Steven Curtis Chapman Shares What Attracted Him to A WEEK AWAY
By Movieguide® Staff
He thought it would be cheesy. After all, what musical about a Christian camp wouldn’t be, well, campy?
“I mean, if it’s people trying to make great art that’s redemptive, that’s got a message of faith and hope, I’m like, ‘Go for it!’ But so often, I’m like, ‘Okay, man, way to go! Hopefully next time, we can do it even better,'” Steven Curtis Chapman says of trying to encourage Christian projects that maybe aren’t the best.
“So I wasn’t sure,” he said of being asked to participate in A WEEK AWAY.
But then, “I saw the first little clip, and I heard the music, I saw the choreography, I saw the cinematography saw the editing. Just in like a little 30-45 second clip, I went, ‘Okay, I’m in, I’m buying,'” the contemporary Christian artist says.
“This is great. I feel like it’s going to be a great film, and I don’t even know the storyline or how the songs were going to work into the story and all of that yet, I just thought, ‘This is going to be well done. I’m believing in this.’ And boy was I not disappointed! I’m blown away with it. I’m a huge fan,” he said.
According to the Movieguide® review,
A WEEK AWAY is a musical streaming on Netflix. Will is a troubled teenager who’s committed crimes and caused problems at schools and in foster homes throughout his life. When a family offers to put him in a Christian summer camp rather than being sent to juvenile detention, Will agree with trepidation. Will arrives at camp and meets Avery. Avery has a twinkle in her eye, and Will likes her but another teenage boy, Sean, is interested in her as well. Will wonders if he will be able to connect with Avery and wonders if she will accept his troubled past.
A WEEK AWAY is a fun, exciting, enjoyable Christian musical that families will love. All of the songs are catchy and well done. The movie talks about some real hardships of sickness and death, but shows that God is near to those who call to Him. The movie also shows one character turning to Christ and finding joy and peace through his transformation. A WEEK AWAY is a great option for the older children and family to enjoy and sing along.
Like Chapman, stars Bailee Madison and Kevin Quinn also think the music is a selling point for the movie.
“I think kids are so impressionable,” Quinn says. “And for them to hear a message that they are good enough, especially in today’s day and age with social media and technology surrounding us and feeling like you always have to compare yourself, I can only imagine how difficult that is for the generation that’s coming up now. For them to hear a song like ‘Good Enough,’ where they are good enough, they are told that they’re doing everything right, I think it’s just an important message that people need to hear. God made you just how you should be, which is true. We forget that. Sometimes we think we’re flawed, but nobody’s perfect. And really the flaws that we have are what makes us who we are.”
Madison agrees.
“I think music is such a powerful thing, too,” she says. “It’s something that I’ve always loved my whole life growing up. And I love the idea of getting to tell a story through a song that can then be stuck in your head as you’re walking around the house.”
Madison continues:” I’m 21 years old. Goodness knows I need to hear that I’m good enough to do it. I think it’s a really, really special time to have this song coming out at a time where so many people are at home and unable to do things or go out. There’s a whole lot of self reflection and doubt that comes with that, so I’m glad that a song like this now exists for people.”
Watch A WEEK AWAY on Netflix now.