The Resurrection of Gavin Stone

A portrayal we haven't often seen before, and marks a new direction for films targeted at that audience. It may even draw a new believer or two, but there's still a long way to go to totally nail the faith-based comedy genre.

The Resurrection of Gavin Stone should satisfy its target heartland audience.

The end result merits a paraphrase of the memorable appraisal by Miss Jean Brodie: For those who like that sort of thing, this is the sort of thing they probably will like.

Like so many movies designed for believers first and ordinary sinners second, if at all, Gavin Stone has trouble approximating the sensibility of actual entertainment and is particularly deadly as a comedy.

Brett Dalton is the reason to see the film. He manages to combine brashness, cockiness and charm in a winning performance.

The sweet story has no surprises, but the humor and the very capable and appealing cast make it fun to watch, and make it touching as well.

Funny, Poignant, Well Told Story

For the faithful, the reasonably breezy fish-out-of-water elements should sufficiently liven up the standard tropes...But in the end, BH Tilt is right: this is a targeted project, and isn't really for anybody else.

Redemption film has strong performance, message; weak story.

The faith-promoting comedy-drama The Resurrection of Gavin Stone is pretty lifeless as a comedy, but earns back some charm as an earnest drama.

While it's got its charms, it's far from likely to bring in any new converts.