Breakthrough [2019]

[Cross-posted on the Bad Movie Night Facebook page.]

So Adam's older sister has vastly different taste than the members of the Bad Movie crew. One time she offered a recommendation that we watch "Black Mirror" on bad movie night because "it's so bad" and we thought she was kidding. By this logic, we thought watching a movie that she liked might be an entertaining experience for us and we were mostly right. "Breakthrough" is a Christian movie based on a true story about a kid who fell through some ice and survived after being underwater for a while. According to Sarah, our medical expert, this is actually not a miracle but a fairly common thing that can happen when the body ends up freezing properly in the water, but sure, God did it.

The thin plot revolves around a family with a controlling mom, a fairly absent dad, and their adopted son who has a real thorn in his side about his adoption. While playing with some friends on a frozen lake, they fall in and the son, comically named John Smith, drowns but does not die. He is rescued and taken to the hospital where we see what Sarah described as a the "worst code scene" she has witnessed in a film. They apparently did everything out of a order, neglected key things they could have done, and the guy who was supposed to do compressions was mostly just rubbing him. When John obviously doesn't wake, they neglect to declare him dead, which is good since the mom demands that God wake up her son and he listened. The next hour is spent with the mom freaking out at people while the son lies comatose, giving them hope. Eventually she asks that he be taken off life support, a climactic moment of her relinquishing control in favor of God, and he manages to survive with no repercussions. She also learns to accept the hip new pastor at the church who references "Bachelor in Paradise" during sermons and has rock and rap worship music instead of the standard fare. The breakthrough was hers, and her son was just a pawn in her quest for enlightenment.

Overall, it was only okay. It was ripe for making fun of but it wasn't funny alone. Also, having Sarah explain the weird medical stuff was a big help in our enjoyment. I would mostly only recommend this if you have a medical expert in your crew or just really like schmaltzy Christian schlock.

Spoon Rating: 4