This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
There's a rare Wednesday opening at movie theaters today for Easter weekend, and it's a title aimed at the faith-based audience.
"Heaven Is For Real" is based on a true story, and a best-selling book, that tells of Todd Furpo (Greg Kinnear), a Nebraska pastor whose family faces a series of medical and financial crises. The worst is when Todd's four-year-old son Colton (Connor Corum) suffers a ruptured appendix and undergoes a touch-and-go emergency operation. When the boy comes to, he claims he went to heaven and met Jesus — a revelation that shakes Todd's faith to the core.
The movie has its faux-spiritual moments — lots of bright lights and angelic choral music — but it's more effective as an examination of faith and doubt, particularly in the performances by Kinnear and the always-solid Margo Martindale ("August: Osage County") as a troubled parishoner.