I can’t remember the last movie I watched. I’ve been too busy with ministry, speaking, and books. But when Alexandra Boylan invited me to take a sneak peek at Catching Faith 2, I couldn’t resist since it’s a movie about women struggling with life’s challenges, was filmed in Kentucky, and included several of our actors from Summer of ’67.

It’s been awhile since I watched the original Catching Faith. I’ve watched a lot of movies since then, so I only remembered the high points, but you can enjoy this movie even if you’ve not seen the first one. It did make me want to go back and rewatch the first one, though. The original Catching Faith is on Amazon Prime, so I recommend watching it first and then watch this to get the most out of the story.

Catching Faith 2 focuses on Alexa Taylor who’s trying to balance her daughter’s engagement, her son’s football injury, and her mother’s dementia, all while taking on her dream design job. She tries to be a superhero to everyone but can’t do it all. In the end, it’s a story of priorities and allowing others to minister to you.

Catching Faith 2 is a well-done film. The cast is solid in their performance. I especially loved Sandra Flagstad as Grandma Loretta. She did a fabulous job of alternating between sweet, delusional, angry, and scared, oftentimes all in one short scene. I look forward to seeing her in more movies. I also felt Dariush Moslemi was powerful in his role as Alexa’s husband. I actually had to stop and look him up on IMDb because he seemed so familiar to me. That’s when I discovered that I’ve seen every movie he’s been in.

The cinematography captures the look and feel of family life in small town America. The directing and editing are spot on. The music is subtle but well placed and suited for the story.

My only concern with the movie is surprisingly, the faith element. While the title is Catching Faith, the movie has very little to do with spiritual faith. In the beginning the women read and discuss the Bible and what it has to say for the women in their stages of life, and the way the faith is presented is spot on, very well done. However, as the story progresses and the trials build, the faith takes a back seat. The focus turns to their coloring pictures and talking about family and friendship. There’s no church, prayer, or scripture to provide the spiritual “Come to Jesus” moment that we expect in a faith-based film. The music during the climax is CCM, so if the audience is paying close attention, they’ll catch it, but it’s subtle and could easily be interpreted as romantic rather than spiritual.

Catching Faith 2 is a great movie for families or friends to enjoy together. By showing the different stages of life, it allows all ages to connect in some way. It’s one of only a few Christian movies that are truly female-focused with female leads and told from a female perspective and lends itself well to a girls night discussion.

Catching Faith 2 releases to DVD September 2, so check it out!