Here’s the latest from the crossroads of faith, media & culture: 01/29/21

The Hawaii-set family adventure film Finding ‘Ohana drops today (1/29) on Netflix. The movie stars Kea Peahu, Kelly Hu (L.A.’s Finest, Arrow, The Orville), Branscombe Richmond (Chicago Med, Soul Surfer, The Scorpion King, Renegade), YouTube star Alex Aiono, Lindsey Watson, Owen Vaccaro (Arrested Development) and Ke Hu Quan (The Goonies, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom). The film is directed by Jude Weng and written by Christina Strain.

Synopsis:  12-year-old Pili (Kea Peahu) and her older brother Ioane (Alex Aiono) are abruptly moved from New York City to a rural portion Oahu life by their widowed mother Leilani (Kelly Hu) so they can get to know their grandfather Kimo (Branscombe Richmond) who is in danger of losing the family’s ancestral land. When Pili discovers an old book containing information on finding a treasure deep hidden with a Hawaiian cave (and ancient burial ground) she sets out to find it – embarking on an adventure that involves her brother, her friend Casper and Hana, a pretty local teen with dreams of attending the Julliard School for Performing Arts in New York. Through the journey, Pili learns to respect and love her family’s cultural roots and that the real treasure in life is ‘ohana (which means family).

IMHO: The film is being compared to 1985’s The Goonies with which it shares a similar plot involving kids on a quest for buried treasure. I’m probably one of the few people my age who hasn’t seen that movie so I can’t really say how it compares to it. What I can say is that, IMHO, the fantastic adventure element of the story is the weakest part of the film. The story never really comes close to achieving the action-packed, heart-pounding suspense it appears to be going for.

But that’s not to say the movie doesn’t have a lot of things going for it. First – and this is crucial – it has very likable characters and appealing actors who bring them to life. Then there’s the story’s underlying concept about a New York City family of Hawaiian heritage rediscovering their roots. That’s what really sets it apart.

In fact, if you ask me, I think Netflix has a pretty good pilot here for an ongoing series. Sure, there have been lots of shows set in Hawaii – but nearly all of them have been crime dramas and most, if not all, of them have featured non-native protagonists. The genius of this concept is that the viewers’ gateway into learning about Hawaiian culture isn’t a Steve McGarrett or Thomas Magnum but a family rediscovering their native roots.

Plus, there’s a scarcity of family dramas or dramedies on television these days that are actually very appropriate for families. True, there’s NBC’s This is Us (with its complex, time-shifting serialized plot) and CBC’s Heartland (airing in the US on UPtv) but in terms of episodic, American-made hour-long (or even half-hour) shows about families, the pickings are slim. I think ‘Ohana (which, as mentioned above, means family) is an excellent candidate to fill that void.

Though the opening treasure-hunting plot didn’t quite land with me, there is a treasure here to be salvaged. I’d actually like to see the film treated as a pilot for a more grounded TV series. I like these characters and would be interested to follow their stories.

So, the bottom line is Finding ‘Ohana is recommended as a potential TV series that should be called simply ‘Ohana.

___

Dennis Quaid will star in MGM and LightWorkers’ faith-based family drama, On a Wing and a Prayer from director Sean McNamara (Soul Surfer). Written by Brian Egeston (Perfect Harmony), the film is produced by Roma Downey and Autumn Bailey-Ford. Mark Burnett will executive produce the project.

Synopsis: After a small-town pilot dies unexpectedly while flying the plane, passenger Doug White (Quaid) is forced to land the plane safely in order to save his entire family. Based on an astonishing true story of faith and survival, ON A WING AND A PRAYER follows one man’s harrowing journey to save his family from insurmountable danger.

Downey says she was attracted to the script because “At the heart of this true story is a man thrown into every passenger’s worst nightmare as he sees his pilot die mid-air at the controls.  What happens next will have you on the edge of your seat, and with Dennis Quaid in the lead role you won’t be able to take your eyes off the screen.”

Downey and her husband Mark Burnett (Survivor, Shark Tank) have produced numerous television series and films under MGM’s LightWorkers division, including The Bible miniseries, which made a ground-breaking impact when it premiered on History in 2013, drawing in more than 100 million viewers over its 10-week run and garnering three Primetime Emmy Award nominations. The series spawned a feature film adaptation with Son of God, which became one of the highest faith movie openings of all time when it debuted at the box office in 2014, as well as the short-lived sequel series A.D. The Bible Continues which aired on NBC the following year.  

Additionally television projects produced by Burnett and Downey have produced include Country Ever After and Messiah (both for Netflix), The Women of the Bible (Lifetime), The Dovekeepers (CBS) and Answered Prayers (for TLC). On the theatrical film side, they executive produced Little Boy (for Open Road Films), Woodlawn (for PureFlix) and Ben-Hur (for MGM). They also made the documentary Faithkeepers about the persecution of Christians and other minorities in the Middle-East.

With On a Wing and a Prayer, the couple is working with producer Autumn Bailey-Ford, founder of Autumn Bailey Entertainment (ABE) and co-founder of Prominent Productions. In 2018, she produced the award-winning documentary Maynard about civil rights icon Maynard Jackson. Her additional film credits include Tulsa, Trading Paint and Mine 9, among others.

Director Sean McNamara’s credits include the breakout hit feature Soul Surfer.  He is currently wrapping up production on the film Reagan, a drama based on the life of Ronald Reagan that also stars Dennis Quaid.

Encourage one another and build each other up – 1 Thessalonians 5:11