fbpx

THE UNLIKELY GOOD SAMARITAN

"Unlikely Spiritual Help"

Watch:

What You Need To Know:

THE UNLIKELY GOOD SAMARITAN is a faith-based movie about a young married pastor and a black man just released from prison. Sam, the ex-convict, gets a job washing dishes at a bar in a small town. Chris has just started a job as a temporary pastor at a small church in the same town. Sam visits the church, but the white church elder orders Chris to tell Sam he doesn’t fit with the congregation. Chris lets Sam keep a church Bible. However, when Chris runs into trouble himself, he will need Sam’s help to set his own life back on track.

THE UNLIKELY GOOD SAMARITAN moves too slowly but eventually picks up steam to deliver a nice, heartfelt ending. The movie has a strong Christian worldview. With help from Sam, the pastor overcomes his guilt and sin, repents, and renews his Christian faith. THE UNLIKELY GOOD SAMARITAN also includes scenes of forgiveness and reminds viewers they must turn from their sin, live honestly in faith and help other people. Caution is advised for older children because of mature themes, alcohol use and smoking.

Content:

(CCC, BBB, V, S, N, AA, D, M):

Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements:
Very strong Christian, moral worldview about a fallen pastor who must overcome his guilt and sin, repent, and renew his Christian faith, with help from the ex-convict he helped to convert, movie also includes scenes of forgiveness and reminds viewers that no person is good, but that we must turn away from our sins, live honestly in faith and help other people

Foul Language:
No foul language

Violence:
A man punches a drunken man who refuses to give the man his car keys and a man gets upset and knocks some things off a shelf and table

Sex:
Implied fornication when a man and woman kiss and then man wakes up the next morning with the woman in the bed next to him and three scenes show a young pastor spends nights looking at his laptop computer and in third scene a woman’s voice is heard from the computer welcoming the pastor to a website to chat with women, and pastor’s wife kicks him out of the house

Nudity:
Upper male nudity and female cleavage in one or two scenes

Alcohol Use:
Pastor gets drunk in a bar and gets knocked unconscious when he won’t let a man take his car keys

Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse:
Sime smoking but no drugs; and,

Miscellaneous Immorality:
Racism when a church elder forces new young pastor to tell a black man not to return to their church .

More Detail:

THE UNLIKELY GOOD SAMARITAN is about an ex-convict who helps the fallen temporary pastor of a small-town church overcome his guilt and sin, repent and renew his Christian faith. THE UNLIKELY GOOD SAMARITAN moves too slowly but picks up steam in the second half to deliver a nice, heartfelt, redemptive ending. Caution is advised for older children because of some mature themes, alcohol use and smoking.

The movie opens with a black man named Sam Walker getting out of prison. Sam walks to a small town and gets a job as a dishwasher at a bar, where he befriends another worker, Mike. At the motel where he’s staying, Sam meets a pretty blonde woman named Ashley. He takes her to a party where Mike invited him.

Meanwhile, a young pastor named Chris gives his first Sunday sermon to a church in the small town. The sermon goes well, and it looks like Chris will move easily from temporary senior pastor to permanent senior pastor.

However, Chris is addicted to Internet porn. He spend nights on his laptop computer while his wife’s in bed. Megan, his wife, realizes something is wrong, and she confides in a young married woman she met at the church.

Sam tells Mike he’s unsatisfied with his life and wants “something more.” He sees a flyer that Chris posted on a telephone pole advertising his evening Bible study. The flyer offers “something more.” So, Sam shows up at the Bible study, but Chris realizes Sam will not fit in with the leading church elder’s racist vision for the church. Chris tells Sam to keep the Bible from the Bible study, and Mike starts reading it.

Just as Sam seems to be finding Christ, Chris seems to be moving away from Christ. Sure enough, when Sam shows up the next Sunday at church, the leading church elder orders Chris to tell Sam he doesn’t really fit with the church’s congregation.

That night, Megan tells Chris she’s ashamed of his behavior. She wonders what’s going on with her husband, who’s become sullen and unresponsive. Later that night, Megan learns about his addiction to Internet pornography. Nothing is shown, but viewers hear a woman’s voice on the Internet welcoming Chris to a website where he can chat with any woman he wants before Chris abruptly closes the laptop. Megan confronts Chris, and Chris storms out of the house and drives away in their car.

Chris ends up at the bar where Sam works in the back. He starts downing some drinks of straight gin. Cut to Chris drunkenly leaving the bar in the alley behind the building. Mike is there taking a cigarette break. He tries to take the car keys away from Chris, but Chris shoves him away. So Mike punches Chris, who’s knocked unconscious.

Chris is still laying in the alley when Sam gets off work and enters the alley. He wakes Chris up and drives him home, but Megan has locked the door. So, Sam lets Chris stay in his motel room. The next morning, Chris asks Sam why he helped him after Chris treated him so badly at the church. Sam tells him he’s just trying to follow the Christian message he’s been reading in the Bible that Chris gave him.

Can Chris renew his faith in God and straighten out his own life? Will his wife take him back? Will Chris stand up to the racist church elder?

THE UNLIKELY GOOD SAMARITAN is filmed like a slice-of-life independent movie. As a result, it moves too slowly and misses the first plot point. Also, it inserts some black transition frames between some scenes that slow down the plot even more. The filmmakers were going for a more realistic, slice-of-life style, but that’s hard to pull off and keep viewers engaged. Despite this, the movie picks up steam in the second half to deliver a nice, heartfelt ending. Also, the movie has a strong Christian worldview promoting forgiveness and reminding viewers that no one is good, but that we all need to turn away from sin, live honestly in faith and help other people.

Before Sam can help Chris, however, he must transform his own life. Before he starts reading the Bible, Sam wakes up one morning in bed with Ashley, the girl he met at the motel. When he starts reading the Bible, Sam realizes he and Ashley did wrong and he establishes a chaste relationship with her.

So, THE UNLIKELY GOOD SAMARITAN contains some mature content that warrants caution for older children. However, it has no foul language and no objectionable violence.

Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.


Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.


Watch THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST
Quality: - Content: +1
Watch COURAGEOUS LEGACY
Quality: - Content: +4