Confessions of a Prodigal Son (DVD review)

Family Christian provided me with a copy of this DVD in exchange for an honest and fair review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Sometimes life gets so busy it’s necessary to plan some down time. I feel like my life has been run, run, run for a couple of months now. Work is swamped and I’ve always got several things vying for my attention when I’m not at the office. I honestly don’t know what I’d do if I weren’t a single gal and had a family to care for on top of everything else I’ve got going on. Seriously, I am amazed at women who balance a career and family. Last Saturday I decided it was time for a movie night. About a year and half ago I turned off the television and it rarely gets turned on. Once in a while I’ll watch a movie but even that is sporadic. Lucky for me, I knew exactly which movie I was going to watch.

Confessions of a Prodigal Son
(available for pre-order now. Release date March 24)

Sean Matthews is living it up. It’s his second year of college—at the school of his choosing, not the one his parents hoped he’d attend. He’s out from under his parents’ thumb and in charge of his own life. No more unrealistic expectations, no more rules, no more pressure. His best friend enjoys the extracurricular college life—the girls, the parties. Then he attends his English class where the professor encourages the students to write their story over the course of the semester. When he meets Ali, a young lady who is on her own journey, Sean is interested in spending time with her. A bad decision comes back to bite Sean and his life changes in a blink of an eye (but you knew it was coming because of the title of the movie, right?). What does a young man do when the life he has enjoyed is pulled out from under him, when he’s alienated his own family and even his friends?

I may be dating myself here, but do you remember the old Thief in the Night movies? It was the 80s when I watched them. I have to say, I am so happy that the Christian movie industry isn’t still in this stage of film making (although, I do believe those Thief in the Night movies were made in the 70s so that may have something to do with the production quality). But seriously, with the recent success of movies like God’s Not Dead, Old Fashioned, and When the Game Stands Tall, movies with a Christian message have definitely gotten a boost in both production quality and acting.

That said, the acting can still be a little stilted and there were a few too many frames in this film with overuse of filters but the message is timeless. Are you ready for the message? You are loved and—no matter what decisions you make, no matter what you might have done to disappoint the people who love you in your life—you will always be loved. God loves you. He hurts when we turn away from him, but he will always welcome us back with open arms.

While I grew up a PK (preacher’s kid) like the main character in this movie, I never went through the rebellious streak like many PKs tend to experience. It’s probably because my parents weren’t really strict while I was growing up. My life was pretty boring, LOL. I usually preferred a good book to the latest Friday or Saturday night party. But I have made decisions I’m not proud of, decisions that have hurt people I loved so, in a way, I could relate to Sean and the chain of events that occur after his poor choices.

Confessions of a Prodigal Son is a film that would be excellent for families with teenagers to watch together and discuss afterward. It would also be a good choice for a youth group event. There is quite a bit of drinking and even some drugs at one point, so it may not be appropriate for smaller children.

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