In Unsung Hero, Joel Smallbone plays his own dad as he parents himself. He even wears his father’s real jacket from 30 years ago in the film. So, yeah: In your face, Hollywood multiverses! Smallbone-as-David is a jaw-dropping performance. The rest of the cast is pretty darn good, too.
They’re an Australian family; if you haven’t heard of them before, maybe you’ve heard of Rebecca St. James or the Christian pop duo for KING & COUNTRY. Yes, those are biologically related musical artists — and Grammy winners both, by the way. Once upon a time they were broke kids whose unemployed father took the biggest risk imaginable by moving them from Down Under to America in search of a fresh start.
Then one day, one of them gets discovered for having an incredible singing voice. But the road to discovery isn’t always smooth sailing. If Unsung Hero doesn’t fall into occasional overt cheesiness, you’ll have a blast cheering on the Smallbone family onscreen with your friends and/or loved ones around you; it’s that kind of movie experience. It’s similar in tone to excellent PG tearjerker Ordinary Angels for sure — maybe we should just make it a double feature when it comes out on DVD/Netflix/whatever? Just remember to bring Kleenex.
Terrifying movies keep coming out of Australia lately (like You’ll Never Find Me and Monolith), but Unsung Hero is nowhere near that dark realm. The only thing this movie scares you with is failure — and boy oh boy does it scare us well! You don’t need to be Australian to relate to David’s (Joel’s dad) very relatable struggles with career stuff and everything tied to money.
You might cringe at his exhausted face when he walks through the door after work only to find his wife has thrown him an epic surprise birthday party with their seven kids (yes, seven) and his own parents (one of whom is played by Lost star Terry O’Quinn with a weird accent). Oh, and get this: Wife Helen (Chicago Fire star Daisy Betts) is pregnant! What’s a guy like David supposed to do? Some of us can’t even afford one kid these days; how are we supposed to relate to almost 10?!
Unsung Hero is being sold as a faith-based film — but don’t let your opinion on religion be the reason you choose this weekend’s seat-filling movie. Faith certainly plays its part in helping the Smallbone family hold on and never give up, but it’s the day-to-day practicalities that make the movie feel true before they eventually hit the big time.
Once they get settled in an old house somewhere out in rural America, for instance, the Smallbones do yardwork and clean houses for money after running into some neighbors; David needs time to get back on his feet as a music promoter. One of those homes happens to belong to famous musician Eddie Degarmo (Jonathan Jackson), who David keeps tabs on without Eddie really knowing. Maybe someday there’ll be a business deal …
However, they do visit the local church where they encounter priest Jed Albright (Friday Night Lights’ Lucas Black, who was born to play this role) and his wife Kay (Full House’s Candace Cameron Bure, who certainly looks the part). This kind of power couple will warm your heart — and then drive you mad as the stubborn David often refuses their help out of pride. This includes when Helen finally gives birth and it leads to a $6,000 hospital bill. Soon after is an incredible scene in which David gets up in Jed’s face about paying that bill behind his back to try and help them out. It’s these tense, grounded moments that elevate a traditional family flick.
Unsung Hero also proves Joel Smallbone can carry a film on top of his successful real-life music career as one-half of for KING & COUNTRY. The film hits its most uplifting notes when Joel’s sister Rebecca (played well by young Australian-American actress Kirrilee Berger) accidentally lets the community know her singing voice is just unbelievable. Berger is a star in the making with her own blossoming music career, and it makes for gripping storytelling watching her and dad David try to navigate the U.S. music scene down South.
Another standout performance from Smallbone comes later when Rebecca is struggling to find representation and dad David (played by Joel) loses hope so he tries to give his daughter a reality check by shouting “You will never be enough!” Perhaps this is just an embodiment of his own failed dreams — something many people can relate to — but yes Unsung Hero is still technically a family film. No, it doesn’t all go smoothly along the way; yes some corny cinematic tricks could have been dialed back, but Unsung Hero is an inspiring little song & dance.
