A Peek at the Christian Movie Woodlawn

A Peek at the Christian Movie Woodlawn August 26, 2015

5300_woodlawn-movie-poster_lgIf there’s anything the Tim Tebow phenomenon has taught us, we Christians love our Christian football players–so much so that we’re quite forgiving of their readily apparent shortcomings. So maybe it shouldn’t surprise me that there are so many Christian football movies out there. Some, like Tebow, have some weaknesses in their game. But that doesn’t necessarily stop ’em from pulling out a win in the closing minutes.

I reviewed two such movies–23 Blast and When the Game Stands Tall–just last year. Sherwood Baptist, the ministry behind such popular Christians films as Fireproof and Courageous, made its first real box office splash with Facing the Giants. Lots of Christians would love to shoehorn The Blind Side–the movie for which Sandra Bullock won an Academy Award–into the faith-based film category (never mind the fact that the only real Christian content was a Thanksgiving Day prayer).

And coming Oct. 16, we’ll see another faith-based football movie that’s looking to score with Christian audiences.  Woodlawn, directed by Andrew and Jon Erwin (October Baby, Mom’s Night Out) is based on the true story of the Woodlawn High School football program in Birmingham, Ala., circa 1973–a time when forced desegregation was causing some pretty serious angst. I’ve not seen the movie, but it boasts a strong cast including Sean Astin, C. Thomas Howell and Oscar-winner Jon Voight. Take a look at the trailer and see what you think.


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