A washed-up actor pretends to be a Christian so he can play Jesus in a church’s Passion Play.
In the romantic comedy The Resurrection of Gavin Stone, Hollywood party animal Gavin Stone finds himself in church for the first time in his life–serving 200 hours of court-appointed community service. The film’s director and members of the cast explain how the film celebrates church while portraying churchgoers in a way to which anyone can relate.
Hitting theaters this weekend, the romantic comedy The Resurrection of Gavin Stone is a tale of faith and forgiveness. Gavin Stone, a washed-up former child star, is forced to do community service at a local mega-church and pretends to be Christian so he can land the part of Jesus in their annual Passion Play only to discover that the most important role of his life is far from Hollywood.
Director Dallas Jenkins and Shawn Michaels. Photo Credit: Eric Lee.
Despite most of the action taking placing inside a church, The Resurrection of Gavin Stone is not a preachy movie. Instead, the romantic comedy keeps the central themes of faith and forgiveness universal. The film celebrates church—offering viewers a fresh take on church as a fun and welcoming environment.
“I’m a strong Christian,” says director Dallas Jenkins, “and I love making movies that have Christian values. But I don’t like many movies that are exclusive only to Christians.”
He says that a movie has to show humanity in a way that anyone can relate to. “The key to this movie is the main character is not a churchgoer. He’s a nonbeliever. So anyone who isn’t a regular churchgoer can still enjoy this movie, because they’re seeing it through the eyes of themselves.”
Serving 200 hours of court-appointed community service, Hollywood party animal Gavin Stone finds himself in church for the first tie in his life. When he learns that the church is putting on an Easter play, he wants to the play the lead—Jesus Christ. But to get the part, Gavin pretends to be a Christian – undertaking an improvisational self-study of sorts in the lingo and activities of churchgoers (all gleaned from Google) in a mostly failed attempt to better fit in.
A PLACE TO BELONG
Former professional wrestler Shawn Michaels (Doug), a WWE Hall of Famer who was a legendary bad boy out of the ring himself before becoming a Christian in the late ‘90s. He says the scenes where Gavin tries too hard to “be Christian” resonate with his own church experiences.
“We have simple folks, they’re nice, they’re kind, yet every now and then they spend a little too much time jibber-jabbering about one another,” he chuckles. “That’s one of the things I really liked about the script: It’s truthful about the fact that people in church aren’t perfect, they’re just bumbling along in a lot of cases like everyone else.”
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That honesty, more than anything else, is what Brett Dalton, who plays the title character, says makes The Resurrection of Gavin Stone a film that will resonate with audiences outside of church culture.
“All of these characters are real people, likeable people – people with issues and problems, but with the relationships and the integrity to work them out,” he explains. “It’s kind of impossible not to feel good after watching this film.”
According to Jenkins, that’s because the journey Gavin Stone undergoes ends in something all people inherently need and desire: unconditional love.
“Gavin Stone is someone who, throughout his life, has never had that,” Jenkins notes. “It’s always been, ‘What can Gavin do for his manager? What can Gavin do for his team? What can Gavin do for ratings?’ And when he’s not delivering, they don’t need him anymore. So, in Hollywood, he has no real friends.
“But back home at the church, it’s the first time in his life he has a group of people who accept him unconditionally – whether he’s successful or not. They don’t care if he’s famous. They don’t care if he has a hit movie. They like him because he’s him.”
Patrick Gonyell, who plays another of the churchgoers with a part in the play who befriends Gavin, agrees that audiences will be moved by the relationships they see develop on screen.
“It feels real and it feels honest,” he says. “And it’s not an agenda movie. It’s not saying, ‘Hey, join the church and your life will be perfect.’ It’s a story about some real people who have flaws and are pulled in different directions. And that’s something everyone can relate to.”
THE ROAD BACK
One of the directions Gavin winds up being pulled is back toward Hollywood. Just as he’s settling into his lower-key life, he gets a call from his agent that a plum part has opened up, in part because of his headline-making brush with the law that landed him in community service, and he’s torn over what to do. The offer comes just as he’s broken through the relational walls Kelly has put up to guard her heart after a failed relationship, which doesn’t make it any easier for Gavin.
“He has to decide if he’s really a changed person – or is he going back to what he thought was his dream of getting a second chance in Hollywood,” Dalton says.
Brett Dalton stars as ‘Gavin Stone’ in “The Resurrection of Gavin Stone.” Photo Credit: Eric Lee.
What makes the decision particularly tough, Jenkins points out, is that “playing the part of Jesus ends up teaching him a lot about the character of the man he is playing – and that starts to rub off on him.”
So does Kelly–and vice versa.
“She teaches him a few lessons,” says Anjelah Johnson-Reyes, who plays Kelly. “But he teaches her some stuff, too.”
VIDEO: Pastor James MacDonald of Harvest Bible Chapel talks to cast members Shawn Michaels and Anjelah Johnson-Reyes about how “Gavin Stone” can bring new people to church and also impact current churchgoers.
FURTHER READING:
Trailer released for ‘The Resurrection Of Gavin Stone’
The Resurrection Of Gavin Stone stars Brett Dalton (Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.), Anjelah Johnson-Reyes (MADtv, Moms’ Night Out), Shawn Michaels (WWE Hall of Famer), D.B. Sweeney (Lonesome Dove, Eight Men Out) and Neil Flynn (The Middle, Scrubs). It is directed by Dallas Jenkins (What If …, Midnight Clear) from a script by Andrea Gyertson Nasfell (Moms’ Night Out, What If …). WWE Studios and BH Tilt present in association with Walden Media, a vertical Church Films and Power in Faith Production. The film is produced by Michael J. Luisi and Fred Adams.