First let me say that I'm not at all religious, and the reason Netflix or Amazon recommended this to me was that I liked "Fireproof" and a couple other far less preachy Christian themed films. I was hoping this would be in the less preachy category too. Needless to say, it wasn't. In fact, it was, like another reviewer stated, more like a church service. Further, much of the acting was mediocre, and often amateurish. So why did I give it 7 stars? Because the basic story was very involving, and the lead boy who played Johnny was excellent. The story is set up for tears. A fine surgeon and his wife have lost their 10 year old son in a car accident and the wife has not forgiven herself after two years. I won't disclose the reason why. One of her husbands patients is Johnny, who has terminal leukemia. He is extremely precocious and wise beyond his 10 years and extremely religious, but has no family as his mother has died. The surgeon who has just operated on him decides to "adopt" him, hoping it might help his wife move on. If that sounds ridiculous, I can't blame you. But he brings the boy home over her vigorous objections, and despite the poor acting of the mother and some of the kids and the unlikely lines they have to recite, the movie plays out well, mainly because Johnny is so good. Plus, without giving anything away, after all the tears of sadness, there is a non-religious kicker at the end that I wasn't expecting requiring two or three tissues for tears of joy. I am still not a bit religious, though I can see where believing when faced with premature death might give comfort. I forgive all the corn and preaching since the story itself was good and involving. Not good enough for a 10 nor bad enough for a 1, but if you like a tearjerker like I do, then I think a 7 is just right.
Review of Johnny
