Ordinary Angels…I’m not crying…you’re crying.

The times that it could be said that the Average Dude is at a loss for words are few and far between. That feels like an understatement. Just ask Mrs Average Dude. Or Average Dude Bestie. Or the Average Doge, for that matter.

The times that I am without words about a movie I’ve just watched are non-existent. Or they were, until this very moment.

That sounds like I’m about to tell you that Ordinary Angels was the greatest movie I’ve ever seen. I’m not. I liked it very much, though. It evoked emotions in me that were real and so unexpectedly raw that I am struggling to find the right tone, the right feel, for this review.

The right heart, if you will.

And there is so much to say about it that I guess I’m having trouble finding a place to start. But because I love doing this so much, try I shall. If it comes across as ham-handed, just know I’m giving it my best shot.

Ordinary Angels is the based on the true story of Ed Schmitt, played by rising superstar Alan Ritchson (Reacher, if you’ve been off-world for the past two years). Schmitt, an every-man type guy who works roofing and construction for a living, tragically loses his wife to illness. Schmitt’s grief is compounded by massive medical debt and the despair of knowing he has to raise his two young daughters alone. Add to his long list of challenges, Ed’s youngest daughter Ashley is born with a liver disease (IRL, both daughters have the disease). It is Job-like existence that can I only imagine but don’t like to. And that’s one of the reasons this is so hard to write about.

Ordinary angels does the opposite

For most of us, movies are about escaping for a couple of hours, for stepping outside of ourselves and our all-too often stressful lives. Ordinary Angels absolutely will not allow that. Everything that happens to Ed Schmitt could have happened to every one of us. That’s a sobering thought that I can’t escape. It forces us to look inside ourselves and ask ‘how would I handle all of this? How would I bear up?’ Impossible to know but also really hard to not think about.

Heavy thought #2

Ed Schmitt fortunately had the help of a very loving, very involved mother (Nancy Travis) who doesn’t get top billing but is also an Ordinary Angel. Having someone like that in your corner is so much more than many people have. Just one of the blessings the Schmitts had, and it gets overlooked by most folks. But so critical to the family’s survival. And there is the second heavy thought. We get so struck by all the bad that the Schmitts have to endure that we don’t recognize that there were blessings, too.

And then there is Sharon Stephens, played brilliantly by Hilary Swank. Sharon is a local salon owner and big time pary girl. Sharon is bold, flashy and overly extroverted, bar-hopping like an 21 year old college sophmore. This is how she battles her own inner demons until one day, a close friend and co-worker calls her on the carpet. Yet another unsung Ordinary Angel.

Heavy thought #3

Coming to the realization that she has a problem, Sharon hyper-focuses on saving the Schmitt family. The challenges she takes on and triumphs over in pursuit of that noble cause are far, far from ordinary. Sharon is an unstoppable force for good. And again, it makes us wonder if we could muster the kind of grit that Sharon musters in the service of total strangers and in the face of her own battles.

So why do I feel so uncomfortable?

There are so many levels of emotion in play watching Ordinary Angels. Not the least of which were all the true-life events that go into the climactic final scenes. Even knowing the outcome beforehand did not keep me from wiping away tears pretty much for the last 30 minutes. Enough said ’bout that. Every major player in Ordinary Angels is broken in some way. If we’re honest with ourselves, we all are, too. Even in her brokenness, Sharon had the wisdom to know that focusing her energy on saving the Schmitts was also saving herself. That is the ultimate win-win. And my overcomer’s heart couldn’t help but be moved. We should all be so wise.

So, it is with a great deal of inner struggle that I am giving Ordinary Angels another 4+ out of 5. I can’t remember the last February that has been so fruitful. And even though this movie had a happy ending, I am so emotionally drained that I need to go watch an episode or two of Netfix’s One Piece, just to clear my emotional palate.

Heck, the only movie I can remember hitting me in the feels more than Ordinary Angels was Homeward Bound: Incredible Journey (oh man, I’m getting misty…).

And BTW, the real life stars of Ordinary Angels

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