“Old Fashioned” Review: Love is an Open Door!

Finally! after resurfacing from  the holidays, family-spread influenza, and newborn hours, and guzzling all the coffee I could handle, I saw Old Fashioned in its entirety including credits. I’m so glad I did.

Indulge me while I establish a profile:

Elizabeth Roberts has a stellar performance as Amber – a leading lady graced with perfectly curly hair and spontaneity; a free spirit secure in herself who discovers what every woman wants: a man who loves her. I’m not talking romantic love either – though that comes later – I’m talking sacrificial, as-Christ-loves-the-Church love that goes straight to the soul. Amber’s faith is as wandering as the girl herself, and she enters the scene complete with a cat and a dramatic past involving more than one ex. Amber’s problem is her tendency to slam the proverbial door on difficulty. When the goin’ gets tough, she fills her tank and bolts to start over somewhere new.

Rik Swartzwelder stars as the film’s director, writer, executive producer, AND leading man Clay Walsh – a recovering frat boy who took the lion’s share of drunken debauchery in his day, but after a gradual conversion, has planted his heart firmly in Christ. His faith echoes through his quiet life and resounds especially in his seemingly antiquated ideas of dating and love. Clay’s problem is he doesn’t let anyone in – literally. Refusing to be alone with any female except his wife…whom he hasn’t married let alone met, Clay hides in his shell keeping even his few friends at bay and wallowing in solitude.

Combine these two and you have a classic “opposites attract” situation with some serious baggage to overcome. He misuses religion and only inflicts pain while her heart is still throbbing from old wounds. BUT – you guessed it – their mutual fascination is too much to resist, and the tiniest possibility of a relationship requires both of them to open up and let go. It’s this aspect of Old Fashioned that will appeal to traditionalists and those of a contemporary approach because it reveals the freedom that results when both sides accept each other.  No relationship begins with two perfect people and Old Fashioned offers hope for the same pure bliss for every person out there regardless of your personal history.

Both aware of their polar perspectives, Clay and Amber walk slowly together in a budding relationship, taking time to get to know each other’s minds and hearts before adding a physical quality. In this respect, Old Fashioned reveals that the whole person, not just the body, should be cherished. It’s after you learn to love the mind when loving the body is much more natural and real. Clay and Amber have a fantastic time together because their boundaries take the pressure off. It took the pressure off of me as the viewer too because I was able to delight in the sweetness and innocence and openness of their relationship. Sweet. Innocent. Open. Not typical descriptors for a romantic movie, but oh so thrilling.

I think what drew me in was the familiar dynamic of Clay’s and Amber’s relationship – quiet, sullen guy meets bouncy, optimistic girl and by some force of nature, she’s drawn to him. Before Andrew and I dated, I was in a relationship with someone of the same disposition. Just like Clay, he was caring and intentional, especially with my heart. His personality invited me to become more thoughtful and deliberate with my life, and my personality coaxed him out of his shell. Setting these characteristics aside, shouldn’t all relationships involve some kind of invitation? An invitation to happiness or peace or new perspective? It makes me wonder, just off the top, how I can invite Andrew to all of the above.

Old Fashioned is THE counter-cultural response to 50 Shades of Grey. The movie was made to be theatrically released simultaneously (Valentine’s Day) to offer an alternative for those who want to watch real love unfold on screen. As Rik Swartzwelder said, “There is an audience out there that’s longing for more than the status quo.” The status quo. It seems like any and every rom-com (or rom-dram in this case) released within the last twenty years is riddled with sex – scenes, jokes, themes, or all of them tangled together. Let me tell you, this has ZERO of that, but it absolutely overflows with that kind of  passion I mentioned Monday.

Old Fashioned is cute and sweet, but more than that, it’s a call; a call to go beyond yourself and step outside of the unnecessary pressures of conventional relationships to discover the depth of love. Catch it in theaters TOMORROW, February 13th!! Find a location for you and your sweetheart!

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements.