365 Movies Day #200 "What if..."

So it's Christmas time and what better time to talk about an amazing faith-based film than today! How about one staring Hercules, Buffy and Cliff Claven? What about one that's actually a GOOD movie?! If there is one thing I've learned about faith-based film is that much like horror films, they tend to be truly bad films that still appeal to a niche market. "What If..." and director Dallas Jenkins (son of "Left Behind" author Jerry B. Jenkins) other fantastic faith-based film and blog feature "MIDNIGHT CLEAR" are examples of films that bridge the gap.

Basically, Kevin Sorbo plays a wealthy business mogul who is successful in every sense of the word. One day, he wakes up to find he is a small town minister, married to Kristy Swanson (so far so good) and a father. It's everything counter to what he is after in life! Yeah, it's a lot like Nicholas Cage's "Family Man", which I also enjoyed, but with enough interesting twists to make it a great watch. John Ratzenberger makes an appearance as an angelic tow truck driver who helps Sorbo figure out his destiny a la "It's a Wonderful Life". The thing that makes the film great is it's subtle use of faith to drive the film, it's high entertainment value, a great cast and a fun story. It's good from beginning to end (no cheating at the end) and will leave you feeling blessed...unless you're a soulless monster (I won't tell if you cry).

Some trivia you may not know, but Ratzenberger has been quite busy since "Cheers" and his brief appearance in "Empire Strikes Back" (finally got an action figure for it awhile back). As a voice actor, you've heard him in "Cars", "Up", "Ratatouille", "Wall-E", "The Incredibles", "Finding Nemo", "Monsters Inc.", "Captain Planet", "A Bug's Life" and of course as Hamm in all the "Toy Story" films. Pretty much every great animated film of the new millennium. Impressive. Swanson has appeared on the blog before in "SOUL ASSASSIN" and this is Sorbo's first time on the blog.

WHAT IF... ON IMDB