KJ Apa brings Jeremy Camp’s story to cinemas in ‘I Still Believe’
The Erwin Brothers soared to box office heights with I Can Only Imagine, an adaptation of Bart Millard’s story, and return with another power story from another Christian music star: Jeremy Camp.
K.J. Apa (Riverdale) stars as Camp, headed off to college with a new guitar from his dad (Gary Sinise) to follow his dream, offering a confession about the gift they couldn’t really afford: “For me, music is a hobby, but for you, it is a gift.”
Camp heads to a concert by Jean-Luc (Nathan Parsons) where he finds the love of his life, Melissa, played by Britt Robertson (Tomorrowland, TV’s Under the Dome). Melissa is Jean-Luc’s girlfriend, but invites Jeremy to a beach party, and Jean-Luc, who’s there, asks Jeremy to sing. Jeremy wows everyone.
Jean-Luc helps Jeremy with his career, and Melissa falls in love with Jeremy, but they don’t tell Jean-Luc, creating unneeded strife. When Jeremy goes home for Christmas, he finds out Melissa is in hospital for stage three cancer.
He immediately drives back to California. He prays and says to God, if she loves him, he will marry her. His father tells him not to do it. Jeremy marries Melissa, and, at the concert, he asks people to pray for Melissa. Letters and support flood in and soon thereafter, news comes that Melissa is cancer-free.
The story doesn’t end and the film lays out the path for Camp to find his faith and step into Christian music’s elite.
Jon and Andrew Erwin have tapped into some great biopics, with Woodlawn ahead of the great success of I Can Only Imagine (full review HERE). Unlike that film, I Still Believe seemed more disjointed and scattered at times. The emotional ride isn’t smooth and there is no Dennis Quaid to carry the heaviness of the story.
While this is Camp’s story, Robertson’s Melissa gets the more intense elements in the script, but the character is moody and unlikable at times. Apa pulls off Camp well, seemingly believable on stage and as Melissa’s suitor.
Fans that are unfamiliar with Christian music man struggle to connect or find purpose in a story which truly captures a real struggle for many people: cancer can strike the very young and healthy among us. I would have like to see more of Sinise, but again, I’m unfamiliar with the timeline of Camp and Melissa’s journey.
Overall, I Still Believe earns 7 stars out of 10 stars
If you are part of the target audience, add a star – you will enjoy the film. If you didn’t like I Can Only Imagine, thought it was overrated or didn’t connect with Erwin’s style, then you may not like this film either, subtract at least one star.