Overcomer & Breakthrough Small Group Discussion Questions and Review: The Good, The Bad, The Frustrating… But Mostly The Good.
Overcomer
Movie: Overcomer
Rating: PG
Age Suggestion: 8+ long stretches of intense drama
Running Time: 2 hours
Release Date: August 23rd, 2019
Stars: 3 out of 5
Themes: Courage, Authenticity, Hypocrisy, Encouragement, Identity, Faith, Work, Community
Warnings: Parental death, Stereotypical adoption portrayals
Quick Summary:
A plant shuts down in a small town, impacting thousands of residents. As the local Christian school scrambles to deal with the sudden decline in student population, the teachers and coaches are asked to step outside of their comfort zone to cover classes. In this case, Coach Harrison, the basketball coach and Hannah Scott from the track team have to learn how to work together to move forward. One has nothing to lose and everything to gain and the other has a lot to lose and gain. Their lives are both changed forever.
Viewers should be aware that this movie deals with adoption (and reunification) in extremely stereotypical ways. They should also be aware of who the movie was made for: an evangelical Christian audience. (Personally, I would not take my friends who do not believe in God to see this movie and I would not want my adopted child to see this movie without me). That being said, the movie was encouraging and had messages that are needed within evangelical circles right now. I would watch this again with a small group or friends.
**Spoilers Beyond This Point**
Overcomer Discussion Questions:
1) Have you ever had a dream derailed and pushed aside like Coach Harrison?
2) Is there something that you believe you can do, that you want to get better at or pursue more, that seems physically or mentally impossible? (Like Hannah trying to place in track meets even though she has asthma)
3) One of the most inspiring points of this movie to me was the way that the teens rallied around this shy athlete without a team- to give her a team! How can you lift up someone that might need encouragement? Ethan certainly could have pouted about his situation instead of celebrating Hannah’s effort. Who are you actively cheering for right now?
4) It’s massively important to have people who are encouraging you and speaking life into you. Who are the mentors or coaches in your life who inspire and encourage you?
5) John and Thomas have some very raw and honest conversations. Who in your life is really honest with you and can call you out when you need it?
Overcomer Review:
Characters & Acting:
-As a teacher who has experienced pay cuts and team cuts, I felt like the teacher’s characters were a little one sided and not developed as well as they could have been. I felt the same way about their kids’ characters. The grandmother was also not given a lot of depth to work with. On the other hand, the principal and the main character, I felt, had some deeper character development.
-I thought that all of the actors did well. Particularly the youngest son, the lead teen and the biological father. They really stood out. The acting over all was not as believable as your typical summer blockbuster, but it also wasn’t distracting like you might say is typical of religious movies on the big screen.
Script & Story:
-Everyone near us cried and laughed multiple times throughout the movie.
-This movie was definitely made with the evangelical Christian audience in mind. For that specific audience, the message (overall) was a good one. However, there were some points that concerned me. Which I discuss in the negative points section.
Film Quality:
–I had seen other reviews talk about the terrible lighting and bad sound effects, but I did not find that to be true of my viewing experience. This is not a high budget film, so of course the quality isn’t going to be on that level.
-The film was scored well. We really enjoyed the music and thought it really added to the storyline.
-The only thing that distracted me were the direct close up shots of people when they were having conversations with other people- but that’s a personal preference and common complaint for me.
Negative Points:
–In general, faith-based movies seem to very closely toe the line of the prosperity gospel or Christian triumphalism (Jesus fixes everything and your status is elevated because of your faith). In other words, not being a Christian is miserable and awful but once you find Jesus everything magically falls into place and you succeed. This movie is not the exception to this rule.
-This story very, very narrowly avoids glorifying authority issues and seeming racist. Avoided with the character of the powerhouse principal but it wasn’t quite enough.
-Having the daughter sneak out of her house for a parental re-unification, with her teacher’s encouragement, behind her grandmother’s back was incredibly painful for me to watch as an adoptive momma and teacher. They could have easily gone a different way with that storyline and it is absolutely not realistic or reasonable that there were no consequences for any of that, and it is not something that is ok to encourage.
Positive Lessons:
-The central theme was a great message about our identity. It was a little heavy handed, but still so good. As a child of God you are valuable, loved, and can be an overcomer. We often struggle with finding our identities in today’s performance culture. God wants us to be countercultural and find out identities in Him. I loved when Thomas was talking to John about understanding that wherever he spent his time and energy was where he was going to find his identity.
-The coach seeks out and listens to authority in his life. He openly admits to struggling with pride and frustration. He has very open, encouraging, and honest conversations with his kids and students.
-The kids see their parents struggling, praying together and communicating well.
-The principal gives the main character next steps after she prays a salvation prayer with her. This step really stuck with me in particular because it is something that we all need to do and be reminded of as Christ followers. In this case she was asked to read the first two chapters of Ephesians and write out the promises of who she was as God’s beloved child. She kept that list with her so that she could remind herself of those truths and promises.
-The father positively modeled for his son an appropriate response to failure and having your dreams de-railed. I loved at the end when he reminded his son that no matter what happened or what he achieved, he was always going to be loved and valued.
-The other kids rallying around Hannah and encouraging her was wonderful. Again- this countercultural idea that there is actually enough room for all of us at the table. That we need to be encouraging and lifting each other up in our successes and even just in our daily attempts, that was extremely impactful.
