“Look around you. Your wife, your family, your faith. That’s what makes you rich in life.”
I finally caught up with a movie I had been wanting to see, Unsung Hero. various circumstances prevented me from catching it during its successful theater run, but I found it on Amazon for just $5.99 for 48 hours and my sister in law had given me an amazon gift card for my birthday, so I decided to rent the movie. I’m glad I did.
Unsung Hero is a true story. It’s the story of the Smallbone family, their move from Australia to the United States, the tribulations they went through, and the faith that helped carry them through it all.
The movie begins in 1991. David Smallbone(played by his son Joel) is a music promoter in Australia with a wife Helen (Diasy Betts) and six children. A seventh one is on the way. He handles big-name acts. This keeps him very busy. At one point, one of the kids asks why his dad works so much, and Helen explains that dreams take work. She’s asked if she has a dream and indicates that her family is it.
David tries to make a deal to manage the Australian tour of a musician named Eddie DeGarmo, but DeGarmo finds a better deal. Eventually, his company goes under. He actively seeks employment, but nobody will hire him. Finally, an American act offers him a position in Nashville.
His family leaves behind all they have in Australia and moves to Nashville. (Outside Nashville, actually.) David’s dad tells them great things are in store for them.
They arrive in a rented house. There is no furniture. Helen improvises beds for everyone to sleep in, and thy pray for a job for their dad and for real furniture. (The characters are shown praying a lot.) Helen says it’s a miracle and they’re supposed to be there. David prays for God to “show us the way.”
They meet a couple at church named Jed and Kay Albright. (Kay is played by the well-known actress Candace Cameron Bure.) Jed is a songwriter. Kay and Helen hit it off. Unfortunately, David loses the job he had in Nashville.
David starts a lawn and cleaning service. The kids work with him. They survive, but David feels like a failure as he continues to look for promoter jobs. The Albrights invite them for Thanksgiving. After Jed and Kay say grace, the Smallbone children sing a grace they used in Australia. By the time it ends, the only one still singing is their oldest child, their daughter Rebecca (Kirrilee Berger.) Jed mentions that David is a promoter. He asks if there is anyone he can promote, and Jed, with a nod towards Rebecca, says “I know someone you should be promoting.”
David is not comfortable with this. He’s uncomfortable with the fact that his kids are carrying so much of the burden of supporting the family, but Helen says “In these last two months, I’ve seen miracles.”
At Christmas, Kay and Jed organize the church to furnish the Smallbones’ house. David is clearly uncomfortable with this. Helen is grateful.
A few days later, their newest child is born, baby girl they call Libby. It’s a very difficult birth.
Helen requires additional treatment. While David is negotiating a payment plan with the hospital, the bill gets paid in full. David is frustrated and confronts Jed, telling him to back off.
Rebecca begins going around to auditions, and she works with her dad in the back yard. Meanwhile, she and the others continue to work for the lawn and cleaning business. When the auditions don’t go well, Rebecca says “Maybe I’m not meant to sing,” to which Helen replies “Or maybe you’re not menat to sing other people’s songs.”
They are going around knocking on doors to gain business when they come to a mansion. They knock on the door, and the owner turns out to be Eddie DeGarmo. He hires them as his cleaning crew. Rebecca continues to audition.
While they’re cleaning one day, Rebecca discovers a magazine with Eddie on the cover and reads about his successful career and his record company. She wants to audition for him, but David doesn’t think it’s the right fit, considering she’s his maid.
Rebecca impresses a record company and they agree on the framework of a deal. David’s dad passes away and he doesn’t have the money to go to Australia, so he asks for an advance. They get in a dispute about what they’d agreed to and the deal falls apart.
Helen takes the kids out and in the park, they find a fake pirate ship. They play at holding off an attack. Helen says they’ll have to burn all the ships (imaginatively, of course) because “If you can go back, you will. Giving up, giving in, it’s not an option.” The boys start singing and when Helen asks what they’re singing, one of the boys says, ‘Bec’s song.”
David tells Rebecca that she doesn’t have to keep auditioning and apologizes for being so hard on her. She says she does want to try again. David arranges an audition with Eddie. He takes away her backing tape. When she gets in front of Eddie and his business partner, Jed is at the piano and her brothers Joel and Luke are her backup singers. Eddie signs her to a deal, with her dad as her manager, on the condition that she not use Smallbone professionally. Helen tells Rebeccca that she can do anything she sets her mind to. Any dream is possible. Rebecca says, “My dream is to be like you.”
Rebecca releases her first album and as the movie closes, she’s seen at a music event coming onstage to major cheers.
So what can we take away from this story? Well, first, the importance and power of prayer. Whenever something happens to the Smallbones, they get together and pray. And miracles occur. The Smallbones are continually surrounded by little everyday miracles that keep them moving forward in pursuing and achieving their dreams.
Helen can see the miracles, and seeing them enables her to keep her family going. Faith drives them forward. They step forward in faith time and time again through the darkness, and they are continually rewarded.
This is an inspiring story of faith, family, community, the power of prayer, and everyday miracles, culminating in success the family could not have dreamed of when they left Australia. You’ll be inspired, you’ll shed some tears, you’ll laugh in a few places, and ultimately you will enjoy the family’s triumph. If you’re looking for a good, inspiring movie, drop $5.99 for Unsung Hero. It will be well worth it.