It's rare that a film like this comes along. Sometimes, they slip right by, and if you're lucky you get the chance to see them. This is one such film.Even after four years of it's debut, I'd never seen the film, and only remembered seeing one preview for it, before it came out on video. I recently had the opportunity to see it, and wasn't hesitant to watch it, but I assumed it would be worse than I'd anticipated, given the summary I read on this website. I was completely, and pleasantly wrong. This film touches you in so many ways, that it's hard to even find the words for how wonderful it really is. Throughout the whole movie, you are given opportunities of laughter, sadness and thought. The film circles around a nine year old boy, growing up in the 1950s, in a Catholic home with nine other siblings. His sweet and sympathetic mother, and limited to a high school diploma father, raise him and his brothers and sisters, with the faith that the church encourages. After being bullied somewhat, by one of the nuns at his all boys Catholic school, he decides in order to make her like him more, he will try to convert someone to Catholicsism, before the summer ends.He decides to make a free lemonade stand in front of a Jewish Synagauge, in order to tell people about Christ, and how they can get into heaven for "free". He befriends the Rabbi of the Synagauge (Pollak), and soon learns that his son has leukemia. From then on, he decides he will help convert the little boy, before he grows any sicker.It's an amazing movie, that will leave you feeling good, and secure. It has it's moments of tears, but the majority of the film is laughter, and thoughtfulness. I would recommend it to anyone and everyone, regardless of religion, or ethnicity, it's a film that everyone will enjoy, and I don't think anyone could honestly be offended by it. I loved it, and hope to see it again in the future.

one of the biggest worries early on that various miramax execs and the producers for the project greenlight series, was that if they were to pick pete jones' stolen summer screenplay, that they would end up making an after-school special. well, their worries came true. the script is saccharin, occasionally salvaged by the worthy acting of bonnie hunt, aidan quinn and kevin pollack. but the rest fall too close to a television special on simplistic religious philosophies. the dialogue was much too unbelievable, as predicted by co- producer matt damon early in the series.now the series, on the other hand, is chock-full of interesting and revealing anecdotes about the perils and glories of film-making. it reveals so much of the struggle and backstage political fighting that goes into making a movie. with the knowledge gained from the greenlight series, it's a wonder that great movies (especially low-budget indie ones) are made. this series is a superb look at all the work involved in making a movie. highly recommended for anyone aspiring to work in the movie business.

At first, I thought it was a really cute movie. Then I caught the theme....... any differences between Judiasm and Catholicism were either portrayed as bigotry, or were smoothed over, or were childish misunderstandings. Such as the "decathalon" to "earn" the privilege of Holy Communion. At first the misunderstandings were kind of cute, I guess, showing how the adults don't really stop to listen to the children, but it got extremely irritating, as it went on and on... and the misunderstandings just got worse and worse, to the point of "cute" blasphemy.Finally, at the end, the boy talks with his father, who comforts him by telling him that just like any father, God would welcome "Even an Eskimo who never heard of Him, as long as he lived a good life" - when the boy then (naturally) asks what use is it then to be Christian, the father has no real answer. Later the boy tells his friend the Rabbi that while on his "quest" he's figured out that Jesus is "just a symbol", and that it doesn't really matter if you pray to Jesus or not, because it doesn't matter which name you use, and suggests he use the name of Danny, the rabbi's dead son. So... another could have been good, totally cruddy movie... sad...relativism is the rule now, it seems... It's all good, it's all the same, or else we're "mean"... *sigh*

I was really behind Pete Jones and stood up for him in the Project Greenlight forums for a while. Even when people were jabbing at him and his mealy mouthed, whiny nature on the PGL HBO series. I stood up for his decisions and backed him up.To be quite honest. I thought the story behind this movie was really very small and boring. Executed well, this story would still be a made for cable, late night fare at it's best. I'm surprised that there weren't better stories to choose from when they picked the winner out of 7000 scripts. Maybe it's because they're allowing peers to judge the scripts and those peers are just as green as Pete, because they're just that, peers. On another note, Pete is not a very good director. The scenes that I have seen from this years losers of the PGL 2 contest, are better than Pete's directing of his full feature film.Sorry Pete, I hope you do find more work as a director and your abilities grow.