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frankfortstationdaily.com life & arts
the frankfort station | December 26, 2019 | 15
‘Honest to God’ aims to tackle tough topics with humor
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Nuria Mathog, Editor
Frankfort filmmaker
Robert Alaniz has done it
all.
His movies have run the
gamut from horror to time
travel, but his films rooted
in faith have stood out to
him as his most personally
meaningful projects.
Alaniz’s latest film, “Honest
to God,” takes that
theme in a new direction:
an exploration of mortality
and what it means to be
Christian, all told through a
uniquely comedic lens.
“I’m going to stick with
what I think is where I
should be,” Alaniz said. “I
think God wants me in this
place ... It seems like the
faith-based films are the
most satisfying, not just
financially or successfully,
but to me as a person. I like
the messages and I like the
stories.”
Alaniz found inspiration
for “Honest to God”
in an unexpected way: a
health scare involving a
lump in his throat that he
feared might be cancer.
Doctors told him that the
lump could be benign, but
in the three months leading
up to a diagnosis, he spent
a lot of time worrying and
praying. In that time, he
did a lot of “stupid, crazy
things” such as counting
all of his Blu-Ray discs to
figure out which ones he
needed to watch, he said.
But the possibility of
having his life cut short left
him with serious questions,
as well. He looked back
on his time as a Christian
and began to wonder if it
was good enough. The uncertainty
of not knowing
what was coming next was
both frightening and overwhelming.
“After I was diagnosed,
Actor Gary Gow has a leading role as Daniel Adams,
a father and husband confronting his mortality, in
Frankfort director Robert Alaniz’s upcoming film
“Honest to God.” Photos submitted
it was a birth defect, and
it was a benign cyst,” Alaniz
said. “I went and had
the surgery, they removed
it. Piece of cake, like everybody
said it was going
to be. But, as I was thinking
about what I wanted
to write about for my next
movie or my next script, it
kind of came to me that,
well, everybody has to deal
with death, and I think in
every script that you write
— or at least every one that
I’ve ever written — I try to
find something that everyone
can identify with.”
“Honest to God” tells the
story of Daniel Adams, a
husband and father of two
and a nominal Christian —
in other words, as Alaniz
put it, “not a practicing
Christian, not the Christian
he should be.” Adams,
who is in his fifties, begins
experiencing chest pain
and is initially reluctant
to seek medical attention,
but he eventually agrees to
see a new doctor who has
recently opened a practice
in town. At the doctor’s office,
he is informed that he
could have a serious condition
and is instructed not to
tell his family so as not to
alarm them. He leaves the
office devastated.
“He’s like, ‘No, this
can’t be happening. Three
weeks to live? Only
three?’” Alaniz said. “And
in the meantime, while
he’s doing that, the camera
is sitting on this side of the
car, and you see him with
the driving wheel, and just
beyond, you can see the
door to the office where he
came out of, and you see a
police car pull up, and two
policemen go in. And then
another couple of seconds
go by, and the police come
out with the doctor in handcuffs,
and they throw him
in the back of the squad
[car]. And then the comedy
begins.”
Alaniz has conducted
script readings at the
Frankfort Public Library
District, and the reception
has been very positive, he
said, adding that the story
seemed to strike a chord
with several of the actors.
Production is set to begin
in 2020.
Fans of Alaniz’s past
work will recognize the
actor in the film’s leading
role: Homer Glen resident
Gary Gow, who played radio
talk show host Tandum
Dackery in Alaniz’s 2018
movie “Heavens to Betsy
2,” stars as Adams. Actor
Steve Parks, who also had
a role in “Heavens to Betsy
2” as Betsy’s personal assistant
Brian Manely, was
cast in a supporting role in
“Honest to God” as Benji
Baker, Adams’ best friend.
Another notable cast
member in the upcoming
film is Larry Thomas,
made famous for his role as
the Soup Nazi on Seinfeld.
He agreed to play Dr. Hajia,
the doctor that Gow’s
character encounters.
“He read the script, he
loved it,” Alaniz said. “He
came back to me right
away and said, ‘Yeah, I’ll
do it. Count me in.’”
While “Honest to God”
is a comedy — the catchphrase
for the film is “death
isn’t supposed to be this
funny” — it also tackles
serious topics such as one’s
relationship with God, facing
the end of one’s life and
expectations surrounding
what happens after death.
“Why do we only turn to
God when it’s bad, when
there’s something really
bad, like someone’s got
cancer or someone had
an accident?” Alaniz said.
“We should be turning
to God all the time. God
should be part of our life all
Actor Steve Parks is set to play the role of Benji Baker,
the protagonist’s best friend, in the film.
Larry Thomas, known for his role as Seinfeld’s Soup
Nazi, will star in “Honest to God” as Dr. Hajia.
the time, every day. And in
a way, it’s kind of sad that
that’s the way it goes. And
that’s part of the story.”
Alaniz said he doesn’t
know for sure yet if “Honest
to God,” his tenth feature
film, will be the last
movie he directs, but he acknowledged
the possibility
that it could be. If that turns
out to be the case, it will be
a fitting conclusion to his
film career, he said.
“I’m hoping the film
makes people think,” he
said. “It’s a strong movie
to me.”