not begrudge it.
At the same time, the black pastor’s frustration and angst are understandable in light of problems well documented in “Do the Right Thing,” which honestly addressed the issue of “white flight.” But, please, quit shifting blame to the Caucasian or Asian communities. Victimhood idiotology must be wholly rejected for true progress to be made.
When it came out, some critics curiously decried the use of cursing, but there’s hardly any here beyond a couple occasions of people saying “hell” or “damn.” One example is near the beginning where the black minister says to the megachurch congregation that his assembly needed people to come and serve in the challenging locale of the hood. If they couldn't do that, "then keep your damn money." It's edgy and arguably shouldn't have been said to an entire congregation, but I'd hardly classify it as profanity. I hear way worse standing in line at Dairy Queen.
It runs 1 hour, 42 minutes, and was shot in the area of the Lindsley Avenue Church of Christ in Nashville, as well as Brentwood Baptist Church in Brentwood, which is 11 miles south of the city. It cost $1.2 million and grossed $463,542 at the box office, naturally making additional money via rentals and DVD/Blu-ray sales. But that didn’t change the fact that it was a financial flop, causing Steve Taylor to flee from filmmaking. The only movie he’s done since is “Blue Like Jazz” six years later, which I have yet to see.
GRADE: B-/C+
