Reviewed by Simon Eden

I don't know why this big movie hit form the US got called 'The Gospel' as it clearly does not follow the Gospel narratives of Jesus as its script, but rather one of his most famous parables - the Prodigal Son. The plotline here follows two gifted young men growing up in an American black Pentecostal church and their Father figure Pastor, and you can see the similarity already. One son leaves the nest to become an R&B "bump and grind" star whilst the other stays dutifully home and inherits the church ministry. The real story line lies in the impact of the return of the musical son. Thankfully the film has been very well made in quality of production as well as script and cast. Gospel fans will be likely to watch the film repeatedly until they manage to spot all of the cameo appearances by Yolanda Adams, Hezekiah Walker, Fred Hammond, Donnie McClurkin in addition to Keisha Knight Pulliam (famous from the Cosby Show). As the film centres around a gospel concert featuring these various stars, it is no surprise that the soundtrack is awesome with Kirk Franklin joining the team. There is also an accompanying DVD of this fictitious concert with Mary Mary. Fine music and the moving redemption motif in the plot make this film a creative as well as a commercial success.

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