At The American Culture we believe that American culture is not one big cesspool of decay and debauchery. In fact, although there is much to decry, there is also much to applaud, and if conservatives are going to “take back” the culture, or at least influence it to a much greater degree than we have in a very long time, we need to affirm cultural messages that spring from the better angels of our nature. Although Hollywood is a convenient whipping boy, there are rays of conservative light that shine in that liberal darkness, and one such product is a Kevin James movie called, “Here Comes the Boom.”
As I was traversing our local Family Video store (I like having an old fashioned brick and mortar video store where I can go on the spur of the moment and get an inexpensive movie, and Netflix streaming options are quite limited) looking for a family friendly movie, this one looked like it would be a safe bet. The story follows a slovenly unmotivated high school teacher, James, who saves the day and a co-worker’s job (a music teacher played by Henry Winkler) by taking up mixed martial arts to raise money to keep the teacher from being let go. And in perfect “Yo, Adrian!” fashion, James gets the girl, the fetching Selma Hayek, at the end of the movie.
You probably won’t be surprised that such a formulaic and predictable film didn’t exactly get critical acclaim. But it is interesting to compare the reaction of professional critics with normal people, the former giving it a 38% rating at Rotten Tomatoes, while the latter a 67%. My family strongly came down on the side of the normal people who don’t watch movies for a living.
What surprised us though wasn’t the inspiring, self-sacrificing message, but that the film portrayed religion and patriotism as if they were a natural and good part of life. In fact, one character quotes the book of Genesis about Jacob wrestling with God, and prior to the big fight, James’ team actually gets in a circle, clasps hands and prays! This is so rare in movies that it is almost shocking. We don’t hear the prayer, and the scene is shot in slow motion, but we sense it is not a prayer for victory, but for protection and a humble acknowledgement of our finite nature.
The patriotic theme was also a breath of fresh air, which came in the form of a class of immigrants studying to become citizens. America for these people is the land of possibilities, the land where nothing is easy or where accomplishment isn’t cheap, but a place where citizens can chase their dreams and pursue their own sense of happiness. When they do pass the test and become citizens, there is jubilation and celebration. This profoundly conservative message very rare in Hollywood because the movie industry is populated with left-liberals who think America is fundamentally flawed and unfair. They are just glad that when immigrants come to America that there is a big paternalistic government there to protect them from the ravages of unbridled capitalism; let us help these poor souls aspire to “The Life of Julia.”
While the film wasn’t a huge hit, it still made over $45 million domestically, and another $27 plus million overseas. And because Kevin James has a big following from his days on King of Queens and the successful 2009 movie Paul Blart Mall Cop ($146 million domestically), a lot of people have been and will be exposed to positive messages they don’t often get to see on the big or small screen.