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Another truth that resonates with audiences over and over is the possibility for hope even when all seems lost. That is the thread that winds through one of the year's buried treasures. Jump Tomorrow is a romantic comedy about a multicultural mix of characters who learn about the strange and unpredictable nature of love, and how it's always best to put off "jumping" until tomorrow, just in case fortune (or perhaps better: grace) changes everything.

Pastor Darrel Manson raves in his review at Hollywood Jesus, "Jump Tomorrow is a delight. It's a romantic comedy. It's a road movie. And it is about hope. What is is not necessarily what has to be. There is time to look for something else if we wait to 'jump tomorrow.' It's not a terribly deep film, but it certainly is enjoyable with wonderful humor. Its distribution may be limited, but watch for it on cable." J. Robert Parks of The Phantom Tollbooth is also impressed: "Jump Tomorrow is both a nice homage to previous run-to-the-altar comedies and a winningly good-natured exploration of multiculturalism. I was won over by the film's characters. I cared deeply whether George and Alicia got together, and the movie does a nice job of bringing about a satisfying resolution without resorting to belittling any of its secondary characters. It's also helped immeasurably by the charisma of all three leads. The film doesn't have a lot of depth, but its surface pleasures are enough." Movieguide's critic calls it "a sweet-natured road movie with a Latin flavor … a good first effort for writer/director Joel Hopkins. Some polish would help, although the movie features generally good performances."

Mainstream critics are also jumping. "The movie doesn't have an unkind thought in its head," writes Roger Ebert. "It's all sweetness and understated charm. It doesn't punch out its comic points but lets the story gradually reveal them. By the end … I was awfully fond of the picture. Is there a market for a movie like this?"

I hope so. In a summer of unimaginative, disappointing movies, films that offer hope, beauty, and insight are needed. This week, I'd suggest you forget about blockbusters and take a chance on a couple of such sharp selections as Jump Tomorrow or Zhang Yimou's The Road Home before it is too late.

I finally saw The Road Home this week. Coming out of the theatre I felt rejuvenated, as though I'd just spent a leisurely vacation in an exotic landscape where God was at work in the natural world, doing some of his finest work. The story's portrayal of love that waits, love that endures all things, gave me a beautiful picture of God's relentless love. Once in a while, when a camera turns away from chaos and the barbarism of humanity at its worst, when it focuses instead on creation or on those rare moments when human beings show love to one another, we might catch a glimpse of a higher power at work. And that's more fun than a barrel of monkeys.

Next week: Should you avoid Rush Hour 2? And while the summer blockbusters conquer the box office, critics have caught a few interesting films—like Ghost World—quietly moving beneath the radar of the mainstream.

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July (Web-only) 2001, Vol. 45