Disclosure: I was provided with a screener of this film from Front Gate Media and Sorbo Studios in order to help facilitate an honest review. All views shared are mine and mine alone
Today was the perfect day to head to the movies, as it was rainy and cold. We chose a nearby theater that was playing "Miracle in East Texas," which is only playing in select theaters today and tomorrow only (October 29-30th). Even though I was sent an advanced screener of this movie, and watched it earlier in the week with my family, we were excited to see it on the big screen, along with a handful of our homeschooling friends.
If you are not familiar with this movie, here is a quick synopsis of it, along with the official trailer...
Synopsis:
"Inspired by one of the most improbable true stories ever, this is the entertaining tale of two aging con men at the dawn of the Great Depression and the biggest oil strike in the history of the world.
Irving Tanner, Jr. (Lou Gossett, Jr.) recounts the 1930 legend. Times are hard when the unluckiest wildcatter in the world, Dad Everett (John Ratzenberger), teams up with Doc Boyd (Kevin Sorbo), a charming snake oil salesman. Together they convince several new widows (Sam Sorbo, Paula Boudreau, and others) to invest in their worthless oil wells.
Then, the unthinkable happens! Now our two Casanovas faced with a challenge: declare another dry hole for a clean escape, or bring the well in like genuine oil men and likely spend the rest of their lives in jail?
Meanwhile, some of their investors are angry and fixing to do something about it. And one of them is truly a "mountain" of a man (Tyler Mane).
What happens next? Doc preaches, the Good Lord teaches, and a judge reaches a surprising conclusion. The mostly true story will make you laugh, shed a tear, and give you pride in the God-blessed American way."
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When I first saw the trailer, I was excited to see John Ratzenberger in it. He was always a favorite actor of mine, especially in his famous role as Cliff on Cheers. I haven't seen him much over the years and wondered if he was still acting. He is currently selling one of his homes in CT, and seeing his name in a local news story about listing his house, it had me thinking about where I saw him last, and I struggled to come up with a movie outside of his voice over for Disney movies like Toy Story, A Bug's Life, and Monster's Inc. In addition to seeing John Ratzenberger in this movie, I was also happy to see this movie also had Kevin Sorbo (AKA Hercules) in it. Kevin Sorbo is the director of this movie, and also is releasing this movie through his production company, Sorbo Studios, which is known for producing family-friendly films that uplift and entertain.
In addition to Kevin Sorbo and John Ratzenberger, Miracle in East Texas also stars Lou Gossett Jr., Tyler Mane, Kevin's wife, Sam Sorbo (who also is also the producer and is a fellow CC homeschooling mom), as well as Kevin Sorbo's son, Braeden Sorbo (who is a CC homeschool graduate).
You can purchase tickets to this limited engagement film by visiting https://bit.ly/3Q3IWt4.
As you can see in the trailer above, and brief synopsis shared, Miracle in East Texas is inspired by a true story -- the story of the biggest oil strike in US History. This is an American tale of entrepreneurship, but also about hope and redemption. Like all faith-based movies, this movie also has some great messages that you can discuss after the movie with your kids. Messages on forgiveness and its blessings are easy to pick up on and will provide a nice discussion with your kids and how they can apply these messages from the film into their own lives now and in the future.
I have homeschooled my girls since they were in preschool, and incorporate a variety of curriculum into our schooling. Classical Conversations is one that I really like and that use. We also have a co op group weekly that uses CC and has the kids applying what they learn at home with group projects and activities to further their Christian Classical Education. I had no idea that the Sorbo's homeschooled their children, so it was nice to see this and see not only Kevin and his wife in this film, but also their son, Braeden, who did an amazing job. When I told my girls that Braeden was homeschooled like them, and graduated the CC homeschooling program, they both smiled, as you don't usually see actors/actresses on the big screen who were homeschooled because of their faith and family values, and not just because it was convenient for them as working actors/actresses.
Being a homeschool mom, I like to use movies in ours schooling to further educate my girls and bring what we are learning on paper to life, so the girls can understand further. Both of my girls are hands on learners and benefit from books to movies and movies that cover moments in history. This movie is perfect for homeschool families looking to learn about Texas history, oil, entrepreneurship, the power of forgiveness and even math! We have covered the oil strike in our history lessons in the past, and the girls are familiar with important events in history that happened in Texas. So, being able to see what it was like back then during the biggest oil strike in US history that happened during the Great Depression, on the big screen, really helped them to see how things played out during this difficult time in history.
Homeschool families looking to utilize this movie as part of their school will benefit from this FREE downloadable homeschool curricula that covers everything from the history of the Great Depression, economy at that time (math questions included in this section), Bible verses that can be used for further discussion with each lesson, as well as entrepreneuership and lessons on forgiveness and redemption. You can download this FREE homeschool packet here: https://www.sorbostudios.com/
We really enjoyed seeing this movie on the big screen after screening it at home earlier this week. And, all our homeschool friends who came to see the movie with us agreed it was well put together and a very educational movie that we can all tie into our homeschool studies. This was the first movie from Sorbo Studios I have seen with my family, but will not be our last! The acting was great, as was the story line. Our eyes were glued to the screen from the opening credits right until the final credits scrolled by. I really liked the discussions we have had with our girls thanks to this movie, and am looking forward to reviewing the Great Depression this week in our homeschooling, and having the girls go through the homeschool packet that I downloaded FREE from this movie.
It looks like another rainy day here on the East Coast tomorrow -- which means another great day to head to the movies to catch a flick. There really aren't any new movies releasing that you can bring the whole family to enjoy. And, in regards to faith-based content, I think this is the only movie, at least in our area of the country that checks all the boxes for a good, wholesome faith-based movie your whole family will enjoy together. But, remember you only have one more day to see this movie, as it only had a limited 2-day engagement. So, make a point to clear your schedule to see it with your family tomorrow if you can. You will not be disappointed. I, for one, can't wait for this movie to come out on DVD so that we can watch it time and time again.
Disclosure: I was provided with a screener of this film from Front Gate Media and Sorbo Studios in order to help facilitate an honest review. All views shared are mine and mine alone.
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