To Save a Life

To Save a Life is a 2009 Christian drama film directed by Brian Baugh and starring Randy Wayne, Deja Kreutzberg, Robert Bailey Jr., Steven Crowder and Sean Michael Afable. The film was released theatrically in the United States on January 22, 2010, and was written by Jim Britts. The United States rights were acquired by Samuel Goldwyn Films from New Song Pictures.

For the documentary film titled: To Save a Life, see Steven Pressman.
Not to be confused with How to Save a Life or Lifesaving.
To Save a Life
Theatrical release poster
Directed byBrian Baugh
Produced byJim Britts
Written byJim Britts
StarringRandy Wayne
Deja Kreutzberg
Joshua Wiegel
Music byTimothy Michael Wynn
CinematographyC. Clifford Jones
Edited byDan O'Brien
Production
company
New Song Pictures
Outreach Films
Accelerated Entertainment
Distributed bySamuel Goldwyn Films
Release date
  • November 5, 2009 (2009-11-05) (Outreach Film Festival)
  • January 22, 2010 (2010-01-22) (United States)
Running time
120 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$500,000[1]
Box office$3,780,975[2]

To Save a Life was produced on a budget of about $1 million, but nearly doubled that in its opening weekend. The film was released to 441 theaters on January 22, 2010, and has grossed $3,777,210 domestically. It was received with mixed to generally negative reviews from film critics.

Plot

Jake Taylor (Randy Wayne) and Roger (Robert Bailey Jr.) are best friends, in the suburbs of San Diego.[3] When they were kids, Roger saved Jake when a car failed to hit him, but it paralyzed him. Once in high school, Jake became a popular basketball player and joined a new group of friends, with Amy's (his girlfriend) friends.[4] Roger has become lonely because of his state of health and is being bullied. Then a tragedy takes place in which Roger commits suicide, and Jake feels partly responsible. With the help of a pastor, he will make the decision to help excluded youth in school, at the risk of losing people close to his circle.[5]

Cast
  • Randy Wayne as Jacob "Jake" Taylor
  • Deja Kreutzberg as Amanda "Amy" Briggs
  • Joshua Weigel as Christopher "Chris" Vaughn
  • Sean Michael Afable as Jonathan "Jonny" Garcia
  • Robert Bailey Jr. as Roger Dawson
  • Steven Crowder as Douglas "Doug" Moore
  • D. David Morin as Marcus "Mark" Rivers
  • Kim Hidalgo as Andrea Stevens
  • Arjay Smith as Matt McQueen
  • Bubba Lewis as Daniel "Danny" Rivers

Production

The film is a partnership among three faith-based companies: Samuel Goldwyn Films (which released Fireproof, Facing the Giants, and Amazing Grace), Outreach Films, and New Song Pictures.[6] Writer and producer Jim Britts was inspired to make the movie after observing a simple problem: many teenagers are hurting.[7] Britts, a Christian youth pastor in Southern California, and his wife, a schoolteacher, began taking the many stories of teens' struggles and molding them into a film. "Every day my wife and I talk to teens who are in some kind of pain," Britts said. "I wanted to make a film that would bring hope to hurting and lonely students."[8]

Director Brian Baugh was surprised at the grittiness of the script, in stark contrast to many other Christian films. The movie includes scenes of teen drinking, marijuana smoking, cutting (inflicting self-injury), moderate profanity, and implications of sex.[7] Baugh none the less decided to keep these elements in to make the film a more realistic depiction of typical teens. Actor Randy Wayne, the star of the film, said he originally rejected the idea of starring because it was being made with a low budget, but he eventually accepted the offer and offered to do it for free.[9] The film has been marketed in a grassroots fashion, a tactic that proved successful for low-budget Christian films like Fireproof.[10]

Over 80% of the cast and crew for To Save a Life consisted of Oceanside and North County locals. Several Oceanside locations, including Oceanside High School, Calvin Christian High School, MiraCosta College, New Song Community Church, Eternal Hills Memorial Park, Harbor, Guajome Park Academy, and Beach are shown in the film.[11]

Soundtrack
To Save A Life Official Movie Soundtrack
Soundtrack album by
Various
ReleasedJanuary 20, 2010
GenreChristian
LabelTwenty Ten Music
New Song Pictures
TuneCore

The soundtrack for To Save a Life has been released as a digital download on the official website of the film and iTunes.[12] The film's original score was composed by Timothy Michael Wynn and produced by Christopher Lennertz.

Track listing
  1. "Boom" (Da Enforcerz)
  2. "500,000 Boomin’ Watts" (Flynn Adam)
  3. "Bounce" (J-Rus)
  4. "Dare you to move" (Switchfoot)
  5. "Fall Back" (Bobby Taylor)
  6. "Outsider" (The Daylights)
  7. "Golden Thread" (Joy Williams)
  8. "Sunset Cliffs" (Paul Wright)
  9. "Go Together" (Jillian Edwards)
  10. "Rollercoaster" (Kendall Payne)
  11. "Hero (Red Pill Mix)" (Superchick)
  12. "Future Plans" (Timothy Michael Wynn)

Release

Critical reception

To Save a Life received mixed to generally negative reception from film critics. Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 35% rating based on 17 reviews.[13] Metacritic currently has its score listed as 19%.[14] Marjorie Baumgarten of the Austin Chronicle gave the film a negative review, saying, "To Save a Life is a well-meaning but ineptly made message movie..."[15] Melissa Anderson of The Village Voice said, "For all its initial attempts to soften its religiosity... To Save a Life is about as subtle as this closing credit: 'The producers would like to thank: GOD.'"[16] Andy Webster of The New York Times said, "The film would be a mere nuisance if not for its shameless exploitation of school shootings to advance its agenda."[17]

