There will be many of you, probably most of you, that will pan The Resurrection of Gavin Stone (2017).  Had I not had the night I had last night, I would have probably been among you.  What made me opt for this one amongst other Netflix offerings was something I was reminded of amid recent conversations with dear friends.  One of them had some personal dealings with Sister Clare Crockett.  I geeked when I learned that I had one degree of separation from such a person.  As this is about The Resurrection of Gavin Stone and not about this incredible woman, I encourage you to go watch All or Nothing: Sister Clare Crockett (2018).  Her cause for sainthood has been opened, by the way.  In the meantime, I will tell you how The Resurrection of Gavin Stone parallels this story, even if it is about a Protestant man.

That man is the eponymous character (Brett Dalton) in The Resurrection of Gavin Stone.  Like Sister Clare, Gavin grew up wanting to be an actor.  In fact, he became a child-star with a hit television show.  As has happened before, once the series ended, Gavin became known for his wild antics, earning a reputation as a Hollywood bad boy.  It is while he is near his home town outside of Chicago that his partying ways go too far.  He is arrested for, among other things, having a catapult at a rooftop soiree.  Instead of jail, he is assigned 200 hours of community service at a local church.  This is not his comfort zone, and his dad, Waylon Stone (Neil Flynn), does not make it any easier.  Gavin goes to stay with Waylon during this time, and finds his father still working on the house he had promised to his wife before she died.  The next day, Gavin wanders dazed into the large building in which the church is found, and eventually encounters its pastor, Allen Richardson (D. B. Sweeney).  Allen gives Gavin his duties: to clean up around the church.  It is while mopping the floors in the women’s restroom that Gavin meets Kelly Richardson (Anjelah Johnson-Reyes), the pastor’s daughter.  She is somewhat surprised by the presence of a man there, but in the course of their awkward conversation, she reveals that she is working on a play about the life of Jesus for the congregation.  Since he is an actor, the idea of taking part in the production instead of performing manual labor propels him into the church area where auditions are happening.  Allen happens to come along while Gavin looks on, and Gavin asks if he might help with the play to fulfill his hours instead of what he had been doing.  Allen agrees, but there is a catch: Gavin must give a testimony to his faith.  He is not a Christian, yet he is willing to play one in order to get out of cleaning toilets.  Thus, having Googled a few clichéd lines about Christianity, he manages to convince Kelly to give him the role of Jesus.  It also helps that he is developing a crush on Kelly.  In order to woo her, it becomes about acting and looking the part.  He begins to dress differently.  He hangs out with some of his castmates who are also enamored of having a celebrity in their midst.  As for the play, he keeps trying to change aspects of the script because they do not “feel right” to him.  Each time, Kelly has to bluntly remind Gavin that what he is trying to do cannot be done because it is based on the Bible.  In turn, it becomes clear that he is not the follower of God that he claims, but Allen keeps reminding them that everyone is redeemable.  The main thing that Gavin has issues with is Jesus’ humbleness.  This is not a trait with which Gavin has been raised.  Pointedly, he admits to Kelly that his agent has been telling the young actor to always put himself first.  To get that different perspective, Kelly arranges for Gavin to work for a day in the church’s garage with Doug (Shawn Michaels), repairing older cars to give to single parents.  This selfless act makes an impression on Gavin, and Kelly, and later they go out for a walk through town.  However, with just three days left before their play is to premier, Gavin gets tested when he receives a phone call from a director wanting him to play a part on a new show.  He is momentarily torn, but with his community service being completed and an opportunity to return to his profession, he says he will be there for the opening of the shoot the following day.  He tells his dad first, who responds by saying that he is walking out on the church.  Next comes Kelly, and with her he adds that he had never been a Christian.  The hurt reactions weigh on him as he heads to Hollywood.  In fact, it takes only a couple minutes of being on set to convince him of his mistake.  Thus, he returns to Illinois and the church, and with some convincing, particularly of Kelly, he is allowed to resume the role of Jesus.  It is while playing that part that he has a conversion experience, but we will talk more about this in a moment.  We close with Gavin and Kelly sharing a moment in an empty church after the production, with him telling her that they now belong to the same congregation.

The Resurrection of Gavin Stone is uncomplicated, though surprisingly produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Studios.  It did not expect that one, but, hey, we are all God’s children.  Nonetheless, it leads me back to the parallels I had been making between this movie and Sister Clare.  It is not simply the fact that they are both aspiring actors and actresses.  What strikes me is their shared conversion experiences.  To quote one of the clichés from the film, God works in mysterious ways.  Sister Clare had no intention of becoming a nun.  As an up-and-coming actress, she went with some friends on an excursion to Spain, not realizing that it would be a religious experience.  It took a priest saying prophetic words about her childhood to begin the process of her discerning a call to religious life.  What she realized, though, and this is something experienced by many young Catholics, is that discernment is not a casual thing.  It took her months of going back and forth for her to finally surrender.  I use that word purposely because it is while Gavin is in the guise of Jesus on the Cross on Good Friday that he says those words to Jesus.  Gavin and Sister Clare came to the conclusion that following Christ is really an all or nothing proposition.  We cannot simply pretend to be in love with God.  We have to give our whole heart to Him.  This looks different from person-to-person.  Not everyone is called to religious life, though if you think that might be the case for you, do not hesitate to give it a try.  Or you can be like Gavin and be content with simply filling a place in a pew.  As a Catholic, I selfishly hope for you that it is in the Church.  Regardless, God calls us, from big-time Hollywood stars to lowly bloggers writing about their work.

As I mentioned in the previous paragraph, The Resurrection of Gavin Stone is a pretty standard film.  It hits all the expected beats of a romantic comedy.  At the same time, watching Gavin’s conversion on the Cross had me on the verge of tears.  Surrendering to God is easy, and hard.  It is hard to let go, but easy when you finally do it and realize the blessings and graces in store.  I recommend this movie, even if it is cheesy at times.