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For the hardcore LDS crowd, this adaptation of a Dean Hughes romance novel offers a family-safe script, uplifting values and a few Mormon code words ("served my mission," "visiting teacher," etc.) to make you feel comfortable.
For everyone else, "Midway to Heaven" is an edge-free story so devoid of tension that it serves as a sleep aid.
Ned (Curt Dousette) has been a widower for three years, though the ghost of his wife, Kate (Melanie Nelson), visits him for regular conversations. When Ned's daughter, Liz (Brittany Peltier), visits with her new boyfriend, the impossibly perfect David (Kirby Heybourne, a Utah favorite), Ned can't handle his little girl growing up.
Liz and Kate try to point Ned in the direction of his pretty neighbor, Carol (played by "Bachelor" contestant Michelle Money).
Utah actor Michael Flynn, making his directing debut (co-writing the script with Shelly Bingham Husk), captures some beautiful Utah scenery as he tries unsuccessfully to pump some conflict into the sluggish story. Hhj
Midway to Heaven
Opens today at area theaters; rated PG for mild thematic elements; 82 minutes.