The Wager

NEW YORK (CNS) -- "It's not who you are, it's who you look like you are." So says a character in "The Wager" (Pure Flix), an honorable but labored movie designed to convey precisely the opposite message.

Michael Steele (Randy Travis) is a successful actor and a dedicated evangelical Christian. Although his professional achievements have recently been recognized by an Oscar nomination, his personal life is in shambles.

Annoyed that his work always seems to come first, Michael's wife, Tanya (Nancy Valen), sues for divorce. Annie (Nancy Stafford), his social-worker sister to whom he turns for advice and comfort, is seriously ill, but not seeking help. As if that weren't enough, a scandal about Michael's personal life now arises, based only on a misunderstanding.

As his hard-bitten agent, Kenny (Jude Ciccolella), tries to tamp down the controversy, Michael finds himself haunted by a recent dream in which he was challenged to live by the tenets of the Sermon on the Mount. (The titular wager refers to a satanic challenge on this score, reminiscent of the one that opens the Book of Job.)

The temptations he must face include the advances of his lonely co-star, Cassandra (Candace Cameron Bure), and the determination of his smarmy director, Colin (Bronson Pinchot), to include a gratuitous sexual scene in his latest movie. With Academy Awards night rapidly approaching, Michael must confront a fundamental choice between his material and spiritual goals.

Director Judson Pearce Morgan's film strains credulity at times, its overall tone painfully earnest. But the movie's values, which transcend denominational divides, are fine.

While Travis is competent, it is Ciccolella as Michael's sympathetic, yet ultimately misguided, agent who gives the strongest performance, convincingly embodying those worldly principles Michael tries to resist.

The film contains references to child molestation and an attempted seduction. Some themes, while treated discreetly, may not be appropriate for younger teens. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-II -- adults and adolescents. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America.

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Copyright (c) 2007 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops