Post by melinky on Mar 9, 2005 9:20:32 GMT -5
"Raising Helen" is a cute chick-flick that I don't think many men would enjoy. However, as a Christian, it left me wishing for more. The story is about Helen, the executive assistant to a prominent Manhattan modeling agent. When her sister and brother-in-law are suddenly killed in a car wreck, Helen become the sole guardian of their three children, a 15 year old girl, a 10-12 year old boy and a darling 5 or 6 year old girl. This is a young woman who lives to party and runs with a very elite crowd suddenly cast into the role of a parent. After deciding to move the children to New York, the four end up in a small, cramped apartment in Queens where the public schools are full of gangs and patrolling policemen. As they leave the high school Helen non-piously asks God to help her find a good school for the kids. No sooner have the words left her lips than they pass by a private Lutheran school with happy children in school uniforms. This is where we meet Pastor Dan, a single minister and principal of the school who becomes romantically interested in Helen. It is with the character of Pastor Dan that I have problems and where I felt the film was lacking the power that it could have had.
To me, Pastor Dan was sadly lacking reverence. While I recognize that Pastors are people with human emotions and feelings, the character of Pastor Dan could have been any man off the street. For example, there was one scene where Pastor Dan said a prayer to bless the animals in the zoo. The prayer pretty much consisted of "Bless these animals, amen." I guess I'm just used to Pastors being a bit more wordy in prayer. Also, he was holding his hands palms up, which was fine, but they were curled half-closed rather than open. This is a little thing, but it gave me the feeling he was embarrassed to be praying in public.
The other thing about this movie that bothered me was that 99% of the movie was free of any questionable language, but Hollywood had to bring it down a notch and add the obligatory off color remarks here and there. At one point we hear the boy say that they are in deep sh--, this was totally unnecessary. Then good old Pastor Dan twice uses the word as-, and he wasn't referring to a donkey. In one of these instances, he uses the word while addressing some of the high school boys. I felt this would be inappropriate for a school principal, especially one that is a pastor. Maybe I've isolated myself too far from the world, but mild as that word is, it's one I don't use, nor would I want my son to use it.
By removing the mild, off-color humor and adding just a touch more reverence to Pastor Dan, this could have been a movie with a message. Instead I found myself half-expecting Pastor Dan and Helen to sleep together, fortunately that didn't happen.
To me, Pastor Dan was sadly lacking reverence. While I recognize that Pastors are people with human emotions and feelings, the character of Pastor Dan could have been any man off the street. For example, there was one scene where Pastor Dan said a prayer to bless the animals in the zoo. The prayer pretty much consisted of "Bless these animals, amen." I guess I'm just used to Pastors being a bit more wordy in prayer. Also, he was holding his hands palms up, which was fine, but they were curled half-closed rather than open. This is a little thing, but it gave me the feeling he was embarrassed to be praying in public.
The other thing about this movie that bothered me was that 99% of the movie was free of any questionable language, but Hollywood had to bring it down a notch and add the obligatory off color remarks here and there. At one point we hear the boy say that they are in deep sh--, this was totally unnecessary. Then good old Pastor Dan twice uses the word as-, and he wasn't referring to a donkey. In one of these instances, he uses the word while addressing some of the high school boys. I felt this would be inappropriate for a school principal, especially one that is a pastor. Maybe I've isolated myself too far from the world, but mild as that word is, it's one I don't use, nor would I want my son to use it.
By removing the mild, off-color humor and adding just a touch more reverence to Pastor Dan, this could have been a movie with a message. Instead I found myself half-expecting Pastor Dan and Helen to sleep together, fortunately that didn't happen.