“Is heaven a hope or a place?” asks Todd Burpo (Greg Kinnear) a family man, volunteer firefighter, coach to the High School wrestling team andddd the local Reverend. Basically he’s the type of guy from Nebraska that if you can’t trust him….just who can you trust?
But he’s not sure he can trust himself or what he preaches, after his son, four year old, Colton (first time actor Connor Corum) has a near-death experience following an appendicitis attack and claims to have gone to heaven, sat on Jesus’s lap and a few other miracles.
So what if you have an encounter so far beyond your own experiences that it feels irrational? Could it be true? I believe so. Is it possible we fear not that there isn’t a heaven, but that there is?
Some critics say the film pushes religion…oh so what. Religious or not, at the end of the day we’re all gonna die and why not feel – in this world of terrorism and R rated sensations – that a sweet little sappy film like this, can win us over and offer more than say, another installment of Transformers!
Based on the true life story and best-selling book, Heaven is for Real makes us believe that it just might be. The story leans on the belief of the power of prayer. And I don’t know about my audience listeners, or fans, but during some of life’s biggest obstacles it’s certainly worked for me.
The film has a middle of the story plot sag before recapping to a gentle and satisfying ending. ♔ ♕ ♚ 1/2