My Kids Actually Liked This…

Posted on: 03/24/10 11:29 AM | by Jonathan McKee

How often do you come across a clean film with a positive message that teenagers actually enjoy?

It’s rare!

Last week my wife and I finally sat down and watched a film I’ve been hearing a lot of buzz about. We already had a movie clip discussion from the film written up on our web site, using a clip from the movie to provoke discussion about anger and self control (we provide the small group questions, a wrap up, etc.). I was intrigued by the online clip on our site, so Lori and I decided to rent it.

We were only about 20 minutes into the film and we both agreed, “The kids gotta see this!”

The film I’m talking about is Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story. The film stars Cuba Gooding Jr. and is directed by the director of Coach Carter, Thomas Carter. This true story of a young boy from a broken home who struggles against the odds and becomes a world renown surgeon has already been nominated for 4 Primetime Emmys and a host of other awards. No joke… it’s really good.

I knew if I recommended it to my kids, they’d be suspicious that it was some boring educational piece (funny how that happens). So I bribed my kids to watch it! (Have you ever done that? “You can stay up if you watch this movie.” or “You can have extra video game time if you watch this!”)  🙂  Yes… sometimes bribery has it’s place.

Sure, there are clean films out to rent right now that your kids will want to see (Old Dogs was surprisingly clean). But Gifted Hands is not only clean, it’s inspiring. The story shows how reading and studying pays off. (see… it does sound boring, huh?) All three of my kids watched it… and all three loved it.

Give it a try. I know you won’t be disappointed.

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One Reply to “My Kids Actually Liked This…”

  1. judging from your post, i came to a conclusion that this is a very inspirational film, right? rarely do these films get appreciated by today’s younger crowd. thanks for the tip btw, will find time to watch this one.

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