Other than a reference by a female friend of the mother who says that God doesn't give folks more burden than they can handle, something I think that the survivors of suicides would disagree with, there's no overt preaching I Am Potential. It is the story of a couple whose first born is born without eyes and a crippling leg condition that requires many surgeries that in the end don't help. It's a double whammy for this poor kid.
However with a pair of glass eyes inserted where his real ones should have been, young Jimmy Bellinger has an ear for music which is developed in an inspiring story. He's a courageous and plucky young lad and his parents played by Burgess Jenkins and Jama Williamson have the right stuff.
I certainly was impressed by the story. But if this had not been produced by the fundamentalist American Family Association we might have had a serious discussion on his health care coverage. The kid was certainly born with a pre-existing condition. And the family finances are strained to the breaking point. Sounds like they could have used universal healthcare coverage. But this film was not about to take the story in that direction.
I Am Potential is a good story, decently if not greatly acted by its unknown cast with the exception of Judge Reinhold who plays the young man's doctor. The film not viewed by a fundamentalist church audience raises more questions than it answers.
