UNANSWERED PRAYERS is a Lifetime original movie airing this Monday, November 29, 2010 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT. Unanswered Prayers is a movie based on the song by Garth Brooks, also an executive producer on the movie. The movie stars mostly TV made actors with the exception of Patty Duke who, although recognizable, appeared quite a bit older than usual. The actor that played the main character of Ben Beck, Eric Close, has a long history on both TV and movies. He is probably most recognized for his part in Without a Trace during the 7 years he was on there. While watching this movie, I thought he seemed quite like Michael Keaton, but more good looking.
Unanswered Prayers is about Ben Beck, the high school football player who married the high school cheerleader, although not the one he originally thought he would. Fast forward some 20 something years later and his old flame is back in town due to a death in the family. Ben is left wondering what could have been, much to the detriment of the rest of his family.
The movie does not break any new ground in the terms of plot, predictability, or ultimate closure. The Beck family is endearing and I found myself cheering for them the entire way. However, I felt that the movie never really tied up its plot points. Things were brought out, but never dealt with such as issues surrounding Ben’s son and his resentment toward his father and football. Even the main focus of the film, whether Ben should be with his long lost ex, Ava, or his current wife, Lorrie, never really went anywhere. It seems that the movie worked very hard to get to the point where Ben had to make a decision, but then there was nothing. After a certain point in the film, it felt like things just happened for no apparent reason. Nothing was really discussed and no one found any greater meaning. If not for Garth Brooks’ lyrics in the beginning and end, I don’t think I would have had any idea what was really supposed to be happening.
If not for the stellar acting of Samantha Mathis who played Ben’s wife, I think this movie would have been a total loss. The strength she was able to give her character was terrific. As was her ability to go from emotion to emotion quickly while still being believable. She played the right amount of jealousy, concern, and unwavering love that I would expect from her character.
Overall, though, I was not all that impressed with this movie. I think it could have been much better than it was if they had spent less time building up the anticipation of Ben wanting to get back with his old flame and more time dealing with the aftermath of his feelings and decisions. I know that I would yell “no!” at Ben every time he did something stupid. That was about the only time I gave him a second thought which is bad considering he is a main character.
Tune in on Monday, November 29, 2010 at 9:00 p.m. to Unanswered Prayers on Lifetime and come back here and tell me what you thought. Did I miss some higher meaning in the movie? Did I just expect it to be more complicated than it was? Let me know in the comments below.
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