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When my daughter and I saw the previews for the Forever My Girl movie, we both wanted to see it. We couldn’t tell if the film would be clean or not. The movie rating can be misleading, and the previews showed the male lead character “living it up” as a country music star on the road. Yep, we want to watch current movies like everyone else BUT I’m not going to pay to stream trash into my home. Check out what this prude Mama thought of the Forever My Girl movie that just came out on Blu-ray, DVD, and instant streaming.
FOREVER MY GIRL MOVIE
movie: Forever My Girl
date: 2018
cast: Alex Roe, Jessica Rothe, Abby Ryder Fortson, John Benjamin Hickey, Tyler Riggs
runtime: 108 minutes
rating: PG
rating explanation: Parental Guidance Suggested
available to watch: DVD, Blu-ray & Amazon Video (instant streaming video)
Thanks, guys! I’m very grateful. I’m not being my typical, sarcastic self. I’m truly thankful that they didn’t go straight by the book. Mark it down -> I didn’t read the whole book, but what I read was nowhere near as good as the movie. There, I said it! Moving on…
The following is the summary that Amazon gave this movie. “FOREVER MY GIRL tells the story of country music superstar Liam Page (Alex Roe), who left his bride, Josie (Jessica Rothe), at the altar, choosing fame and fortune instead. However, Liam never got over his one true love, nor did he ever forget his Southern roots. When he unexpectedly returns to his hometown, Liam is torn between his two worlds.”
The following is a loose movie guide of the film’s topics that may cause discussion with your people. I try to watch and listen closely, but the only way to guarantee that this movie is suitable for your family is to preview it yourself.
intimacy: Near the very beginning, the country singer is shown in a hotel room asleep in the bed as a new day is starting. A woman (groupie) in a long t-shirt is standing in front of a mirror singing and it wakes him up. It’s obvious to anyone of a certain older age what has transpired the night before but no intimacy or conversation about it happens. He jumps up to retrieve a phone that she is accidentally standing on and he runs out of the room. That’s the end of that scene.
Spoiler alert: The main character finds out he has a daughter (it’s obvious from the storyline that it was intimacy before marriage but younger kiddos may not pick up on it – I’m guessing).
inappropriateness: There is a scene or two where the lead actor is in his boxers in bed.
language: We may have missed one, but my daughter nor I caught any curse words in this movie.
violence: No real violence. The female lead actress marches angrily toward a male actor and gives him one gut punch and walks away.
use of substances: The country singer’s very first song during a concert is about “not watering down his whiskey.” The audience is singing along while some of them are holding their ‘drinks.’
The male lead actor turns to alcohol several times throughout the movie so that he doesn’t have to deal with his pain. It’s unfortunate to watch but it made sense to myself and teenager. Even she said that she “got” why he was drinking so much but it was a little overdone. He drinks alone or at a bar stool a couple times and appears to be drunk more than once.
overall messages: I didn’t realize how much this movie revolves around death and grief. I DID NOT expect to cry – but it got me. It’s nothing traumatic but certainly a good topic to discuss with family. For instance, there is a scene where a young boy stands in the doorway while nurses try to resuscitate his Mom, to no avail. He sees it all and it’s pretty sad.
As mentioned above, people make a choice in how to deal with their grief. Some people choose roads that lead to destruction. A great message that comes from this storyline is that it’s never too late to forgive, to be forgiven, and to come home again. There are a lot of church scenes because the main character’s Dad is a preacher. While not necessarily a Christian-produced movie (I don’t think), there are some strong biblical undertones.
I love biblical undertones!
[clickToTweet tweet=”‘If we can TRULY forgive then we can truly be set free.’ ~from Forever My Girl. #forevermygirl #forevermygirlmovie #familymovies #moviereviews #familymoviereviews #thehowtoguru #familytime” quote=”‘If we can TRULY forgive then we can truly be set free.’ ~from Forever My Girl.”]
GOOD, BAD, OR IN-BETWEEN
It was really nice to watch a mainstream movie that wasn’t filled with awful language. Besides the overall tone of premarital intimacy that resulted in pregnancy and the drinking to ease sorrow, this movie was pretty squeaky clean.
Hallelu!
I absolutely fell in love with the old-fashioned, small-town and Southern vibe of the movie setting of Saint Augustine, Louisiana. Not only will you love the adult characters, but the little girl named Billy Ann will definitely steal your heart!
After the movie really got started, I thought it was going to be pretty predictable. I was wrong. My girl and I both got emotional when the movie took a turn that we were not expecting. We were laughing and crying at the same time. No simple feat, Y’all. It reminded me of how I felt when I watched Steel Magnolias so many years ago.
My daughter and I had some very good conversation about all of the above. When my husband got home, she told him it was one of her very favorite movies of all time.
Well, there you go. I pray that this was helpful for you to decide who is ready for this movie in your family and who is not.
I’d love to know what you thought of the Forever My Girl Movie in the comments below!
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Published on HuffPost, Okefenokee Living Magazine, and more, Shan is a Family Travel Journalist with a passion for helping women lose the overwhelm of planning family-friendly trips in the south. She shares travel reviews & insider secrets that Women REALLY want to know about Georgia, Florida, & the Carolinas vacations.
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I’ll have to find some time to watch it. I remember seeing previews for the movie, but it didn’t exactly capture my attention right away. My initial thought was that it was going to be either really good, or really bad – as the previews didn’t give much of anything about the plot. Not that I know a little bit more, I’m a bit intrigued and would genuinely like to watch it! Thanks for the thorough review!
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I felt the same way after the previews, Larissa. We were so curious and thrilled that it turned out to be a clean one (minus the issues he has). Thanks so much for your sweet words.
shan