ORDINARY ANGELS’ Creators Hope Movie Reminds Viewers to ‘Help Somebody’
By Movieguide® Contributor
Jon Gunn, Kevin Downes and Jon Berg explained the purpose behind ORDINARY ANGELS and how they hope it will connect with audiences.
“I think that what was really important to us is that a lot of times you can watch a movie about someone who does something extraordinary, and you feel like it’s nice to watch, but it’s intimidating that, ‘I’m not special enough or accomplished enough to be able to do something meaningful,’” director Jon Gunn told Movieguide®.
“This was such a great reminder that all of us can change a life or impact or help somebody or do something selfless whether you’re ordinary or, like you said, broken and feel less than ordinary, those are often the angels,” Gunn continued. “Whether you choose them or not, they can come into your life and help or make an impact or transform your world, so this was what we were really drawn to about the story.”
The movie centers around an alcoholic hairdresser who decides to turn her life around when she meets a widowed father working to save his youngest daughter from kidney failure. The hairdresser becomes committed to this family and moves mountains to provide them with the help that they need. Despite the heavy situation, ORDINARY ANGELS has many moments of laughter and joy as well, capturing a broad range of emotions.
“This is a joyful film, right. There’s a lot of levity in the film, there’s a lot of hope in this film. This is a movie that leave you hopefully feeling very inspired and encouraged and uplifted and moved, but there’s also struggle in it,” Gunn said.
“I always think you want to find the struggle in the joy, and you find the best laughter and release that when it comes out of pain, you know, the unexpected laughter that I think exists all throughout this movie,” he continued. “When you watch it in a crowd – and if you can see it in a theater, that’s the way to experience it – we’ve sat in crowds of thousands of people just roaring with laughter in the midst of difficult moments.”
“Genuinely, there’s a good balance in this film, and that was the goal,” he added. “We genuinely wanted to make sure that this would have uplifting moments of hope and levity all throughout but didn’t shy away from the pain and struggle because that’s all the real-life stuff. That’s what we experience, all of us, the joy and the pain all mixed together.”
ORDINARY ANGELS hits theaters on Feb. 23.
Check out Movieguide®’s full interview here:
Movieguide® previously reported:
Director Jon Gunn says his latest project, ORDINARY ANGELS, is full of hope, joy and community.
“It’s interesting how stories make their way to you,” he told Movieguide®. “With ORDINARY ANGELS, I was in the midst of doing a slate of movies with Lionsgate [like AMERICAN UNDERDOG, I STILL BELIEVE and JESUS REVOLUTION] and in the midst of that relationship, they came to me and said, ‘We have a project we really love that we feel would be a good fit.’”
According to the movie’s website, ORDINARY ANGELS “centers on Sharon (Hilary Swank), a fierce but struggling hairdresser in small-town Kentucky who discovers a renewed sense of purpose when she meets Ed (Alan Ritchson), a widower working hard to make ends meet for his two daughters. With his youngest daughter waiting for a liver transplant, Sharon sets her mind to helping the family and will move mountains to do it. What unfolds is the inspiring tale of faith, everyday miracles, and ordinary angels.”