Movie Review # 523: Family Camp (2022)

Alright, so today, we are going to review film that was made by Roadside Attractions , and K-Love Films. Side note, it’s really cool that K-Love now has their own movie studio, in addition to helping get Christian music out there, wouldn’t you say? Anyway, let’s discuss the new Christian-based film, Family Camp.

Plot: When a church sets up a youth camp in a place called Camp Katokwah, Tommy Ackerman (Tommy Woodard) reluctantly agrees to go with his wife, Grace (Leigh-Allen Baler), and their two kids, Hannah, and Jacob (played by Cece Kelly, and Jacob M. Wade respectively). Once they go there, with them having to deal with crazy things like an annoying family that they have to room with, and other factors, will this retreat still be life-changing for all of them?

Okay, first off, how could one not be happy about the fact that K-Love has emerged even into a movie studio, as well as being a radio station? I mean to see the new company go from making a documentary like The Jesus Music to now making this film, how incredible! So, did this film turn out well? Very much so. Yes, the film can feel a little corny, and cheesy at times. However, unlike with many other films, it seems to work rather well. That is due to how there is some symbolism represented in a very unique way. I mean the miracles that occur throughout this film, it was very creative how those were handled in this film. Also, how could one not appreciate how funny this film is at points? Even the script had some very clever jokes. I mean, seeing as Jesus Himself had, and still does have, a sense of humour, I’m sure even He would have likely had laughs at those hilarious moments. Plus, Fkr those of us that have heard of the Skit Guys, how could we not appreciate the fact that they play a couple of the main characters in this movie? Additionally, while watching this film, I found myself predicting certain situations to occur in the typical way that they do in many other films. However, seeing as they didn’t, and there ended up being a few plot twists here and there because of that, people are more than likely to enjoy Family Camp even more than they probably might have otherwise. Next, there are the characters. Yes, this movie does have people from a church going to a church camp. What seems to make this film stand out, however, is how Family Camp shows families that call themselves Christians, and yet does well with showing the human side of many of the characters. Okay, yes, I’m well aware that no human Christian is perfect, not even people like myself. Only Jesus was perfect even when He walked this Earth over two thousand years ago. Still, I suppose a better way to put it would be how it was good to see this film show some of the hypocrisy with some of the characters, as well as the characters that genuinely act Christian, despite not being perfect. Finally, the character arcs are really good in this film, along with the messages about surrendering to God continually, and not always expecting life to go the way that you might expect it to.

And that concludes my review for Family Camp. It is a very unique film both as a Christian film, and a film period. It has really good, and well-written characters, a really good story, and some really nice arcs, and messages. If you haven’t seen Family Camp, please make it a point to do so. It most definitely serves as a good example of why we need more films like it in the mainstream media.

Final Grade: A+