Product Description

Jay Austin wants to sell you a used car, but watch out! Many victims have fallen prey to his smiling face and hasty promises. Austin does everything his way until his dishonesty and manipulation are repeatedly exposed. Like many men, he becomes disgusted by the masks he wears and lies he tells. While having a classic convertible repaired, Austin begins a humorous and inspiring journey to win back the hearts of his wife, his son, and his community. In every man's life, there can be a turning point. When Jay Austin makes his turn, he never looks back.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1118 in DVD
• Brand: Sony
• Released on: 2007-11-13
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Director's Cut, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, French, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 120 minutes

Amazon.com
Flywheel is the first film from the creators of Facing the Giants and Fireproof. Used car salesman Jay Austin (writer/director Alex Kendrick) swindles his customers and teaches his assistant salesmen to do the same--but despite the profits, something gnaws at him. When he realizes that his own son doesn't respect him, Austin has a conversion and accepts God into his life. This would be the end of most spiritual stories, but Flywheel finds a warm comedy in the obstacles on the path of righteousness; Austin discovers that being right with God means grappling every day with what it means to be honest. Though the filmmaking is raw (the editing is often clumsy and the cinematography is flat), the story is well-paced, has a gently ironic sense of humor, and Kendrick's central performance is compelling. Kendrick is just as persuasive as a man struggling to emerge from a joyless life as he is when he's rediscovered his faith but finds it constantly tested. Though Flywheel is forthright about its Christian inspiration, the story is about actually living a moral life, not about abstract spiritual truths. The result is a movie that looks towards heaven, but has its feet on the earth. --Bret Fetzer

Customer Reviews

Great spirtual film from "Facing the Giants" creator
For those who enjoyed "Facing the Giants," this is an earlier production made by the same Georgia church on a shoestring budget -- but still well done. This is the moving (and sometimes funny) story of a cheating, morally bankrupt car dealer who is behind on his bills. A spiritual experience leads him to re-evaluate his dealings in surprisingly different ways. Like "Giants," this film is better than you would expect considering the budget and is proof you don't need millions to entertain or move people. Film was run at Georgia area movie theater and shocked the church with the attendance, which prompted longer and wider play in the theater's chain. Obviously, success of "Giants" appears to be prompting a national release of this film by Sony, but that's a good move. I was looking for an older DVD, but I'll wait for the new release.

Great Movie!
Flywheel is one of the earlier movies from the folks who did "Against The Giants". Although it obviously has a little less of the "big picture polish" that Giants had (something that Alex Kendrick admits at the start of the movie), the Christ-centered message is just as strong. Many of the same actors star in this movie as well - including the actress who plays the wife in Giants in a short background cameo at the end of the movie. Not being a salesman, I can only imagine the pressures that are placed on these people to wring every last cent out of a customer - a hard field for a Christian to shine in. I especially enjoyed the end of the movie - although I don't want to give it away. Great movie!

The Establishment of a Ministry
After seeing "Facing the Giants," then going to the theater to see "Fireproof," and subsequently also buying that DVD; I had to also see the initial effort by the Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia.

The intent of this movie was to be a ministry outreach to their community, and the goal was to show it in a local theater for one night. It ended up being shown for weeks, being shown elsewhere, and then released on DVD. Its success led to the production of the two later projects.

If you are going to judge it alongside Hollywood productions- yes, the quality is not on the same level; yes, the writing is not on the same level; yes, the acting is not on the same level; and yes, the production values are not on the same level. But, it's still not bad- especially for a first-time effort by a group of amateurs. And believe me, I've seen plenty of larger-budget movies by Hollywood professionals that were much worse.

You have to realize, that although the intent of this movie is to entertain; the heart of it is to minister. At the time when Mel Gibson's "Passion of the Christ" was released and became a blockbuster, and more religious-themed movies began being to be produced, it was said that the movie theater was becoming the new church. Let's face it, the past efforts of Christian movies, produced by Christians, have left a lot to be desired. But with "Flywheel" the bar was raised.

As a Christian, knowing that this is a message movie, I watched it with "spiritual" eyes, so I was able to overlook its inadequacies. There is such an anointing on this movie, and it is very apparent that the Sherwood Baptist Church is yearning to bring glory to God, and to lift up Christ.

Even so, I don't believe it will turn-off non-Christians, because it isn't preachy. The Godly values that the movie portrays is really just a demonstration of ethical living and doing the right thing. The movie is a witnessing tool, because it shows that you can preach a better message with your life, and not just your lips. In other words, actions speak louder than words.

The goal for any Christian is to live a Godly life, and although many times we fall short, God's grace is sufficient. It's not about religion- it's about relationship. The movie shows what happen when we reach out to our Heavenly Father and are sensitive to what's in His heart. It's not about us. This movie shows what happen when we put aside what we want in order to do what God wants.

We sing for God to Bless America, but why would He, if we're not willing to bless God in word and deed. The Sherwood Baptist Church is doing that with "Flywheel" and continue to do so with "Facing the Giants" and "Fireproof." If you're a Christian and you haven't seen all of these movies- you need to. Not only for the simple fact that they will bless you- but also to support this ministry. If you're not a Christian- these movies offer a practical demonstration of how God wants to work in our lives and our hearts, and how He wants to interact with us in a very real way.