Old Fashioned: A Creepy Christian RomCom/Drama

[Cleopatra7]

I didn't see any threads about this movie, so I decided to start one. Old Fashioned was a 2014 Christian romantic comedy/drama about an "old fashioned" frat bro turned fundie who demands that his hapeless love interest engage in a very controlling courtship to win his affection:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Fashioned_(film)

I saw this hilarious review of it on Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgDLGWyOTQk

My impression is that Clay is Norman Bates-level creepy, yet we're supposed to think of him as charmingly old-fashioned and wholesome. No, old-fashioned is liking big band music or stamp collecting. Demanding that your significant other completely conform to your narrow mindset with no room for compromise makes you a jerk. it contains lots of courtship/"I Kissed Dating Goodbye" talking points about how conventional dating is just practice for divorce, is inherently superficial, no kissing and limited physical contact before marriage, etc. In other words, if you're already convinced that courtship is the only way to go, you'll love this film. Otherwise, it just comes off like a Christian version of 50 Shades, and manages to be even more pathological than E.L. James's "masterpiece."

[infooverload]

If you get a chance listen to the God Awful Movies podcast breakdown of the movie.

[formergothardite]

OMG! How have we never discussed this movie?! Honeymoon with just water and a cabin in the woods? I want some food at some point. 

[EowynW]

17 minutes ago, formergothardite said:

OMG! How have we never discussed this movie?! Honeymoon with just water and a cabin in the woods? I want some food at some point. 

At first I thought you meant just water for lube. And I got flashbacks to my BIL telling my sister that he wanted to just use spit for lube on their honeymoon 

[formergothardite]

I don't think that movie even gets into lube.  The Old Fashioned Serial Killer Guy wants just bottled water and a secluded cabin while building the foundations of intimacy(sex). A water fast while on a honeymoon sounds terrible. 

[EowynW]

Haha eating was more important to us than sex on our wedding night. 

[Beermeet]

That was fantastic!  His review and the creepy movie bits.  I had a lot of "Sleeping with the enemy" vibes.  It's like a pre-quel to that movie. 

[nickelodeon]

Have the producers ever seen a college student, or do they just expect the audience to ignore that this frat boy is 38?

[infooverload]

Oh and don't forget the grocery store proposal. I haven't seen the movie, but the guys over at the God Awful Movies podcast had me cracking up.

 

 

[purjolok84]

Oh and don't forget the grocery store proposal. I haven't seen the movie, but the guys over at the God Awful Movies podcast had me cracking up.
 
 

Listening to the podcast now - so funny! Love the mix of humour and pointed out hypocrisy [emoji4]

[L1o2u3]

10 hours ago, nickelodeon said:

Have the producers ever seen a college student, or do they just expect the audience to ignore that this frat boy is 38?

He's a "former frat boy". He's not in college anymore  but has worked in an antique store for years. 

I actually liked that movie and watched it four times  it was better than most other Christian movies I've seen so far. 

[Eternalbluepearl]

11 hours ago, formergothardite said:

OMG! How have we never discussed this movie?! Honeymoon with just water and a cabin in the woods? I want some food at some point. 

Seriously. What the hell? Why can't they  eat? You need some fuel in your body for all of that Godly sex. 

[L1o2u3]

I think he put wagon-weel pasta in his shopping cart when he proposes. 

The movie is still up on Youtube, even though the producer tried to have it removed (I don't support that. But if somebody wants to check out a few scenes, eg. the proposal, you could watch it there). 

[formergothardite]

25 minutes ago, L1o2u3 said:

I actually liked that movie and watched it four times 

Really? It is a movie that shows a woman going from a physically abusive relationship to a mentally one. That guy was crazy controlling and creepy. Him making her stand outside in the cold so he can fix something in her apartment is just insane. That is not a gentlemanly way to behave. 

I wanted to spend the entire time screaming "RUN!" to the female lead. 

[L1o2u3]

https://youtu.be/OQxJrsGv7YQ?t=29m40s

Here are a few screenshots from the proposal  

@formergothardite I don't know. I don't think that is controlling. I don't let men enter my appartment, too, unless I need something repaired and then I usually let them come when I'm not at home. 

