At the End of the Day (2018) User Reviews

Interesting

[BandSAboutMovies · 7/10 · 13 February 2019]

A conservative Christian professor discovers a profound change when he finds himself implanted as a spy in a gay support group with the goal of stopping their plans to open an LGBTQ youth shelter in a small town. Yes, this isn't the kind of movie we usually cover, but that doesn't mean that it isn't interesting.

After losing both his wife and counseling practice, 32-year-old Dave Hopper retreats back to his Christian college alma mater and a part-time job teaching.

The college's growth plans have been stopped by a gay support group who wants to open an LGBT homeless teen shelter in a space the college wants to move into. The dean offers Dave a full-time tenure if he can stop them from gaining the property.

Now, Dave is face-to-face with the people he's been counseling against for his entire life. But now that he's meeting the actual people - and not just the idea - his theory of "love the sinner, hate the sin" gets challenged.

I really liked the idea that everyone in the support group instantly saw through Dave, realizing that he wasn't gay, but embracing him anyway. This is a touching yet funny insight into people who yearn to be closer to God and a faith that wants to keep them away.

Writer/director Kevin O'Brien said, "It is my hope that At the End of the Day can bring healing to many who have been harmed, encouragement to those who have been doing the hard work of equality, and an opportunity for others to question their black-and-white worldview."

Wishful but not reality

[alanw-88801 · 6/10 · 6 March 2019]

Predictable movie of course but the real problem is that none of this can happen, the religious are so high and mighty about their lot no one would give this group a second look. I sympathise with people who are gay and abhor the despicable bile that religious zealots impose on others to toe the line but as long as religion exists, this will be the norm. It's a hopeful movie but I would have preferred it featured someone who was maybe a bit blinkered and biased from a different upbringing to make it more real than a supposed bible chained crony who sees the light.

It gets points for trying

[robtyrrell-98607 · 5/10 · 4 April 2024]

If you're going to watch this movie, remember that it's a small indie flick. Because it looks like it.

As an indie flick, you can expect the usual small-budget issues of bad music, mediocre script and inconsistent acting. Dialogue is occasionally cringeworthy and while the lead actor is definitely nice to look at, as someone once said, he has the acting range from A to B. Plot and character development also sometimes leave a lot to be desired.

On the plus side, however, the film's message and heart are in the right place. I can think of a few million holier-than-thou "Christians" who should be strapped into a chair and forced to watch this movie all the way through. If it makes at least one of them get off their soapbox about gay people, then mission accomplished.

Surprisingly well made

[Gordon-11 · 5 May 2020]

This film is surprisingly well made. From the scene composition, costumes, sets and camera work, you can tell they have a healthy budget. The story is fun and light hearted enough to entertain, despite the very heavy topic.

Kind of bland. Undeserved reconciliation.

[Emptylord · 4/10 · 27 May 2019]

Act 1 never established the main character as being religious. He was set-up as being a depressed divorcee who's in a financial rut, who gets offered a job by someone who's presented to be a family/personal-friend and, due to his financial problems and his employer being a friend, agrees to perform some espionage to improve his financial status.

I knew nothing about the film other than I got it from a gay film distributor, and so when he asked his boss "did you know?" I honestly thought the main character was gay and that his boss had just tricked him into joining a support group. Alas, apparently the main character wasn't gay and the "new campus" plot device was real and so we continue with the espionage.

We then get our first scene of the main character actually teaching and we then learn this is a religious school that pushes anti-gay narratives, but the main character never seems to believe a word he's saying - and since we know he only got the job out of desperation, we have no reason to believe he believes a word he's saying. Nate, his student and antithesis, seems to actively enjoy tormenting his wayward professor and so I assumed this was all in jest. It wasn't until the conflict in Act 2 that apparently the obviously depressed and dispassionate main character was apparently taken seriously for everything he's said.

This isn't so bad, but then the resolution to the conflict is only resolved due to the white straight guy's rich aunt dying and leaving him a sufficient amount of money to make a big financial gesture "in apology".

Painfully cheesy

[stuartho-67386 · 4/10 · 14 June 2021]

If this was a maple tree it would run out of sap. So much stereotypical LGBTQ issues and church homophobic issues I wanted to fast forward but held off. The best part of the film was the back story to one of the characters at 1:30hr into the film. The main character should have been gay, but then that would have made it even more predictable. The subject of the ending of the film was good.

The subject matter of the film is good, the writing and cheesy acting made it almost unbearable. The cinematography is better than many low budget films.

Well made!

[regan-jerrine · 9/10 · 26 March 2019]

I enjoyed this film and the information it shares. The characters were interesting and made me care about them. I thought the storyline was realistic. It's hard to believe people kick out their own children just because they say they are gay, but I know it happens.

Low budget rubbish!

[qui_j · 1/10 · 24 December 2020]

Really tried to get through this as I thought the topic an interesting one. However, the poor acting, low quality script and amateurish production level all conspired against that. Where do the streaming sites find these poor quality productions?

Love

[tenntreefrog · 10/10 · 25 April 2019]

A film that emphasizes love for you neighbor and show the impact a life filled with loving those around you with quiet joy should be watched by as many people as possible. We all need to remember to love.

Homophobic crap

[davestirling · 1/10 · 5 April 2021]

It's been some time since I felt a movie was offensive. In the first half hour one is inundated with stereotypes of what it is to be gay.

