Unsung Hero (2024) Lionsgate/Drama RT: 112 minutes Rated PG (thematic elements) Director: Richard L. Ramsey and Joel Smallbone Screenplay: Richard L. Ramsey and Joel Smallbone Music: Brent McCorkle Cinematography: Johnny Derango Release date: April 26, 2024 (US) Cast: Daisy Betts, Joel Smallbone, Kirrilee Berger, Jonathan Jackson, Lucas Black, Candace Cameron Bure, Paul Luke Bonenfant, Diesel La Torraca, JJ Pantano, Tenz McCall, Angus K. Caldwell, Terry O’Quinn, Roslyn Gentle Hillary Scott, Lance E. Nichols, Rachel Hendrix.
Rating: ** ½
To its credit, the faith-based musical drama Unsung Hero is NOT an Angel Studios production. What that means is that there won’t be somebody soliciting donations during the end credits. You have to count all your blessings no matter how small.
The Reader’s Digest version of my review of Unsung Hero would read like this: It is what it is. It’s fairly standard as far as musical biopics and Christian dramas go. It tells the story of the Smallbone family who emigrated from Australia to the US in 1991 after the father David’s (played by son Joel Smallbone) career as a music promoter ends in utter failure. He brings his entire clan- pregnant wife Helen (Betts, Out of the Blue) and six kids- to America in search of a better life. It doesn’t begin well. The job he was promised falls through leaving them with no source of income. They have to resort to doing manual labor for their neighbors just to keep their heads above water.
Hope rears its head in the form of eldest daughter Rebecca (Berger, One Dollar). She sings beautifully; everybody says so. David works his butt off to try and get her a record deal only to be turned down time and time again. Now because Unsung Hero is aimed at Christian audiences, I think everybody already knows how Rebecca’s story turns out. She’s better known as Rebecca St. James, one of most popular Christian singers on the planet. This is, in part, her origin story.
The other part of Unsung Hero deals with her family overcoming adversity through faith in God. Their prayers are answered on several occasions be it through a stroke a good luck or the kind generosity of the people in their church. One couple, played by Lucas Black (The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift) and Candace Cameron Bure (Fuller House), gives them a van so they can get around. They do a lot for the Smallbone family. Now because this is a religious drama, David’s pride is going to be a major problem. He feels like less of a person because he can’t provide for his family himself. He’ll have to find a way to get over it or else risk losing his family.
Directed by Joel Smallbone and Richard L. Ramsey, Unsung Hero hits all the familiar beats in a way that doesn’t make the material feel fresh. It’s predictable throughout right down to the heartfelt performance that finally lands Rebecca a record deal (again, we already know this is the outcome). In other words, we’ve seen it all before. It is, however, heartfelt and sincere. It’s a love letter to Joel’s sister and family. It’s also a testament to the strength of the mother, the glue that holds the family together, the “unsung hero” of the family. In the role, Betts does great work.
Berger is absolutely phenomenal as Rebecca. Here’s a young girl with a magnificent voice who needs to be free to do what her heart is telling her to do. She should be singing her own songs, not covers of songs from other artists. That’s what’s holding her back along with a case of stage nerves. It bears mentioning that two of her brothers, Joel and Luke, went on to form the Christian pop duo for KING + COUNTRY. That happens much later so it’s not covered in the film. We don’t really get to know any of the siblings too well. I don’t know if that’s a problem per se, but maybe it’s better the makers didn’t try to cram too much in.
In any event, Unsung Hero is a decent little movie. Joel does a good job playing his dad. The music is nice. The story is somewhat interesting. I think it’ll play well with the Sunday after-church crowd.