Other reviewers were more supportive of the film. Gary Goldstein of The Los Angeles Times said, "The teen drama 'To Save a Life,' nicely directed by Brian Baugh from a script by Jim Britts, manages to be appealing, poignant and inspiring in ways that are gentle and quite real."[18] Dan Bennett of the North County Times gave the film 3 of out 4 stars, saying, "Not pushy or intent on establishing an absolute doctrine, the film does well by throwing ideas out there, and letting the realistic characters define those."[19] Bob Fischbach of the Omaha World-Herald said, "[To Save a Life's] messages are good ones for kids to hear. The characters' appeal and a sprinkling of humor should help draw a young audience."[20] Hannah Goodwyn of CBN.com stated: "To Save a Life sends a good message to teens about faith, life, and loving others. It’s worth the ticket price for that, if nothing else." [21] Movieguide.org comments: "Every aspect of TO SAVE A LIFE is well made. The editing is flawless, cutting imaginatively back and forth into flashbacks. The dialogue is constantly moving the story forward. This movie addresses some tough topics, including teenage suicide, drinking, sex, and drug use. This realistic background makes the story of repentance and forgiveness much more powerful..."[22]

Box office

To Save a Life had a strong debut in its first weekend,[23] amassing a total of $1,581,517, despite playing in only 441 theaters.[24] Theaters in markets such as Burleson, Texas, Oceanside, California, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Evans, Georgia were the film's top grossing markets. The film was #3 on Fandango's most requested tickets going into the weekend.[25] The film fell 53.6% in its second weekend to $733,457, and −63.2% to $269,684 in its third, accumulating $3,777,210 to date.[26]

Home media

To Save a Life was released on DVD and Blu-ray on August 3, 2010. The DVD features an in-depth behind-the-scenes of the making of the film, deleted scenes, a gag reel, and music videos.

References
  1. Fritz, Ben (January 24, 2010). "First look: 'Extraordinary Measures' has less than ordinary start, 'Avatar' not slowing". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
  2. "To Save a Life (2010) - Box Office Mojo". www.boxofficemojo.com.
  3. Kimi Canete, Hollywood movie ‘To Save a Life’ filmed in North County, sdentertainer.com, USA, January 28, 2010
  4. Andy Webster, An Athlete in Search of Redemption, nytimes.com, USA, January 22, 2010
  5. Marjorie Baumgarten, To Save a Life, austinchronicle.com, USA, January 22, 2010
  6. Kilday, Gregg (October 27, 2009). "Goldwyn Films acquires 'To Save a Life'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on December 30, 2009. Retrieved January 3, 2010.
  7. Yonke, David (January 16, 2010). "Christian movie offers hope for hurting teens". The Blade. Retrieved January 22, 2010.
  8. Patrick, Nikki (January 9, 2010). "'To Save a Life'". The Morning Sun. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved January 22, 2010.
  9. Hinton, Carla (January 16, 2010). "Film's 'heart' attracts actor Randy Wayne from Oklahoma". The Oklahoman. Retrieved January 22, 2010.
  10. Buss, Dale (January 21, 2009). "What Christians Watch". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved January 22, 2010.
  11. Canete, Kimi (January 29, 2010). "Hollywood movie 'To Save a Life' filmed in North County". San Diego Entertainer Magazine. Retrieved January 28, 2010.
  12. "Official Soundtrack For The Film 'To Save Live' Availabe (sic) As A Digital Download". BREATHEcast. January 27, 2010. Retrieved January 29, 2010.
  13. "To Save a Life (2010)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 1, 2010.
  14. "To Save a Life: Samuel Goldwyn Films". Metacritic. Retrieved January 26, 2010.
  15. Baumgarten, Marjorie (January 22, 2010). "To Save a Life". Austin Chronicle. Retrieved January 23, 2010.
  16. Anderson, Melissa (January 19, 2010). "To Save a Life Wants To Rescue Kids from the Satanic Messages of Gossip Girl". The Village Voice. Retrieved January 21, 2010.
  17. Webster, Andy (January 22, 2010). "An Athlete in Search of Redemption". The New York Times. Retrieved January 26, 2010.
  18. Goldstein, Gary (January 22, 2010). "Reviews: Parts are better than the whole of 'Drool'". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 26, 2010.
  19. Bennett, Dan (January 20, 2010). "MOVIE REVIEW: 'Save A Life' stresses message through strong storytelling". North County Times. Archived from the original on January 27, 2010. Retrieved January 21, 2010.
  20. Fischbach, Bob (January 22, 2010). "'To Save A Life:' Christian film's messages valuable". Omaha World-Herald. Archived from the original on September 7, 2012. Retrieved January 22, 2010.
  21. "To Save a Life: Christian Movie Review". www.cbn.com.
  22. "TO SAVE A LIFE | Movieguide | Movie Reviews for Christians". August 4, 2012.
  23. Knegt, Peter (January 24, 2010). "Box Office: Christian "Life" Debuts Strong; "Heart" Expands Well". indieWire. Retrieved January 24, 2010.
  24. "Weekend Box Office Results". Box Office Mojo. January 22–24, 2010. Retrieved January 26, 2010.
  25. Finke, Nikki (January 25, 2010). "'To Save A Life' Slipped Through Cracks". Deadline Hollywood Daily. Retrieved January 26, 2010.
  26. "To Save a Life". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 10, 2010.
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