In the last year or so, quite a few films have debuted which have been targeted to a more conservative Christian audience, such as "Son of God" as well as "God is Not Dead". I assumed that "Dial a Prayer" is pretty much another one of these films, though despite its plot, it isn't exactly something that will appeal to many of the same folks who would have seen these other movies.

The film is about a surly young lady, Cora (Brittany Snow). She's got attitude, that's for sure...and you know that she's been sentenced to do community service for some sort of crime, though for much of the film you have no idea what she's done. As for her community service, she works for a Dial-a-Prayer service--an odd choice for community service considering her attitude about life as well as what crimes she committed. Oddly, however, despite being an angry, lost soul, through the course of the film, she comes to develop a sense of purpose and begins to shed some of her anger and hopelessness.

"Dial a Prayer" has a lot going for it. Snow's performance is exceptional, as she played troubled and angry quite well--so well that it was difficult liking her character for much of the film. This is a major plus. Additionally, it sure didn't hurt that the nice minister who ran the center was played by William H. Macy--a guy who just make everything look so easy and natural. I also like the notion that ACTING good, after a while, makes you good-- something fundamental to many philosophies and branches of psychology. The film also really was nice because it was very unique and there isn't anything else like it that I've seen in a very long time.

But, the film also has a huge problem which will easily impact its marketability. For the traditional Christian audience, while most of the story will make them quite happy, the cursing and sex in the film just don't fit in with their values and it's hard to imagine them not being offended. As for others, there are also a lot of folks who have no interest in a film about spirituality--and they'd never see such a movie in the first place. As a result, while it's a very good film, I just don't know if it has much of an audience, though it is worth seeing.

Anyone who reads my reviews knows that I always beg for more character development and back stories. I loved this movie, but I needed to know a bit more about the supporting characters.

William Macy plays a wonderfully animated boss of a Dial-A-Prayer business. But we never hear how he got into the field or why. Also, no one ever identifies what church the girl's family, the call center, and the town identify with. Is it Catholic? Interestingly, there is practically no mention of Jesus, except when the funny boss says that he parted the Red Sea.

Therefore, I think a non-Christian could feel comfortable watching this without feeling bombarded by J.C.

The film is not really about religion. It is about second chances and turning one's life around. There is good usage of the Fall and Winter Midwest landscape. One could see it as either bleak, or starkly beautiful, depending on attitude. There are some clever references to that. The final scene shows a couple quietly beholding the glory of a blank snowy setting.

Do prayers make a difference? Our protagonist keeps asking this question. Of course they do, but the film focuses only on the aspect of making people feel better. It doesn't mention any metaphysical effect on the world at large, or the idea of praying for world peace and messianic redemption. People are only praying for themselves and their family to deal with domestic and health issues.

Casting is so essential to a character-driven film. This one aced the test. I don't know who Brittany Snow is, but her no-makeup sadness came through the screen with genuine sincerity. Macy phoned it in, no pun intended, but in his case, he phones it in beautifully. Glen Headly, the mom, fit the profile to perfection. No one here is great looking or flashy. They are ordinary people in a working class Midwestern town trying to make it through life the best way they can.

What I loved the most was the way they structured dialogue scenes. The characters would say just the right amount of words to each other, without overdoing it or milking the scenes for manipulative effect.

I could have done without the few dream sequences and the schmaltzy music toward the end, but the photography was first rate.

Firstly, this is not just for religious people, as a atheist, I really enjoyed this film.

Brittany Snow displays such emotional depth and a great character. She told the story so beautifully, I, a usually emotional robot, was brought to tears.

The score, also, so wonderfully aides the telling of this emotional roller-coaster.

Deeply relatable, anyone may see a part of themselves in one of the characters. Even if just slightly, with themes of guilt, love, depression and that human need to feel good.

A superb film that is heart warming and wrenching at the same time.

I think that there is room for a sequel, further analysing Cora's family breakdown and the effect of his mother's injuries on Chase.

Everyone involved with the project should be applauded.

Slight criticism is that it is short, this may be budget but it is still a great film.

I liked this little film. A good and decent little film. The story, the script, the directing , the acting and the cinematography. A well packaged little project. I liked the idea that just when you thought that William Macey's character was evil, you end up realizing that he is not. Also, I liked the idea that believing and disbelieving in anything could change in any minute when your perception changes .

