Of Guitars and Men

Rothe and Roe in Forever My Girl

“Of Guitars and Men”

A Review of Forever My Girl by Nick Olszyk

MPAA Rating, PG

USCCB Rating, Not Rated at the time of this review

Reel Rating, Three Reels             

            Almost all musical genres can bring glory to God, yet there is something unique about country which especially lends it to the Christian experience. Perhaps because more than any other genre it deals with the reality of suffering and loss combined with a willingness to employ religious imagery. It’s bad enough when you are the individual who experiences evil, but it’s worse when one is a source of evil for others. Forever My Girl tells the story of a man who is trying to right a past wrong, but soon finds he cannot easily be redeemed until he discovers why he did such a heartless thing. Though hampered with problems of execution, the film has its heart in the right place and could even provide meaningful inspiration for its audience.

            Liam Page (Alex Roe) is a huge country music star with that most of awful of curses: being so rich and famous he can do almost anything he wants. What wants most is to drink bottles of whiskey and sleep until noon. Sure, he still performs his shows and sleeps with female fans, but he does so with gusto of a 1960s educational film about the agricultural business. When a close childhood friend dies in a car crash, he performs his first voluntary action in years, going awol from his entourage of sycophants and returning to his tiny hometown. Nobody wants him around, especially Josie (Jessica Rothe), his former fiancé he left at the altar, and Liam himself is at a loss to explain his visit. His apathy beings to wane, however, when it is revealed that Josie has an eight-year-old daughter, and Liam is the father. Perhaps there is something to live for after all.

            The first scene of the film was an interesting choice. The audience sees Josie happily preparing for her wedding before getting the horrible news that Liam has skipped town. We never see Liam or get any reason for his action. When we do see Liam in the next scene, he is incapable of making any decision, much less one so dramatic. He barely registers the people around him or even looks his production assistant directly in the eye. After finishing a great song to thunderous applause, he simply walks off set and out the door like he just finished using the restroom. At first, I though Roe was just a bad actor, but as the film progressed, I realized that his performance was deliberate. This is how seriously depressed people act. They can find no joy or anger in anything, and even the smallest tasks are difficult; washing dishes is a mystery to this singer. Something is terribly wrong.

            When the audience is finally introduced to the source of his departure, it is not so much a reason as a condition of his spiritual life. He lost his mother at an early age and found it difficult to make any kind of commitment out of fear of another loss. He doesn’t want to deal with the pain, so – like Adam and Eve – he hides. It is a cruel result of original sin that man often deals with his own suffering by acting out that same suffering on others. Alcoholic parents produce alcoholic offspring; children who are abused may become abusers themselves. If Liam is to have any role in the life of his daughter, he must accept the pain of the evil done to him and the responsibility of the evil committed by him.

            Besides Liam, the focus of the film is Josie and her daughter Billy (Abby Ryder Fortson). Josie is wonderful example of a strong Southern woman. She proudly tells Liam that she “made something of [herself] after he left.” She doesn’t need a man to make her life meaningful, but understands that having the right man by her side would be better for both her and her child. Yet, she refuses to allow Liam that privilege until he demonstrates repentance and genuine change, not just buying Billy fancy presents. Billy, unfortunately, is the weakest element of the movie. Fortson is a great actress who received atrocious directing. She speaks with a vocabulary way above her age level and her reactions rarely make sense. Fortunately, she bonds with Liam over music and by the end of the film have the beginnings of a good paternal relationship.

            Unfortunately, the shapers of American culture often gloss over the pain of martial strife and even promote divorce as healthy. Comedian Louis CK summed up this attitude when he said, “Divorce is always good news. I know that sounds weird, but it’s true because no good marriage has ever ended in divorce.” Rather than declare separation morally wrong, people find ways to justify the offence and refuse to believe that reconciliation is possible or even desirable. Josie’s brother believes Liam’s new interest in Josie and Billy is just an act. “We all know you’re going to leave,” he grumbles. “It’s what you do.” Many have faulted Pope Francis, often with good reason, for the trouble he has stirred up regarding questions about divorced Catholics and their ability to receive the sacraments. While it is certainly not possible for a person to remain in adulterous relationship and receive Communion, I believe Pope Francis understands the need to heal wounds that lead to such situations, and that the sacraments – especially Confession and the Eucharist – are the Church’s chief tools for bringing that person back into the arms of the One who can “wipe away every tear.” Reconciliation is possible, and a couple can come back together after a betrayal – look at Christ and Peter. Yet, grace is not cheap, and repentance is an action, not a feeling. Ultimately, every child deserves a mother and a father, and all marriages require sacrificial love, for all marriages are a pair of sinners.

            Forever My Girl works much better in its ideas rather than its portrayal. It is often sappy and slow, and the character of Billy never really lands squarely. Yet, it contains great music and some nice little moments that make up for its shortcomings. It’s a bit of a fairytale, where everything turns out perfect in the end. Reality might be more complicated, but hopefully the outcome is the same.

This article first appeared in Catholic World Report on January 21st, 2018.