What I liked about the movie was that when they were both hurt from their past relationships and sexual affairs, they decided to do something different. And I really liked the scene when Clay made the stripper leave the bachelor party. And Amber was very cute  

[Gobsmacked]

12 hours ago, Beermeet said:

That was fantastic!  His review and the creepy movie bits.  I had a lot of "Sleeping with the enemy" vibes.  It's like a pre-quel to that movie. 

That's what I was thinking. Just couldn't remember the title. Julia Roberts and ? My memory is menopausal.

[Jellybean]

I loved that review - thanks for sharing. So many clips and interesting bits from the film itself and hilarious commentary. I agree with @formergothardite about wanting Amber to take her sweet cat and run far and fast!

[L1o2u3]

I agree that there are a few weird things in the movie. For example when they talk about how her ex-boyfriend hit her because she was wearing nail polish and Clay is like "well, but clear one is okay". But I think that was supposed to be funny. I don't think that Clay is worse than Edward Cullen or Christian Grey. 

[EmainMacha]

@Gobsmacked Julia Roberts and Patrick Bergin. 

I wish MST3K did Christian movies. I'd love to watch this with one of their tracks over it. Though the YouTube review guy is a close second.

[Eternalbluepearl]

8 minutes ago, L1o2u3 said:

I don't think that Clay is worse than Edward Cullen or Christian Grey. 

In my early 20's I read and was obsessed with all of the Twilight books and movies. As a 30-something now, my husband and I have read the Twilight books together and I couldn't believe how differently I felt about Edward and jacob's controlling behavior. It was truly eye-opening. I still enjoy Twilight but I am aware now of how much Bella was just a mirror to those around her and had very little personality of her own. Sorry for the thread drift. I just wanted to say I get your point. 

[formergothardite]

1 hour ago, L1o2u3 said:

 I don't know. I don't think that is controlling.

It wasn't just that. His entire attitude was controlling. And the whole thing about not coming into her apartment was ridiculous. He wasn't respecting her wishes because she wouldn't have minded. No, this was all about him. She had to stand in the cold so he could have his way.  That is not respectful in the tiniest bit. They weren't total strangers where she was worried about being alone with him. She rented from him, saw him on a regular basis and was not concerned. What sort of a man makes a woman stand in the cold to make sure he gets his way? 

As for the stripper part. that shows again that he doesn't respect women and women have to bend to his wishes. Here is a woman doing her job and who probably has bills to pay. If he had a problem he could leave. But no, he had to force her out, causing her to lose money that she most likely needed just so he could get what he wanted. She most likely felt more disrespected by him than she did by the men who hired her. She wasn't exactly thanking him for losing her a job.  Again, Clay is all about controlling women and making them bend to his will and his ideas of what they should be doing. 

Clay isn't worse, but he is just another version of Edward Cullen and Christian Grey. Clay is just another guy who paints controlling behavior as being old fashioned and romantic. 

[L1o2u3]

I didn't view the stripper scene like that. I liked it because he pointed out that his friend was getting married and vowing to be faithful to his wife and yet there was a stripper (organized by Chuck). And that his wife wouldn't like that (if they had talked about it beforehand, that would have been different). 

 

[formergothardite]

It still wasn't his place to cause a woman to lose a job. He wasn't respecting her at all. It wasn't sweet or endearing. He could have said, "I'm uncomfortable with this and I won't participate." and then just walk out. He showed absolutely no concern for the woman who was a stripper. He actually says "When did treating women with respect become the joke." all while he refuses to show any respect for the stripper or frankly, any other woman in the movie. 

When did treating women with respect become making them comply to the rules the man comes up with? The whole movie is about him having her agree with doing things his way, no matter if she would have been more comfortable doing things another way. "My rules, my way." are the exact words he uses. That right there is a controlling guy who doesn't respect women. 

[BackseatMom]

I agree with @formergothardite - respect isn't just for "good women." When the only women you even pretend to treat respectfully are those who conform exactly to your social and moral code, it's really more of a threat to those women than real respect. Like - if you don't stay on my good side, I'll treat you like a non-person,  too.

[Lurky]

2 minutes ago, BackseatMom said:

I agree with @formergothardite - respect isn't just for "good women."

I'm giving you a standing ovation right now!