God Bless the Broken Road is a 2018 American Christian drama film directed by Harold Cronk. A loose interpretation of the 1994 song Bless the Broken Road, the plot follows a mother who loses her husband in the War in Afghanistan and must cope with the loss. The film stars Lindsay Pulsipher, Makenzie Moss, Andrew Walker, Kim Delaney, Robin Givens, Gary Grubbs, Arthur Cartwright, LaDainian Tomlinson, Madeline Carroll, Ian Van Houten, and Jordin Sparks. It was released in the United States on September 7, 2018, by Freestyle Releasing.

Plot summary

The film tells the story of a young mother named Amber Hill who loses her husband in Afghanistan and struggles to raise their young daughter Bree in his absence. She meets a race car driver named Cody Jackson who helps to restore her faith.

After the death of her husband in Afghanistan, his surviving spouse loses her faith and puts his last unopened letter in her Bible. Amber Hill continues to send her daughter Bree to church. The mother and daughter struggle as Amber is a waitress at a Kentucky diner called Rosie s . Amber rejects help from her mother-in-law Patti and many others. The bills pile up and she receives a foreclosure notice on her home. Her daughter gets a mustard seed in Sunday school and plants it and even names it Matt.

Cody Jackson, a race car driver, takes interest in Amber and helps her daughter build a go-cart. The Pastor, the choir ladies, and disabled Mike all try to encourage her to come back to church. The seed of faith remains in her heart. Amber wants to raise her daughter on her own. Patti the mother-in-law sees Amber s wedding rings are missing. While babysitting, she finds a stack of bills. Amber assures Patti things are under control.

Amber starts to date Cody and her daughter really likes him. Her mother never likes to talk about her dead dad. Bree feels all alone while her Mom copes with her own grief and low paying job. They go to one of Cody s races and he is in an accident. Cody s accident is too much for Amber and she forbids Bree to see him. Bree runs away and when found says she wants to live with her grandmother. Amber prays for an answer.

Wheelchair-bound Mike Nelson tells Amber about how her husband saved his life. His last words were: You are loved more than you will ever know. Mike gives her a cross that Darren had made from IED scraps. Amber, Bree and Patti go to Darren s grave and read his last letter together. Bree wins the go kart race. Cody wins a race at Berlin Speedway. Amber returns to church and is singing Bless the Broken Road. A new mustard seed labeled Faith is seen growing in the window.

Cast

• Lindsay Pulsipher as Amber Hill
• Makenzie Moss as Bree Hill
• Andrew Walker as Cody Jackson
• Kim Delaney as Patti Hill
• Robin Givens as Karena Williams
• Gary Grubbs as Joe Carter
• Arthur Cartwright as Mike Nelson
• LaDainian Tomlinson as Pastor Williams
• Madeline Carroll as Hannah
• Jordin Sparks as Bridgette
• Ian Van Houten as David
• Adam Agee as Johnson
• Patrika Darbo as Rosie
• Gianna Simone as Monica
• Cody Coughlin as Himself
• Micah Tyler as Himself

Production

Much of the cast, including Kim Delaney and Jordin Sparks, signed on in May 2016. Principal photography on the film began in the Spring of 2016 in West Michigan, and it received a state tax credit of $2.7 million. LaDainian Tomlinson joined the cast in January 2017. Some racing scenes for the movie were recorded at Berlin Raceway.

Reception

Box office

In the United States and Canada, God Bless the Broken Road was released on September 7, 2018 alongside The Nun and Peppermint, and was projected to gross $2–4 million from 1,235 theaters in its opening weekend. However, it ended up debuting to just $1.4 million, finishing 11th at the box office.

Critical response

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 17% based on 12 reviews, and an average rating of 4/10. On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 31 out of 100, based on six critics, indicating generally unfavorable reviews . Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of A on an A+ to F scale.

