Unsung Hero is a movie I hadn’t heard of when I saw it pop up at the local theater. Analyzing the ticket patterns of showings, I deduced it might be a faith-based film. The screenings were unusually full for such a seemingly obscure film which suggests the religious industrial complex might be driving attendance.

Not that Unsung Hero is necessarily a bad film… but I sat there in the theater wondering why it exists at all. I don’t mean to be rude or flip… I was genuinely wondering why THIS story with THESE characters needed a film. I didn’t realize it was the origin story of Christian songstress Rebecca St. James… an artist I’m not familiar with.

But this film is actually about how her father – a music promoter in Australia – who flamed out on a concert he was promoting and moved his whole family to the US. It’s then about their struggles to keep their heads above water while they figure out their next move.

And none of this is bad. It’s wholesome… the kind of wholesome that trucks in very little drama or melodrama. Yes, they have financial troubles, tje father gets angry at all the charity people try to impose, and they can’t afford a good Christmas. There’s financial and familial drama, but I didn’t find any of it particularly engrossing.

Maybe if I knew where the movie was going, I’d have cared more? I don’t know. As is, I was just hanging on through the limited drama of a family down on their luck. The actors are fine, the production is fine… it’s just the greater meaning and purpose were lacking.

As to its faith-based leanings, the family are wholesome true believers but it doesn’t get in the way or get too treacly. Though when Christian metal band Stryper showed up in the first act, I thought I was in real trouble.

So, yeah, this movie might work for some but it didn’t for me. It’s wholesome and earnest and dramatic but also kind of sedate and lacking in any greater depth. Fans of St. James – plus the faith-based crowd who are called to the movie – will probably love it.

Score: 69