Desperate to see their church grow, Pastor John (Robert Amaya,MOM’S NIGHT OUT, COURAGEOUS) and wife Betsy (Erin Bethea, FIREPROOF) do the unthinkable and change their church Christmas pageant. Flabbergasted, elderly choir director Mary Margaret (Sallie Wanchisn) leads the choir to boycott. Facing termination, Pastor John resorts to disguising himself as an old man to bridge the generation gap, win over Mary, and lead the choir back to the church. When he discovers that the wounds run deeper than he first suspected, Pastor John must learn to love the unlovable or risk the ruin of his church and family. Also stars Victoria Jackson (SNL). Written and directed by Sean Morgan, the film uses the themes of loving the "unloveable," reconciliation, conflict resolution, and change vs tradition.
Altar Egos is a good "popcorn" movie to enjoy with family or friends. It's not one of the funniest films I have ever seen, but it is amusing. The themes of the film can be told in a very heavy-handed way, so it is refreshing to see points made in a more humorous way. To quote Mary Poppins, a spoon full of sugar makes the medicine go down. Some of the scenes were a bit too silly for me, and some left me puzzled, but it was overall entertaining. There were also a couple of editing issues that I wish had been fixed, but that is not uncommon in any movie.
Good acting throughout the film. Robert Amaya and Victoria Jackson are excellent any time they do comedy. But, I have to mention 2 of the younger cast members. Lindsley Register lit up the screen each time she appeared. I loved her portrayal of Holly. But, the standout performance for me was Max Morgan! He was good as the teen-aged Jack, but when he would transform into the elderly Frank, I could not take my eyes off of him as he tried to fit into the senior crowd and made attempts to get them to loosen up a bit.
Conflict and resolution are the major staple of most films, and I thought Altar Egos did a good job in the "and they all lived happily ever after..." style while still making their points. Sometimes we need to see things from a different point of view to gain a greater understanding. ALTAR EGO LINKS:
Praying for Girls: Asking God for the Things They Need Most by Teri Lynne Underwood are Scripture-based prayers for the girls in your life. Raising a daughter can cause a lot of worry and concern, especially when we think of the danger, trials, and temptations that will face her. Yet you can feel the peace that comes when you pray specific Scriptures over her and turn your prayers into hope and promises rather than times of fear over what may happen. There are five vital areas of a girl's life--her identity, heart, mind, relationships, and purpose-- and you will find guidance and assurance that you may pray with confidence over your child to cover each of these areas. I love the personalized Scripture prayers. Not only does it use God's Word to pray for your daughter, but has the added benefit of making Scripture more personal for yourself. Sometimes we forget this is not simply history or words meant for someone else.
There are also conversation starters and activities to help you raise your child into a confident woman of God. One of the things I enjoyed most is that it incorporates ideas for various stages in life. Each chapter has " Girl Talk" suggestions for a young child, a tween, and for a young woman. I have a daughter, a granddaughter, and 2 great-granddaughters, so I found age-appropriate ideas for each...or ideas that I can personalize. There are also ideas I can use just as easily with sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons. Definitely a multi-generalization book that can be passed on to the next generation.
I received a copy of this book from Cross Focused Reviews (Cross Focused Media). I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.
