Letters To God

An eight-year-old cancer victim (Tanner Maguire) writes letters to God, with a profound effect on his family and friends, including a heartsore alcoholic mail carrier (Jeffrey S.S. Johnson). Purportedly based on a true story, the movie’s worthy intentions are far outstripped by its fumbling amateurishness. Under David Nixon and Patrick Doughtie’s direction, the forced heartiness of the performances quickly becomes cloying, and a sincere religious spirit stumbles into clumsy preachiness within minutes of the opening credits. Doughtie is credited with story and screenplay, while other credited writers are Art D’Alessandro, Sandra Thrift and Cullen Douglas. False touches abound (for instance, in one scene this overtly Christian movie shows a complete ignorance of what a church choir actually sounds like).