Netflix’s A Week Away is now on Netflix and it feels like a Disney Channel Original Movie with a religious twist.
I feel like I need to preface this review with the fact that I am not a religious person. I say this because yes, this is a religious movie, but that is only a part of it. A Week Away is very much a teen/tween movie, and it gave me some serious Disney Channel Original Movie vibes with the songs and the story. A bit predictable, but a really fun watch, that had me hooked from the start.
Like I said above, I am not a religious person, and pretty much all of the songs have a religious spin on them, but they are still ridiculously catchy and I found myself singing and dancing along a lot more times than I care to admit. This movie is charming and wholesome — and I found myself really, truly, enjoying it.
A Week Away focuses on the story of a troubled teen who has the choice to go to juvie, or a Christian summer camp. Of course he chooses the camp, even though it is not his cup of tea. After deciding to full on embrace his time there, he makes friends and discovers love with a fellow camper. He even has a rival camper that he butts heads with, bringing some depth to the film. The campers form teams and compete in war games, which create a lot of fun scenes. The paintball scene is one of my favorites!
The story itself is very predictable, but that doesn’t make the journey any less fun to watch. The music is catchy, the story is cute, and the cast is simply incredible. They are all extremely talented singers, dancers, and actors. I had a great time watching this movie — a lot more than I expected to since I am not a religious person.
A Week Away clocks in at just about an hour and a half, and because of that it really doesn’t drag much. Toward the middle it does go off path a bit for me, but it quickly pulled itself back around and had a great ending. I think one of the main reasons it slowed down for me is because I found it to be so predictable.
During the first song and dance I truly thought these moments were going to get old, but it was just the opposite. They were one of the best parts of the movie, and I had a lot of fun watching these talented actors perform and do what they do best. Some of them do get a bit too “churchy” for me, but they didn’t ruin the movie for me. I was able to look past that and take this movie for what it is — a cute teen movie.
Of course A Week Away teaches some great lessons about being true to yourself, trusting others to not judge a book by the cover, and finding where you belong in the world. This is one that I will happily watch again with my young daughters. As a total Star Wars nerd, I love the several references to the franchise as well! This is very clearly a movie created for tweens and teens, and I think it is one that everyone will enjoy, no matter what level of religious they are.
Overall A Week Away is a cute teen/tween movie with catchy songs that might lean a little bit too hard into the religious aspect — but that was too be expected.
About A Week Away
Troubled teen Will Hawkins (Quinn) has a run-in with the law that puts him at an important crossroad: go to juvenile detention or attend a Christian summer camp. At first a fish-out-of-water, Will opens his heart, discovers love with a camp regular (Madison), and sense of belonging in the last place he expected to find it.
A Week Away is available to watch on Netflix now!