Brittany Snow is one of my favourite actresses, and this movie is a great reminder why. She delivers incredible scenes and portrays Cora in an amazing way. The movie itself is good, but the title and premise of the movie kind of makes it seem like a movie that is going to convince a girl who's gone off-track to find faith in god, however that isn't what the movie is about at all. My automatic thought is that this is a movie for religious people, but i don't think religious people would enjoy this movie all that much, and non-religious people wouldn't think about picking it up because of the title and premise of the movie. Still, however, it is a great movie.

a film about faith. not great but decent. same option of drawing of fundamental transformation, search of life sense, family tension, a love story and the success who change existences and give the second chance. its best part - the dialogue. because it is the inspired option to escape from the sin of sentimental story. and gives to it coherence and some credibility. a film about the fight against past errors. and the reconciliation with yourself. sure, far to be perfect. and not always convincing. but a beautiful story. touching in few scenes, realistic in the others. useful as advise for dark state who is not unknown for many of us. more important, a nice try. to define the faith in not usual manner. to propose a character who reminds many other similar cases from every day media.and that does it a real useful show.

This is a movie with an obviously cynical view of prayer from the outset. The church show. In occasional take-backs appears to be Catholic, but the towns people who went to it do not. All of the "Christian" characters are played as if they were paste board mock-up of real people. All of the "Christian" characters show their ignorance at everything from relationships to Biblical facts, and lack genuineness in their prayer life and home life.

The only person presented with genuineness is the the faithless and miserable Cora, in search of truth and riddled with guilt. But her language, sexual behaviour, drinking and drug taking reinforces that this film is aimed at a general audience in a cynical time, to the exclusion of a Christian audience. It presents a clichéd atheistic view of poor, misguided believers.

The pace of the movie is very slow. Half way through my wife said that if it was any slower we should just turn it off. The only reason we watched it through was because we paid for the viewing. Generally an unsatisfying waste of money.

This movie came very close to being an excellent offering. It has effective character development, good use of setting/scenes, a few well-thought out plot twists, and mostly effective dialogue. It was obviously not a glitzy production done on a huge budget, but that just adds to the charm of the film. So why not a higher rating? Too Cora-centric.

Of course, she is the main character, so it's no surprise that she's in the middle of just about everything that happens in the movie. But that's not the problem. Everything is portrayed from Cora's viewpoint. The other workers at the Dial-A-Prayer center where she must perform community service after vandalizing a church are not really shown as people, but as the caricatures Cora sees. The only one that seems to approach actual personhood is the woman in the next cubical who soon begins to commiserate with Cora's discomfort over the center's purpose and structure, let's her go for a secret smoke, and uses profanity.

Cora's father is shown as distant and her mother initially as repulsive(because she is living in denial about the marriage while tossing out platitudes whenever necessary to make it seem like everything is just fine) then as a pitiable woman. Even Chase (who tracks Cora down after speaking with her on the Dial-A-Prayer service) is portrayed at first as a creepy stalker-type, next as an insensitive creep, and finally as the guy that she's gonna be alright with because she believes in herself and him and somehow, someway, they're going to make it work! Sadly, many people will find this message inspiring without recognizing it's insidious nature. Truth is, we CAN NEVER learn enough, know enough, become skilled enough, or whatever to make our lives anything but a shambles. It's only when we get the focus off ourselves and onto the One who IS wise enough, powerful enough and compassionate enough that there exists any hope for any of us. So while Cora became a bit less self-absorbed toward the end of the movie, the hope that it tries to imply of a better tomorrow due to the burgeoning relationship with Chase is a cruel mirage. It's just another result of living a me-centric life

Don't know what I expected, but this wasn't it. I thought perhaps the movie would end up being a cheesy B rated comedy, but the plot was searching for depth it never found. The main character is troubled, but the peace that she looks for is not going to help her. I would think any non-Christian, atheist, or agnostic could comfortably watch this. I do not think, however, that after seeing the desperate problems the characters are facing, a person could leave satisfied with the pretense of well-being that is portrayed in the end. As she wrestles through her life problems, the main character never comes to an understanding of who Jesus really is or what can truly change her life to one of peace and joy. She is bombarded by religious looking people, who for the most part show no understanding of God. She looks for truth, and is confronted with platitudes. She looks for love and is given a parcel of unfulfilled desires. She wants freedom, but she doesn't realize that the power of believing is only as great as the power believed in.(http://christiansareus.com/2015/02/11/guilty-yet-free/) If we believe in our own fallible selves who are clearly mortal, our own faith is fallible and mortal to. So again, sadly disappointed with this theme and plot.