“Letters to God” Gets Warm Reception in Nashville, Opens Nationwide Today

If you want to find a movie filled with cheating spouses, spoiled rich kids, gratuitous violence or America-hating vitriol, you don’t have to look far—they’re out there. But if you’re one of the many people longing to be inspired, uplifted and moved by a movie the entire family can see, the pickin’s these days are pretty slim. Thankfully, there’s Letters to God, a film based on a true story about 8-year-old Tyler Doughtie, who was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive brain tumor in 2003 and courageously battled the disease while offering daily prayers—in the form of letters to God. And, while the focal point is surely Tyler’s ongoing struggle, subplots illustrate both the sweetness and cruelty of some of Tyler’s young friends, the struggle his older brother has between wanting his young sibling to be well and resenting all the attention illness brings to Tyler, and the redemptive power in Tyler’s letters—especially for Brady, a mail carrier who finds that reading Tyler’s letters helps him pull his own shattered life together. The entire cast is excellent, but special kudos have to go to Tanner Maguire, as Tyler, and Bailee Madison, as Sam, the precocious girl next door. She very nearly steals the show with her infectious smile and totally believable tears. She’s a joy to watch. The film opens nationwide today, following a red carpet premiere two nights ago in Nashville. The movie took on an added significance to some in the Music City audience because of the inclusion of powerful songs by Nashville’s Rascal Flatts (“My Wish”) and The Warren Brothers (“Dear Mr. God”). And pre-screening comments by Tyler’s dad, Patrick Doughtie, who wrote the original script and co-directed the picture, were both appropriate and moving. The screening was a benefit for the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt University. For more information, go to patrickdoughtie.com. And while you’re there, you might want to order a wristband created for Tyler. It’s blue, for his favorite color, and gold, for childhood cancer, and on one side says, “John 3:16—Believe” and on the other, simply, “Love, Tyler.”—David Scarlett

Contact: dscarlett@nashville.com or jerry@nashville.com