That is the question posed by the movie Forgiving the Franklins, which follows a typical, God- fearing family on the road to self discovery. The movie opens with a look into the lives of this people. The parents, Frank and Betty, struggle with a relationship that is sterile and without passion. Their children, Brian and Caroline, have their own issues to contend with, especially at school. All four go about their day to day lives, placing God first, but seemingly losing themselves and their sense of identity as they do so.

This changes when a terrible accident has most of the family have a direct visit with Jesus, who in turn removes their sense of Original Sin and the burden it carries upon their lives. No longer carrying a sense of shame to their lives, the Franklins discover life appears much more passionate, especially now that they are free to discover themselves sexually. Frank, Betty, and son Brian experience things they would never would have done, much to the dismay of daughter Caroline, who did not share the same experience the others did during their accident. In turn, their experiences rock the town as scandal and blasphemy, driving a wedge into the community that ends the movie with a shocking ending.

Forgiving the Franklins is an ambitious movie on many levels, but its reach exceeds its grasp. It goes from a drama, to comedy, back to drama again with mixed results. Many of the secondary characters' motivations are very one note in order to reinforce the stereotype of the uptight, hypocritical and unhappy religous individual. Jay Floyd's script contains no positives when it comes to christianity, and although it is to reinforce the sexual awakening of the family, it also seems somewhat forced just to serve the story.  

The cast, especially the parents, do a fine job in their parts. There is a high level of mature aged nudity that was refreshing, candid, and very commendable given Hollywood's typical display of gym toned flesh. Most impressive was Teresa Willis as matriarch Betty Franklin, who brings as real sense of self to her character, both before and after her transformation. Rounding out the main cast is Robertson Dean ("24") as matriarch Frank Franklin, Vince Pavia ("Young, Single and Angry) as Brian Franklin and Aviva ("Superbad") as Caroline Franklin.

Forgiving the Franklins will be available on DVD on May 20th.