Review and Giveaway Ring the Bell

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Ring the Bell:

Ring The Bell shares the story of a slick, big city sports agent Rob Decker who seems to have it all. But on his latest mission to sign a high school baseball superstar, Rob becomes stranded in a small town where the simplicity of life—and the faith of the people—stand in stark contrast to his own fast-paced, win-at-all-costs mindset. Torn between these two worlds, will Rob have the courage to let faith transform his life? This heartwarming story of redemption is sure to entertain and inspire the whole family.

Ring the Bell is available on DVD for only $19.99

I know I have shared many times how much we appreciate being able to pop in a move that the whole family can watch without needing to fast-forward, cover ears or eyes, or wonder if something will go over their head or not. It’s not worth trying to enjoy a movie that is sub-standard morally. Ring the Bell delivers significant life lessons without any gore or inappropriate scenes or language. Everyone can watch this together.

We may have had a little soft spot for some of the main characters in this movie as their home was a type of group home for foster kids. Since we worked as dorm parents in a residential school for boys for nine years, personal memories flooded in as we watched the boys they worked with. We could easily relate to the challenges and victories that come in that line of “work.”They also speak a bit about mission work, another passion of mine, and I appreciated the clear presentation of the Gospel message more than once in the film.

As much as we loved aspects of this movie and some genuinely funny scenes peppered in here and there to break up the seriousness of the plot, there were some places that seemed to drag a bit. Some of the conversation seemed to go a little too long, even if they did have great points to make. There was also a fair bit of music that took up film time with segments of the singers actually singing. I enjoy good music and especially a good concert, but watching a concert as part of a movie seemed to slow the drama down too much. The music is great — Casting Crowns among others — but, I would have enjoyed it more as meaningful background music rather than the focal point of the shot.

Aside from the slow sections, this film has a great lesson, and the powerful tradition of the ringing of the bell every time . . . well, I don’t want to ruin that for you. See for yourself why that bell ringing is so important. It made me consider what we could do to have a similar tradition in our circle or home.

Now for the fun part, one of you can win your own copy of this heartwarming story to enjoy with your own family.  Just leave a comment below, and you are entered to win. For additional entries share about this giveaway elsewhere (blog, facebook, twitter, etc.) and come comment again letting me know where you shared. I’ll draw a winner on Tuesday May 14 in the evening.