Also Opening on V-Day: 50 Shades Meets ... Jesus?

Prepare for 'a Christian alternative to a smutty film'
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 1, 2014 10:49 AM CDT
Also Opening on V-Day: 50 Shades Meets ... Jesus?
A scene from 50 Shades of Grey.   (YouTube screenshot)

If the new 50 Shades of Grey trailer was too much for your innocent eyes, studio Freestyle Releasing has just the flick for you come Valentine's Day: Old Fashioned. In case you couldn't guess by the title, the premise of the flick is "chivalry makes a comeback" (the movie's tagline) as a "former frat boy" and a "free-spirited woman" embark on a "faith-based romance," as Variety puts it. So hot, right? "I wanted to tell a love story that takes the idea of Godly romance seriously," writer, director, and lead actor Rik Swartzwelder says. "A story that, without apology, explores the possibility of a higher standard in relationships; yet, is also fully aware of just how fragile we all are and doesn’t seek to heap guilt upon those of us that have made mistakes."

Or, as Jezebel puts it, "they just want to provide a Christian alternative to a smutty film about people getting tied up and getting it on. Understandable." In reality, the film's synopsis, per MTV News, describes a couple attempting "the impossible: an 'old-fashioned' courtship in contemporary America," so you're probably looking at zero sex scenes. Freestyle's co-president explains Old Fashioned will cater to the "underserved" demographic of Christian singles—an audience that helped the studio bring in $60 million with God's Not Dead earlier this year. Despite opening the same weekend as the far-smuttier 50 Shades, "we're hopeful that we are not alone in our belief that there are others out there who desire more from love—and the movies—than objectification or domination," Swartzwelder says. (More 50 Shades of Grey stories.)

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