Why Audiences Will Love THE UNBREAKABLE BOY: ‘Make You Thankful You’re Alive’
By Movieguide® Contributor
According to Scott LeRette, to meet his son Austin, who was diagnosed with autism and a rare condition called brittle-bones disease, is to meet a new best friend.
“[T]here are times where we’re going to dinner, we’ll go somewhere, out in public shopping, where I will right before we go into a store or get out of the car, I’ll say, ‘Austin, I don’t want to talk to anybody’ because leaving a room with Austin, it seriously takes an hour,” Scott told Movieguide®’s Cheryl Crisp.
“I take it to the extreme and to share that he gravitates even to the worst of people. He thinks everybody is redeemable, and that’s kind of the story of his life,” he said.
That infectious spirit is what filmmaker/actor Kevin Downes wanted to capture in the upcoming movie THE UNBREAKABLE BOY, based on Scott’s book by the same name.
The book started out as series of notes written by LeRette when Austin was a teenager as a form of “self-diagnosed therapy.”
“I didn’t make a book or write a book about a blog. I used that to get my thoughts out of my brain,” LeRette told Omaha’s First Alert 6.
The book came out in 2017 and was coauthored by bestselling author Susy Flory.
“Well, I think Scott’s true story is just one of resilience and just overcoming, overcoming the odds and not giving up, not quitting. I love stories that are all about not giving up and not quitting and just inspiring people with this rush of hope. And this one has it,” Downes told Crisp, who also co-produced THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER and UNSUNG HERO.
“It’ll make you laugh, it’ll make you cry, it’ll make you want to hug your neighbor, hug your family member, and just really be thankful that you’re alive. And it’s a great story,” he went on to say.
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Downes praised the cast tasked with bringing the characters to life, one of them being Peter Facinelli for his “understated” and “impactful” performance.
Facinelli plays Pastor Rick who helps Scott, played by Zachary Levi, through his faith journey as he deals with the challenges of parenthood.
“One of my favorite scenes in the film was one that involves him, because it’s something I’ve never seen, especially in one of my films. Just a pastor that is accessible, and I’ll leave it at that,” he said.
Facinelli also share about what makes his character approachable.
“Scott gets to a place where he’s kind of at rock bottom, and he turns and he sees Pastor Rick there and you get to see that Pastor Rick is also broken and healing himself,” he said. “[H]e’s not talking down to him, he’s talking to him, and he becomes an advocate and a friend that can help him through that journey.”
Levi gives his “best performance,” according to Downes, joking that even after watching the movie “100 times” could not find any flaws in his performance.
“I’m so proud of him…I went into it like two times ago. I’m like, ‘Okay, I’m gonna see if I cannot like Zach in his performance.’ And I failed. I literally failed,” he said. “That stinker had me crying once again, and he’s just so good at it.”
Downes shared some of his biggest praise for Jacob Laval, who plays Austin.
“This is a very, very talented human being that we somehow stumbled upon. I’m not sure the movie would have been made without Jacob’s presence in this film” he said. “It was our biggest concern if we can’t find the right Austin I don’t know if this movie should get made.”
The movie recently premiered at the Omaha Marcus theater, where Austin works, to a soldout auditorium.
“To say it was a success is profoundly inadequate. It was an almost perfect night. First, Marcus Theaters… they hit a bottom of the ninth, bases loaded two out grand slam. How could they make the night this spectacular,” LeRette wrote on the theunbreakableboy Instagram page. “The weather… not only wasn’t it an issue, it looks like there were about 400 folks in attendance, more than seats available. Sold out city !!! The response, just amazing… people ‘GET it.’”
“The most joy I feel… when everyone tells us they felt it and see themselves in a character or piece or part of our story,” the post continued. “If anyone leaves thinking about their own life and know our story helped them “get” it… tells me it was ALL worth it. In the end, it’s all about love.”
THE UNBREAKABLE BOY, also starring Meghann Fahy, Drew Powell and Patricia Heaton is set for wide release Feb. 21.
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