Lifted

      We were just sitting around on Sunday afternoon with my family of ten.  Just spending the day at my parents with my sister and her two boys. We were flipping through Netflix trying to find something to watch.  We came across this movie called Lifted (2010) I knew it was one I was interested in watching but couldn’t remember why.  The description it gave read “The chance to shine in a singing competition offers much-needed hope for a Southern middle-schooler who's drowning in worries, from bullies in the halls to turmoil at home -- and the news that his reservist father has been called back to Afghanistan.” 
      Somehow the Afghanistan thing didn’t stand out to much, the name Trace Adkins (Then they do, Chrome, Arlington, Songs about me)  did stand out though.  I am a Trace Adkins fan, for those who don’t know he is a country singer. So, we decided to watch Lifted.  Just a side note.  If you look on IMDB it has Trace Adkins listed very first.  You don’t see him until the last half hour and then not even that much.  Still, you do get to see him punch a guy, that was pretty cool.
       Well …… two hours later everyone is in tears and yelling at me that I am not aloud to pick the movie any more! I swear if I had any idea what it would be like I would have watched alone. My sister says we should have realized what it would be like as soon as we knew Trace Adkins was in it. (Just listen to any of his patriotic songs)
      Lifted is one of those “straight to DVD” movies.  Uriah Shelton (The Glades, Alabama moon, The Nanny Express) plays Henry Matthews.  Henry is a very talented R&B singer who really enjoys free styling.  The opening scene is his mom, dad and him in the kitchen at breakfast and Henry and his dad start singing to mom as she is heading out the door, they do a very fun version of Ain’t no Sunshine by Bill Withers but it sounds more like the Lenny Kravitz version.
       When Henry’s father is deployed to Afghanistan his mom and him are left to deal with things at home.  There are some tough themes in this movie and that may be offensive to some people.  Such as Henry’s grandfather who doesn’t like him or approve of his type of music.
       By the end you forget about all of that.  In my opinion it is worth watching just to see the end.  I think it was so beautifully done and has an amazing message.  In reading about it on Netflix it says “This movie is: Emotional” That is very true.  Have the kleenex ready.