Well, it seems as though it is time for me to write a review of Fireproof, which came out last Friday. As some of you know from a previous posting, I had been looking forward to this movie for quite some time. And, according to reports in the media, this movie rocked the charts in its opening weekend and set a record for its “limited” release.
Fireproof stars Captain James T. “Kirk” Cameron and Erin Bethea as an unhappily married couple headed for divorce. Kirk veers from his traditional role as “TJ” Hooker to play a firefighter who is a hero to everyone but his wife. Kirk, with advice from his father (who turns out, surprisingly enough, to actually be Darth Vader), and a handwritten journal containing “the love dare,” begins to transform his life in order to save his marriage. Kirk ends up learning that he can’t show love if he doesn’t know what true love is. So, after a radical transformation in his life, Kirk ends up showing unconditional love to his wife and learns the true meaning of marriage.
In the end, Kirk shows that the change in his life is real, which causes his wife, Erin, to fall in love with him all over again. Seriously, folks, there were tears throughout the theater…of course, I just had a popcorn kernel in my eye which is why my eyes may or may not have been a bit watery at the end. Either way, Fireproof was an amazing story of redemption, faith and love, and I would encourage everyone to see this great movie.
This movie shows that love is worth fighting for and that love is worth changing for when the focus is taken off of ourselves and put on the other person. In our society, love many times is more of a contract and less of a commitment, which causes us to think that marriage can and should be dissolved when the going gets tough. But, as the movie makes clear, we should love our spouse – as Jesus loves us – despite and in spite of anything they do, including forgetting to brush their teeth before bedtime.
As I mentioned in my previous posting on this movie, Fireproof was made by the same folks who brought us Flywheel and Facing the Giants. This movie, like its predecessors, was created on a slim budget and the entire 1,200 person cast and crew was “volunteer,” meaning no one – not even the Priceline.com man – got paid for their work. Click here to read a great review of the movie’s stats from Marketwatch.com, which was provided to me by my good friend Jason.
Summation: This is the must-see movie of the summer…or fall…or whatever season we are currently in!