{"id":8157,"date":"2011-11-22T14:51:06","date_gmt":"2011-11-22T19:51:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/idolchatter\/?p=8157"},"modified":"2011-11-22T14:51:06","modified_gmt":"2011-11-22T19:51:06","slug":"mitch-alboms-have-a-little-faith-inspires","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2011\/11\/mitch-alboms-have-a-little-faith-inspires.html","title":{"rendered":"Mitch Albom’s ‘Have a Little Faith’ Inspires"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Mitch Albom is world famous for his moving and inspirational books. \u201cTuesday\u2019s With Morrie,\u201d \u201cThe Five People You Meet in Heaven,\u201d and \u201cFor One More Day\u201d have all spent months upon months on the New York Times bestseller list. His latest book, \u201cHave a Little Faith,\u201d has just been adapted into a made-for-TV Hallmark movie (it airs this Sunday, Nov. 27 on ABC at 9\/8 central).<\/p>\n

The film, like the book, tells the true story of Albom (played by Bradley Whitford) as he comes to grips with a simple request from his Rabbi, Albert Lewis: please deliver my eulogy. <\/em>Albom initially rejects the requests \u2013 he goes to synagogue once a year, if at that! But his kind-hearted Rabbi (played with a sweet grace by Martin Landau) slowly wears him down, and eventually he capitulates. He begins to spend more and more time with this pillar of the community and eventually experiences a rebirth of his own faith.<\/p>\n

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This story dovetails with Albom\u2019s experiences doing charity work in inner city Detroit, where he meets Henry Covington (Laurence Fishburne), the ex-drug dealer, ex-addict, and ex-convict pastor of the I Am My Brother\u2019s Keeper <\/em>church. The church, incidentally, has an enormous hole in the roof, and while Albom is initially reticent about coming to the aid of someone with such a chequered past, he comes around after witnessing Henry\u2019s genuine heart of faith.<\/p>\n

Have a Little Faith <\/em>suffers some in the translation from book to the small screen. While the two story lines are similar and connect in a surprising way at the end, the non-fiction trappings of the book don\u2019t gel very well when forced into the narrative structure of a film. As such the film can feel a bit aimless at times, as if it isn\u2019t quite sure where it\u2019s going.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The strong performances, however, coupled with the honest and sincere look at faith and religion, help to make the film greater than the sum of its parts. The danger here (and the danger with most made-for-TV movies) is a descent into melodrama and saccharine pronouncements about belief and God, but Have a Little Faith <\/em>sidesteps those issues. From the street-wise spiritual insight of Covington, to Lewis\u2019 timeless wisdom, to the touching eulogy Albom delivers at the end of the film, Have a Little Faith <\/em>is often both inspiring and moving, sometimes in surprising ways.<\/p>\n

This Thanksgiving weekend, if you\u2019re looking for some family entertainment that will stir your soul and inspire you to be a better person, Have a Little Faith <\/em>is a good bet.<\/p>\n

Watch the trailer below!<\/em><\/p>\n