Michael
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Michael is a 1996 fantasy comedy-drama starring John Travolta as an unconventional Archangel Michael who is discovered living with an elderly woman in Iowa. A group of tabloid reporters, including Frank Quinlan and Dorothy Winters, are dispatched to investigate this extraordinary claim. Expecting a celestial being, they instead find a beer-drinking, chain-smoking, womanizing angel with a fondness for sugar and disco dancing. The film follows their road trip to Chicago, during which Michael performs small miracles and subtly orchestrates romantic connections among the humans, ultimately influencing their lives before his time on Earth concludes. This movie is a whimsical tale that explores themes of love, faith, and redemption through an irreverent lens, targeting an adult audience with its mature themes and lighthearted, yet unorthodox, spiritual portrayal.
Things to Consider
Romance and Sexual Content
The movie features significant implied sexual activity, suggestive dancing, and mentions of a main character being a 'womanizer.' The angel Michael himself engages in implied fornication.
Michael, the archangel, 'flirts with women and has sex with one of them' and takes a female patron into his room for 'implied sex' after sensual dancing at a pie restaurant. Additionally, there is 'implied fornication' between reporters Frank Quinlan and Dorothy Winters, and an off-screen 'hanky-panky' scene involving Michael and Judge Newberg.
Substance Use
Substance use, specifically alcohol consumption and smoking, is frequently depicted and is central to the unconventional portrayal of the main character, Michael.
Anti-Christian Themes
The movie presents an unconventional and highly secularized portrayal of an archangel, which departs significantly from traditional Christian theology. While containing some positive mentions of God and fighting Satan, the film's depiction of Michael as a hedonistic, fornicating, and worldly figure is seen by Christian reviewers as undermining biblical concepts of angels and faith.
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Violence
The film contains mild instances of violence, primarily a barroom brawl and a distressing scene involving an animal. The MPAA rated the film PG partly for a mild barroom brawl.
Profanity
The film includes some instances of profanity. The MPAA rating specifically notes 'some language' as a descriptor.
Witchcraft & Occult
The film centers on the supernatural premise of an archangel existing on Earth and performing miracles. While this involves supernatural abilities, it is presented within a narrative drawing from Christian mythology rather than traditional witchcraft or occult practices.
Scary & Intense Content
The film is generally a comedy-drama, but it includes one significant intense scene involving animal death, which could be frightening or distressing, particularly for younger audiences.
Disrespect & Rebellion
The central character, Michael, exhibits significant disrespect and rebellious behavior against conventional expectations of an angel, acting boorish and irreverent. Other characters also display defiance.
LGBTQ & Gender Identity
Comprehensive searches for LGBTQ+ content, characters, and themes within the 1996 movie "Michael" yielded no specific results indicating explicit or implied LGBTQ+ representation. While broader articles about LGBTQ+ films exist, none were related to this particular movie.
The film "Michael" presents a complex and largely secularized worldview through the lens of a biblical figure, the Archangel Michael. While acknowledging Christian elements like Michael fighting Satan and being a messenger of God, the movie diverges sharply from biblical values in its portrayal of the angel. Michael is depicted as a hedonistic, chain-smoking, beer-drinking, and womanizing character, which contradicts traditional Christian understandings of angels as pure and holy beings. This depiction can be seen as promoting a relativistic morality, where even divine beings are subject to human frailties and worldly pleasures, with less emphasis on moral accountability for such behaviors. The core themes of the film revolve around love, connection, and finding one's purpose, but these are often presented without a strong foundation in biblical principles. The concept of redemption is present in Michael's mission to bring Frank and Dorothy together and his small miracles, but it's disconnected from concepts of repentance or grace through Christ. Family values are indirectly explored through the budding relationship between Frank and Dorothy, which Michael facilitates, but the portrayal of relationships is often intertwined with casual sexual encounters. Faith representation is highly unconventional; while acknowledging Michael's divine nature, the film significantly downplays or outright ignores key aspects of Christian faith, replacing them with a more humanistic and sentimental interpretation of love and purpose. This might lead to confusion regarding Christian doctrine and the true nature of angels.
Additional Context
Best For Ages
Aged 15+ due to mature themes including implied sexual content, alcohol and tobacco use, irreverent portrayal of a biblical figure, mild violence, and some profanity. The film's nuanced and unorthodox spiritual themes may be confusing or objectionable for younger viewers, particularly within a Christian framework.
Good to Know
The film's tone is largely comedic and whimsical, which may soften the impact of some of the more mature themes for some viewers. However, the juxtaposition of a sacred figure with very human vices can be a significant point of concern for Christian parents seeking biblically aligned media.
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