Year	2018
ReleaseDate	2018-09-07
RuntimeMins	111
RuntimeStr	1h 51min
Plot	While grieving the loss of her husband, a financially struggling widow meets a race car driver.
Directors	Harold Cronk
Writers	Jennifer Dornbush, Harold Cronk, Andy Fraser
Stars	Matthew Derek Davis, Arthur Cartwright, Adam Agee
Produced by	Stephen Afendoulis,Matt Cook,Janna Daniel,Troy Duhon,Andy Fraser,Gary Lewis,Shelly Newman,Jeremy Page,Katie Politanoff,Dustin Solomon,Edgar Struble,Tracy Thomas
Music by	Will Musser
Cinematography by	Philip Roy
Film Editing by	Jesse Daniel
Casting By	Pam Dixon
Production Design by	James R. Cunningham
Art Direction by	Jeff Staebler
Costume Design by	Susan Barnard
Makeup Department	John Bailey,Brittany Carter,Brittany Cartwright,Jessica Moss,Pavy Olivarez,Keleigh Palladino
Production Management	Eddie Rubin
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director	Jordan Champine,Joth Riggs,Kaelin Stockwell,Thomas Zellen
Art Department	Brian De Young,Jen Horling,Bethany Horning,Sean Johnston,Trevor Post,Emily B. Taylor,Amber Tittle,Dan Tooman
Sound Department	Trip Brock,Rob Embrey,K. Joshua Fernberg,Caleb Hollenback,Alexander Jongbloed,Randy Lawson,Jordan McClain,Dustin Pero,Sasa Slogar,Brett Sorensen,Bruce Stubblefield,Michael Toji,Kelly Vandever,Ben Whitver
Visual Effects by	Robert Crisp,Janna Daniel,Jesse Daniel,Les Galusha,Daniel Saldivar,Nick Siebold,Dustin Solomon,Jami Solomon
Stunts	Ele Bardha,Bradford Fanfalone,James Fierro,Mike Fierro,Dan Lemieux,Kelli Victoria Scarangello,Terry Van Haitsma,Rikki VanHorssen
Camera and Electrical Department	Sebastian Boada,Jordan Bradley,Joshua Robert Coté,Shawn Cragin,Lyndsay Cwiertniewicz,Tommy Daguanno,Brad Fanfalone,Josh Ficken,Corey Gipperich,Jonathon Gray,Chad Ice,Sloan Inns,Dan Irving,Henry Bourne Joy IV,Bryan Kimbel,Christopher Mcleod,Anton Miasnikov,Chris Miller,Lance Mokma,Ryan Moran,Sean Mouton,Bryan Papierski,Matthew Poertner,Marc-Antoine Serou,George Sharick,Scott Smith,Cory James Taylor,Jeff Urbanowicz
Casting Department	Mary Louise Gemmill,Sabrina Petkus,Bernie Van De Yacht
Costume and Wardrobe Department	Christine Engwall,Leanna Engwall,Casey Granada,Carly Heathcote,Jane Scott
Editorial Department	Janna Daniel,Griffith Davies,Nicholas Lareau,Dustin Solomon,Brandee Wyse
Location Management	Alex Keson,Scott G. Sanders
Music Department	Kyle Garber
Script and Continuity Department	Ben Barker
Transportation Department	Vincent Smiertelny II
Additional Crew	Shiro Akehi,Lisa Alfelt,Michael Barnes,Taylor Bouwens,Kendra Brooks,Kara Bunbury,Decarlo Burris,Kurt Delia,Judy Diethelm,Michelle Erffmeyer,Andrew Furstenberg,Susan Haley,Molly Hebeler,Diane Howard,Angela Johnson,Mara Jones,Emory Maginnis,Josiah March,Danni McClellan,Megan O Brien,Brandon Patterson,Ken Price,Lupe Rangel,Sheena Ross,Vickie Smith,Matthew Smutek,Ryan Stinson,Tamaryn Tobian,Lily Tong
Genres	Drama, Family, Romance
Companies	10 West Studios, A Really Good Home Pictures
Countries	USA
Languages	English
ContentRating	PG
ImDbRating	5.6
ImDbRatingVotes	1105
MetacriticRating	31
Keywords	five word title,loss of faith,afghanistan war,foreclosure,pawning one's wedding ring