Blessed and Cursed

Blessed & Cursed is a modern twist on the Biblical story of David and Saul. It is a story of fame, jealousy, friendship, defeat, sorrow, and blessings starring Deitrick Hadden as gifted musician, Dwight Hawkins. When Bishop Wright (Loren Harper) overhears Dwight singing and invites him to become the new music minister at his church, Dwight accepts and also feels convicted to "get right with God". As his popularity rises, though, the Bishop begins to feel threatened and with an ambitious assistant encouraging the rift, the jealousy overwhelms him. Dwight's rebellion with God following the unexpected loss of a close family member and being fired cause him to hit a new low, yet his true repentance brings him back with a renewed sense of what God has done for him. Also starring are Sheryl Lee Ralph (Moesha), Drew Sidora (Step Up) and a host of Gospel music stars including Karen Clark Sheard, DAMITA, Kierra 'Kiki' Sheard, Dr. Bobby Jones and Rance Allen.

The David and Saul story does have a huge impact on this film, and is especially demonstrated with the friendship that forms between Dwight & the Bishop's son, Jarred (Jor el Quinn). Jarred is equally as gifted as Dwight, and would have been an obvious choice to have a high position in his father's ministry...yet he clearly feels that God has anointed Dwight and that it is better to follow the will of God over any personal ambition. The Bishop listens to advisers who fan the flames of ambition and jealousy and becomes too caught up in his own power, wealth, and ambition. Dwight flees from God and rebels when trials come into his life...yet truly repents and once again becomes a man who seeks God first.

Some of the storylines should have been a little better developed and some of the acting wasn't great. There were a few moments I would have liked to have seen a more definitive conclusion of the story; they were important, but seemed like they were just tossed in casually. Overall, I enjoyed the film, but a large part was the music. Great music distracted me from a few holes in the plot, so this is definitely more for a fan of music than a fan of a story-driven film.