In the less than three days since its release, the biographical drama “Unsung Hero” has received a 58 percent negative critical rating on the aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes while the audience score is a perfect 100 percent. This is par for the course as most critics aren’t keen on movies that contain even the slightest inclusion of Christian-based faith. The lone recent exception was last month’s Angel Studio release, “Cabrini,” which racked up a 91/98 score.
Written and directed by Joel Smallbone and Richard Ramsey, “Unsung Hero” stars Mr. Smallbone as his own father David, an Australian-based concert promoter who went belly-up in the early ‘90s. He relocated his family of eight (with another on the way) to Nashville for a fresh start.
A man with perhaps a bit too much pride and a slight case of tunnel vision, David’s attempts to “get back on the horse” repeatedly fail, which slowly leads to depression and the feeling he has let his family down. Luckily for the Smallbone clan, it is matriarch and eternal optimist Helen (Daisy Betts) who bends but never breaks, even under the bleakest of circumstances.
Dumb Luck or Divine Intervention?
During an all-hands-on-deck cleaning of their neglected rental home lawn, the Smallbones accidentally stumble upon a stopgap to their financial woes: a combination grass cutting and house cleaning service. The picture brightens further when David and Helen meet Jed (Lucas Black) and Kay (Candace Cameron Bure) Albright at a church that also offers free homeschooling.A successful Nashville songwriter, Jed recognizes a kindred spirit in David. Without fanfare or expecting payback, he helps the Smallbones out financially. As is her nature, Helen is greatly appreciative while David perceives Jed’s selfless generosity as a quasi-insult, deepening his feelings of self-imposed patriarchal inadequacy.
If you’ve never heard of David Smallbone or any of his children, do yourself a huge favor: Don’t look him up on the internet before watching the movie. Go in cold. This will certainly spoil the second half’s many twists and surprises that, by all accounts, actually happened.
With the exceptions of Jed and Kay (who are more than likely composite characters), all of the other actors with major speaking roles are based on real people, including the seven Smallbone children and Eddie Degarmo (Jonathan Jackson), a renowned contemporary Christian producer and musician who (at least here) bears an uncanny resemblance to the late Lynyrd Skynyrd lead singer Ronnie Van Zant.
With a grand total of one past feature film between them, Mr. Smallbone and Mr. Ramsey (“The Song,” 2014) recognize the ongoing shift in Christian-based filmmaking. Faith-based themes should support the narrative, and not the other way around.
Angel Leads the Way
For far too long Christian movies “preached to the choir,” greatly limiting their appeal to mass audiences and relegating their exposure to cable or home video. This would have been the fate of “Unsung Hero” if not for the theatrical successes of the three 2023 Angel Studio releases: “Sound of Freedom,” “After Death,” and “The Shift.”Mr. Smallbone’s choice to cast himself as his own father could have led to disaster, but he’s in possession of considerable acting chops. He more than succeeds in playing a sometimes unlikeable character.
A Narrative Stumble or Two
The movie isn’t without a few narrative hiccups. The nearly two-hour running time could have benefited from a 15-minute trim of semi-redundant scenes, including an out-of-place fantasy sequence at a playground.The filmmaker’s decision to include needle-drop period source songs was also iffy. Although “Right Here, Right Now” (Jesus Jones), “Crazy” (Seal), and “It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over” (Lenny Kravitz) are all great songs, they don’t quite work here.
It’s a good bet that longtime followers of contemporary Christian music are already familiar with the inspiring Smallbone story. They'll be pleased to discover the movie is exactly what it professes to be in the opening credits: “A True Story.”
