New Hope

A new preacher has come from Colorado to the Louisiana town of New Hope and they've got the usual problems of settling in the new place that we all have. Especially Samuel Davis who is a high school senior and not wanting to start all over again in a new place. Some families would have boarded their son with another family until the senior term was up.

But not this family because as it turns out he's got a destiny, that is to save New Hope's star athlete Ben Davies from an overpowering grief and lead the team to a state championship. Davies has never gotten over the suicide of his younger brother, feels he should have spotted something. That doesn't work in a lot of instances even when it is not a subject for a Christian film.

It also doesn't help that Davis is now taking up with Perry Frost who was the deceased brother's girlfriend. Most of the film Davies is having a chip on his shoulder.

I have to confess when I saw the title I thought this might be a gay film. Possibly the producers didn't know that New Hope, Pennsylvania is a popular gay tourist spot. Or maybe they thought they'd get a gay customer or two to watch the film and be saved.

Of course the fact that the kid brother who suicided might have been gay and not found a lot of support in this Bible belt town. Something I have never seen addressed in any Christian film, but it's the number one cause for suicide among teens.

And you sure won't see that issue brought up in New Hope.