Average Joe

Joe Kennedy, an assistant football coach at a public high school in Bremerton, Washington, used to kneel and pray at midfield once each game was over. The school district asked him to stop, he refused, his contract wasn't renewed, and the fight ended up at the US Supreme Court in 2022. 'Average Joe' brings his story to the screen, directed by Harold Cronk, the man behind 'God's Not Dead', from a script by Stephanie Katz.

It starts a long way from the football field. Joe (Eric Close) and his wife Denise (Amy Acker) sit on their living room couch in front of an interviewer and talk through their lives, with flashbacks and asides straight to camera. So we meet a troubled adopted kid who ends up in a boys' home, the mentor there who points him towards God, and his twenty years in the Marines.

Married at last to his childhood sweetheart Denise, Joe reluctantly agrees to help coach the high school team and promises God that, win or lose, he'll thank Him after every game. That short prayer on the 50-yard line puts him at odds with the district, which offers him somewhere else to pray, and makes life hard for Denise, who also works at the school. When a lawyer suggests suing, Joe has to decide how far he's willing to go.

Eric Close, best known for 'Without a Trace' and 'Nashville', and Amy Acker, from 'Angel' and 'Person of Interest', lead a cast that also includes David Jensen, as one of Joe's critics, and Lyle Brocato. It was shot almost entirely in Louisiana, with a few scenes in Scottville, Michigan, Cronk's hometown. Fathom Events released it in the US on 10 October 2024, and it opened 12th with $1.1 million from 1,713 cinemas.

Christian outlets loved it, while mainstream critics were cooler. Most praised the chemistry between Close and Acker and the humour that keeps it light, though some found it preachy and others liked that it takes Joe's opponents seriously, above all in a long conversation with one of his critics over coffee.

• Drama
• Family