It’s not easy finding a squeaky-clean romantic movie these days — especially if you don’t subscribe to the Hallmark Channel.
Still, they’re out there if you know where to look.
The faith-based movie “Old Fashioned” is one such example.
It tells the story of a Christian single man who has developed “old-fashioned” views of dating, years after a promiscuous college life. His theories about romance are put to the test when he meets a free-spirited young woman who is new in town and who is taken aback by his “outdated” beliefs. For starters, he refuses to be alone with her at her apartment. There obviously is mutual interest, but can they make a traditional courtship work in modern-day America?
I watched it and simply loved it. The acting is top-notch and the storyline fun and compelling.
It was written and directed by Rik Swartzwelder, who said he wanted to make a movie telling the story of Christian singles who are swimming against the cultural tide in trying to find romance. Most faith-based romance movies, he said, are either set in the 1800s or on an Amish farm.
He wrote the story at a time when he and his single friends were looking to find mates. Swartzwelder stars in the lead role.
“No one had really ever seen a romantic drama that told our story,” he told me. “We never saw a movie about a bunch of singles who loved God and wanted to honor God but were looking to fall in love and get married. I started thinking: What if you took two 30-somethings who had a history, who have baggage, and you have a character who was trying to honor God after the fact?”
Swartzwelder intentionally wrote the story to include singles whose sexual past was not pure.
“We wanted to hold up a godly standard,” he said. “But we didn’t want to heap guilt on anyone who has made mistakes, who already feels broken and already feels like love has passed them by. Life isn’t neat and tidy for everybody.”
“Old Fashioned” is rated PG-13 for thematic elements. It can be rented on Amazon and other streaming platforms.
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