–What to check out next: Soul Surfer, Facing the Giants, The Resurrection of Gavin Stone, Fireproof
–For more posts like Overcomer and Breakthrough Discussion Questions & Reviews to check out next from our blog: The Chosen Series Bible Study, I Still Believe Movie Review, Unstoppable- Bethany Hamilton Documentary, The Call to Courage Brene Brown Special, You Vs. Wild, Tolkien
–Articles to check out next from our blog: Family Discussion Questions, Building Your Village, Impostor Syndrome and Mother Theresa
Breakthough Discussion Questions and Review
Movie: Breakthrough discussion questions
Rating: PG
Age Suggestion: 8+, long stretches of intense drama
Running Time: About 2 Hours
Release Date: April 17th, 2019
Stars: 3 1/2 out of 5
Themes: Prayer, Miracles, Family Relationships, Sports, Community, Religion
Warnings: This movie deals with extreme medical drama, foster and adoptive parents should be aware that the main character is adopted and it is portrayed in a very stereotypical way that will definitely require some discussion after the movie with your kiddos.
Quick Summary:
When 14 yr. old John Smith drowns in an awful accident on a lake, his mother believes that a miracle is coming for him in spite of impossible odds. The basketball team and community comes together in new and inspiring ways to support the family.
Viewers should be aware that this movie deals with adoption in extremely stereotypical ways. They should also be aware of who the movie was made for- an evangelical Christian audience. I would not take my friends who do not believe in God to see this movie and I would not want my adopted child to see this movie without me. That being said, the movie was encouraging and had some really positive messages. I would watch this again with a small group or friends.
Breakthrough Discussion Questions for friends or a small group setting :
1) Have you ever done something that you knew was dangerous because of peer pressure? Even in adult work environments we encounter peer pressure. How do you stand up to peer pressure now?
2) How do you feel about viral prayer groups?
3) Have you ever passionately believed something like Joyce did, even though all the odds and everyone was against it?
4) I loved the relationship between Pastor Jason and Joyce. Are there things at church that rile you up that might be a little more inconsequential than you give them credit for? Is there somewhere where you can connect better with people you disagree with or show more grace to?
5) Pastor Jason was the only one who supported Joyce in her belief that there was another miracle headed her son’s way because of prayer and positive thought. When push comes to shove- do you actually believe that prayer is powerful or is it something that you say you’ll do without really thinking about it?
6) Why do you feel like God is still a good God even though some people are healed and some are not?
Breakthrough Review:
Characters & Acting:
–I was excited to see this movie because Chrissy Metz was in it and she did not disappoint. I absolutely believed that she was a grieving, fierce mother. Topher Grace, Josh Lucas, Mike Colter and Dennis Haysbert all do amazing jobs as well.
-I was especially impressed with the teen actors and how believable they were on screen.
Script & Story:
-This movie differs from the typical Christian cookie cutter film because it is based on a true story. While the script does occasionally get stuck in the typical religious movie tropes, it’s not as ‘beat you over the head’ as it easily could be.
-I was also very impressed that the movie dealt with the after math of the miracle for the people directly involved.
Film Quality:
–The quality is very similar to a really good, made for TV, movie.
-The lighting and shots did not distract me.
-The water shots are really difficult and I thought that they did them all very well! (especially those teen actors!)
Favorite Moments:
-My favorite moments, outside of the big film moments, were when the pastor and mom really connected and realized how petty the things they had conflict over at church were.
-I’ll also admit to tearing up at a pivotal moment in the movie when the whole community shows up in a big way.
Overall Opinion:
–On the plus side, this movie is an enjoyable film that is based on a true story. An encouraging watch for your Bible study group. One you could definitely have some great conversations about.
-However it is not necessarily one that I would ask friends who aren’t believers to see or one that I would want my adopted children to watch alone.
Negative Points:
-John’s issues are all attributed very stereotypically to adoption and there’s some very shallow, one sided character development around that. While it’s not unusual for adoptive kids to have issues with their birthdays, it just unsettled me the way it was handled in this movie. Trauma is a part of adoption, but other kids experience trauma as well. Usually trauma (in this case stemming from adoption) is not, in fact, healed by another trauma (almost dying and miraculous healing).
-It’s tough to tackle miracles authentically on screen and everything that surrounds that.
-Prayer and faith-based language was not portrayed in a way that would be encouraging or intriguing to people who do not share the Christian faith in my personal opinion.
Positive Points:
-I appreciated that the film really showed that the aftermath of a miraculous healing and trauma is not all positive. It was difficult to adjust back to real life and other people had issues with him and his miracle.
-They tacked the hard subject of God miraculously healing some but not all.
-They showed modern difficulties in church and church culture without being too over the top or stereotypical.
-The community really showed up and so did the teens. That was incredibly encouraging to see that displayed on screen in this story.
What To Check Out Next
–Similar Movies: Heaven is Real, Same Kind of Different as Me, Miracles from Heaven, Soul Surfer
–For more posts like Overcomer and Breakthrough Discussion Questions & Reviews, check out next from our blog: Unstoppable- Bethany Hamilton Documentary, I Still Believe Movie Review, The Chosen Series, The Call to Courage Brene Brown Special, You Vs. Wild, Tolkien
–Articles to check out next from our blog: Family Discussion Questions, Building Your Village, Rachel Hollis Books and Conference, Impostor Syndrome and Mother Theresa
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