The Private Screening of 'Sketch' at Our House

We had a blast!

Comedian, Patton Oswalt, once said that the day his wife died was the second worst day of his life. The day after his wife died was the worst day of his life, because it was the day he had to tell his daughter that her mother had died. As awful and weighty as that was, it was said during Oswalt’s Netflix comedy special. That’s right, it was a bit in his stand-up routine.

In this life, suffering is impossible to avoid. Pain and sorrow will paint every aspect of our lives, but we worship a gracious God who also gives us comedy. And sometimes comedy becomes a supernatural weapon against the pain and suffering we encounter.

This is an aspect of the movie, Sketch, that I really appreciated.

A little over two weeks ago, we hosted a couple of families to watch the private screening of the new film, Sketch. If you read this post, you’ll remember that Angel Studios was kind enough to give me a screener to watch a pre-release version of the movie.

In total, there were eight adults and ten children crammed into our living room for this unique experience. I should say that before the movie’s end, we were down to seven children because some of the younger viewers were a bit frightened, but more on that in just a bit. There was a lot of laughter, some tension and even a few poignant moments that resonated with all of us.

Here’s the official synopsis:

When a young girl’s sketchbook falls into a strange pond, her drawings come to life—unpredictable, chaotic, and dangerously real. As the town unravels, she and her brother must track down the creatures before they leave permanent damage. Their father, racing to find them through the fallout, must navigate a town in crisis to reunite his family and stop the disaster they never meant to unleash.

Seth Worley, the movie’s writer and director, said that the movie is, “Inside Out meets Jurassic Park.” I definitely saw those parallels, but I might also throw in some Stranger Things and Goonies vibes as well.

Adults in a Kid’s Movie

One of the strongest aspects of, Sketch, are the adult characters. Not only are the performances of Tony Hale and D’Arcy Carden as funny as they are genuine, they aren’t portrayed as buffoons. Many movies of this genre can take some cheap shots at adults, but this movie doesn’t. In fact, most of the adult characters display empathy, kindness and an overall demeanor of care; which are sometimes lacking in movies aimed at children.

To go farther, the adult and child actors (who are also excellent) share almost the same amount of screen time. The children have a bit more, but it’s fairly comparable and that can be a rarity of this genre. This is due in part to the fact that viewers care just as much about the adults as they do the children - both narratives are equally compelling.

Although the adults are painted in a positive light, that doesn’t mean they’re without flaws but even those endear us to them. Without getting into too many spoilers, Taylor Wyatt (Hale) understands that he hasn’t helped his family grieve in a way that’s healthy and displays humility as he takes ownership of that. Not only does this scene show the importance of adults modeling repentance, it also displays the vital role parents play in the grieving process.

Pain and Suffering in a Comedy

As mentioned in the intro, this is a family comedy that deals with weighty subjects like death, trauma and grief. Agree or disagree with some of the movie’s conclusions about how we deal with pain and suffering, Sketch sends a clear message that pain must be dealt with. It cannot be swept under the rug, it cannot be ignored, it must be processed.

On discussing the topic of pain and suffering, Tim Keller says, “There is a purpose to [pain], and if faced rightly, it can drive us like a nail deep into the love of God…”¹ [emphasis mine]. Sketch illustrates the right and wrong way to rightly face pain without being overly prescriptive. In other words, grief is going to be processed differently from person-to-person but it must be processed, not ignored.

Along these lines, Taylor’s sister, Liz (Carden), also turns in a great performance of a sibling seeking to walk her brother through his grief. One aspect of grief we often don’t want to admit is that grieving people can sometimes feel burdensome. Walking with someone through grief can test our patience, and we see this displayed through Liz’s character as she seeks to be empathetic to her brother. There are times when Liz challenges Taylor and times when she needs to listen. Whatever the context, their relationship is a strong aspect of the movie.

A Horror Movie for Kids?

I’ve said a lot about the adult actors but I would be remiss if I didn’t also highlight the excellent performances of the children. Bianca Bell and Kue Lawrence are the two primary roles, but Kalon Cox adds some fun to the trio as he joins the adventure.

This is clearly a children’s movie that’s silly and comedic, but that doesn’t mean it’s absent of tense moments. It’s a fantasy/adventure, but I’ve heard someone label it as ‘children’s horror’. I think the word ‘horror’ would send the wrong message to parents, since the movie is a fun, family comedy. That said, there are a handful of scenes that are pretty scary for children.

One character was even frightening to the adults in the room and there is one scene in particular that even pushes the boundaries of the PG-rating. As mentioned, the movie is more comedy than anything else, so I don’t want to steer families away from this movie. At the same time, I also want to give some caution because sensitive viewers would definitely be a little frightened by some aspects of the movie.

If you’ve been a reader of this newsletter, you will know that I actually encourage parents to push the envelop a bit when it comes to showing our children scary movies. Fear is foundational to our humanity as we live life in a broken world. Even most animated movies contain fearful moments, and I believe those serve as good opportunities we should help our children process. Sketch contains a handful of scenes that will provide those opportunities to process fear, as well as the aforementioned trauma associated with grief.

Sketch releases on August 6, and I hope many families take the time to see this one in the theaters. It truly is a movie the entire family can enjoy. Our family has children that range from 9 to 18 and all of them, including the adults, had a good time. There are a lot of laughs and thrills, but an added layer of depth that can foster good discussion.

In short, it’s a movie that displays the beauty of family, why not take yours to go celebrate that.

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1. Keller, Timothy. Walking with God through Pain and Suffering. p.30.