WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
PRAISE THIS is a musical streaming on Peacock. Sam is a teenage girl from Los Angeles who wants to be a singer. Her widowed father is exasperated with her disrespectful attitude. He sends her to stay with her Christian uncle, aunt and cousin in Atlanta. Sam is caught lying to get into an adult party, and her uncle orders her to join his church’s choir. Sam makes friends with multiple Christian young people and begins to infuse biblical themes into her music. Will all this transform her?
PRAISE THIS is an interesting fusion of THE SISTER ACT and HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL that eventually manages to come into its own. The movie has some excellent gospel singing and showmanship. Many of the musical numbers will bring viewers out of their seats. PRAISE THIS tells a strong redemptive story celebrating faith. Characters profess faith in Jesus, repent of past sins, and give glory to God. However, PRAISE THIS is marred by some foul language, suggestive content, teenage rebellion, and a line about selling marijuana.
CONTENT:
(CC, BB, LL, S, AA, DD, M):
Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements:
Strong Christian, moral worldview where many characters profess faith in Jesus, repent of past sins, and seek to live in a way that gives glory to God
Foul Language:
11 obscenities, one Jesus profanity, two light profanities, two obscene gestures
Violence:
No violence
Sex:
Some suggestive song lyrics and dancing, a married couple are verbally sexual in front of two teenagers, several sexual innuendos are scattered throughout the film, and there’s a mention of a teenage sex tape that disqualifies a contestant from the praise choir competition
Nudity:
No explicit nudity, but a teenage girl often wears very revealing clothing
Alcohol Use:
Many young people and teenagers drink at a party
Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse:
No smoking but one character confesses to selling marijuana;
Miscellaneous Immorality:
A teenage girl is extremely disrespectful to her father, a character lies about her reasons for joining the praise team, and a girl lies and steals a song from an artist but admits it, repents and seeks to make amends later.
MORE DETAIL:
PRAISE THIS is a musical streaming on NBC’s Peacock outlet. The movie follows Sam, a teenage girl from Los Angeles who wants to be a singer. Her mother has passed away, and her father feels exasperated with her disrespectful behavior and desire to become a professional singer. He sends her to Georgia to stay for a while with her Christian psychiatrist uncle and his family, where she finds that most people, unlike her home town, are professing Christians.
After Sam is caught lying to get into an adult party, her uncle sentences her to join his church’s choir. As she explores the Georgia music scene, makes friends with multiple Christian young people in the area, and begins to infuse some biblical themes into her musical endeavors, she finds that the place her father sent her is not so bad after all. However, will Sam’s visit really have the transformative effect on her that so many people are hoping and praying for?
PRAISE THIS is an interesting fusion of THE SISTER ACT and HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL which eventually manages to come into its own. The movie has some excellent gospel singing and showmanship, and many of the musical numbers will bring viewers out of their seats. The story, though well worn, remains engaging, and theme of going for one’s dream and finding that there is a bigger dream to be pursued is powerful.