Like with many movies lately; it's an hour and a half of my life I will never get back.

not even stale, wannabe homophobic, but it isn't...wannabe religious but it isn't, wannabe smart...but it isn't.

[igorsafradin · 1/10 · 21 March 2019]

I watched it because on the site where I got it it had 9.3 stars, and it said it's a comedy... I've almost seen the whole movie, what a waste of time.

Funny, dramatic and surreal

[sreveopicard · 10/10 · 8 October 2018]

This movie is much more than a movie. It is story that so many of us have lived and suffered. We gives hope and insures love will always win. I encourage anyone and everyone to see it, especially for the young ones of the LGBTQ community. It will give them hope and help them feel like they are not alone and have a voice.

great movie

[Reinier_S · 10/10 · 2 July 2021]

This is a great movie that should be seen by more people. It shows a story that could happen everywhere. Love is Love.

lgbtq are a difficult genre

[ops-52535 · 9/10 · 6 March 2019]

When i was 6 i went to billund, legoland, denmark, and when i visited the indian village i got a headband with a feather attached, and everytime i see the photo of me, and connect this with my dad saying''take it of''- ive come to the conclusion i had just been to a gay camp, because the headband were rainbow colored....well that was an attempt to make a joke, its historicly correct,the conclusion is wrong but it was rainbow coloured.....

Through the years there has been made a lot of lgbtq-inspired movies, some great,some bad. what impresses me most in this film is at the end of the day there are really nothing to worry about. i'm not gay, i dont have gay friends, but ive had working mates who are lesbians and gays, and i know a lot of people who are, so what? be the one you are, and try the best you can to find your own community, just like in this wonderful movie. dont make a mess with the church, im sure the holy spirit that has blown light into our sole doesnt care either your gay or streit. it really doesnt matter, what you love will in 99% of the cases love you back. that was the dwelling at the end of the day from me.......

i liked the spirit of this production, even though there are espionage and some real pastorial thunder preaching against the lgbtq- society. the acting are good all over, the witt and fizzy kinda humour makes you more than smile, and in the end the grumpy old man had big trouble to hold the levee of tears back.

the filmography and its narrative use are surprisingly good in this i guess low cost production, the importance of focus pulling have been well taken care of and boosts the real feel and message of the story. though some minor flaws it is a very good film.

so what shall i say, its much more than just a movie, its a consciensous flick of everyday life of many people, and should be considered as a cult classic in the years to come. i think the lgbtq society will always fight against religion, and that wont change until the holy books are rewritten and thouroughly modified. wonders has happened the past 40 years, when gay people were padlocked in their closets, youll never know, in 40 yrs people may not even read written books any more,and you can use the opportunities on the internet to write a new holy book for the ''expelled'' people in sosciety. there are hope i think......

a very nice and cuddling production, highly recommendable says the grumpy old man.

Rewrite a reality

[srdison · 10/10 · 10 August 2020]

This is very well done, has a strong story, and deals with a subject that does not get enough light. We should support each other no matter who they are, even gay people can shut out straight people due to bias and vice versa. This shows how we can re-look at each other and improve ourselves. In the world we live today, we should all realize, ALL LIFE MATTERS, no matter who's. The only thing that matters is LOVE.

Great movie with a real story line

[briano604 · 10/10 · 2 January 2021]

I was really impressed with this movie. Love seeing the characters beliefs transition, through the simple phrase binding it al, love. Well done.

Important movie

[conzpiro · 10/10 · 23 July 2019]

This movie proves that you can change beliefs if you are brave enough. Really liked it.

Sweet And Well Meaning

[ladymidath · 8/10 · 13 April 2021]

Having survived the Plebiscite inflicted onto us here in Australia by a homophobic religious conservative government a few years ago, I have seen homophobia first hand. Thank god we voted in marriage equality but it was ugly and disgraceful and tarnished Australia's international reputation. Having said that, I love watching movies and tv series that depict same sex relationships and show homosexuality in a positive light. This film does that. It shows a christian professor who teaches wildly inaccurate and downright harmful information to his students, but when he infiltrates an LGBTQIA group and begins to learn about them and the gay community first hand, his internal growth begins. It's a sweet film, slow paced and gentle, and while it does have it's flaws, the acting can at times be wooden and it did get a little cliched at times, it was still a movie that conveyed a message of love and acceptance. Something we all sorely need right now.

First Timers

[splashpont · 10/10 · 15 March 2024]

While some may say that there is nothing new is revealed this film, the quality alone makes it worthwhile for all. The film is a journey--and without predictability. Important in today's climate is the lack of demonizing the other side, even though we know for whom the team behind the script cheers.

Some surprising notes from the very first scene in Dave Hopper the family counselor's office: (1) "The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha" and its use of the "New Revised Standard Version" of the Bible would never be found in a fundamentalist's library since it is a scholarly work allowing use of literary and historical criticism to help understand a contemporary translation of texts held sacred by many. (2) the calendar on the desk to the side of where Mr. Hopper is seated is a Christian calendar used by members of Episcopal churches in the USA, an LGBTQIA+ affirming and celebrating denomination where all are welcome, including all families.

If you come from a Christian background, be sure to listen for the new lyrics to some of the familiar tunes from your youth group.