In Unsung Hero, Joel Smallbone plays his own dad as he parents himself. He even wears his father’s real jacket from 30 years ago in the film. So, yeah: In your face, Hollywood multiverses! Smallbone-as-David is a jaw-dropping performance. The rest of the cast is pretty darn good, too.
They’re an Australian family; if you haven’t heard of them before, maybe you’ve heard of Rebecca St. James or the Christian pop duo for KING & COUNTRY. Yes, those are biologically related musical artists — and Grammy winners both, by the way. Once upon a time they were broke kids whose unemployed father took the biggest risk imaginable by moving them from Down Under to America in search of a fresh start.
Then one day, one of them gets discovered for having an incredible singing voice. But the road to discovery isn’t always smooth sailing. If Unsung Hero doesn’t fall into occasional overt cheesiness, you’ll have a blast cheering on the Smallbone family onscreen with your friends and/or loved ones around you; it’s that kind of movie experience. It’s similar in tone to excellent PG tearjerker Ordinary Angels for sure — maybe we should just make it a double feature when it comes out on DVD/Netflix/whatever? Just remember to bring Kleenex.
Terrifying movies keep coming out of Australia lately (like You’ll Never Find Me and Monolith), but Unsung Hero is nowhere near that dark realm. The only thing this movie scares you with is failure — and boy oh boy does it scare us well! You don’t need to be Australian to relate to David’s (Joel’s dad) very relatable struggles with career stuff and everything tied to money.
You might cringe at his exhausted face when he walks through the door after work only to find his wife has thrown him an epic surprise birthday party with their seven kids (yes, seven) and his own parents (one of whom is played by Lost star Terry O’Quinn with a weird accent). Oh, and get this: Wife Helen (Chicago Fire star Daisy Betts) is pregnant! What’s a guy like David supposed to do? Some of us can’t even afford one kid these days; how are we supposed to relate to almost 10?!
Unsung Hero is being sold as a faith-based film — but don’t let your opinion on religion be the reason you choose this weekend’s seat-filling movie. Faith certainly plays its part in helping the Smallbone family hold on and never give up, but it’s the day-to-day practicalities that make the movie feel true before they eventually hit the big time.
Once they get settled in an old house somewhere out in rural America, for instance, the Smallbones do yardwork and clean houses for money after running into some neighbors; David needs time to get back on his feet as a music promoter. One of those homes happens to belong to famous musician Eddie Degarmo (Jonathan Jackson), who David keeps tabs on without Eddie really knowing. Maybe someday there’ll be a business deal …
However, they do visit the local church where they encounter priest Jed Albright (Friday Night Lights’ Lucas Black, who was born to play this role) and his wife Kay (Full House’s Candace Cameron Bure, who certainly looks the part). This kind of power couple will warm your heart — and then drive you mad as the stubborn David often refuses their help out of pride. This includes when Helen finally gives birth and it leads to a $6,000 hospital bill. Soon after is an incredible scene in which David gets up in Jed’s face about paying that bill behind his back to try and help them out. It’s these tense, grounded moments that elevate a traditional family flick.
Unsung Hero also proves Joel Smallbone can carry a film on top of his successful real-life music career as one-half of for KING & COUNTRY. The film hits its most uplifting notes when Joel’s sister Rebecca (played well by young Australian-American actress Kirrilee Berger) accidentally lets the community know her singing voice is just unbelievable. Berger is a star in the making with her own blossoming music career, and it makes for gripping storytelling watching her and dad David try to navigate the U.S. music scene down South.
Another standout performance from Smallbone comes later when Rebecca is struggling to find representation and dad David (played by Joel) loses hope so he tries to give his daughter a reality check by shouting “You will never be enough!” Perhaps this is just an embodiment of his own failed dreams — something many people can relate to — but yes Unsung Hero is still technically a family film. No, it doesn’t all go smoothly along the way; yes some corny cinematic tricks could have been dialed back, but Unsung Hero is an inspiring little song & dance.
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