Behind every documentary is a compelling story and a team of people that won't give up on telling it. Broken Mary: The Kevin Matthews Story, hitting theaters for one night only on 10/7, is no exception.
It helps that the film is about a subject who didn't give up when the going got rough. Matthews was a high-flying radio personality in Chicago, dominating the airwaves in the '80s and '90s with raucous humor and outrageous antics.
But when his industry, his career, and his health all began to fail, Matthews came across a broken statue of the Virgin Mary left near a dumpster. For the Catholic boy, she represented the brokenness of his life, and a reminder that God still loved him ... along with a path back to the faith of his childhood.
Broken Mary shows how Matthews now takes that message of, "We are all broken but we are loved by God," across the country, bringing the statue with him. He jokingly refers to himself as Mary's Roadie, the name of the second of two books he's written on the new direction in his life (the first being Broken Mary, the inspiration for the title of the film).
A great biographical film begins with a subject with a tale to tell.
One of the producers of Broken Mary is Katie Reidy (Paul, Apostle of Christ, Little Boy, The Dating Project). Interviewed by email as she prepares for the film's release, Reidy writes about what it was about Matthews'
His whole story -- from being this wild on-air radio personality and living a celebrity-type lifestyle, to then come back to the faith he was raised in, is just incredible and inspiring.
Conversion stories are the ultimate comeback stories, because it's not just about changing your life, but you begin to see things differently and live life with more understanding and purpose. It brings direction and an understanding that you did not previously have.
Kevin has that now and he is sharing it with everyone. As he says in the film “he’s happier now then he’s ever been in his life."
Matthews left behind a lot of fond memories in the Windy City. A few days ago, Chicago Tribune columnist Rick Kogan wrote about Matthews and Broken Mary.
Calling it a "terrific movie" and "handsomely produced," he writes:
Talking Sunday on the phone [to Matthews], he told me that the documentary was six years in the making, begun after a church talk on the West Coast six years ago when he was approached by two producers with the idea.
“This has never been about me,” he said Monday. “I just listened to God and allowed the filmmakers to do what they did. And they have been able to capture my message, that we are all broken and we are loved by God.”
Kogan knew Matthews back in the day, but Matthews is a newer and welcome presence in Reidy's life. Asked what's been the most rewarding part of working on the project, she writes:
My friendship with Kevin. I am so blessed by this whole experience, but the friendship with him that has evolved through all this has been a gift.
He always brings comic relief when needed. I have laughed so hard with him over the past few years, and he is also a brother in Christ, so we’ve had many deep faith-filled conversations as well.
Our friendship is rooted in Christ, so it makes the funny things funnier and the serious things more meaningful.
Of course, you don't need to know anything about Matthews' radio days to appreciate Broken Mary.
Reidy writes:
Everyone can relate to Kevin on some level because it is the universal story -- we are not perfect, we all have our faults and weaknesses, and so often we turn away from God and want to do things our way. But that often times leaves us empty.
It’s not until we turn to God that life starts to have meaning and purpose, and makes sense.
Coming from a non-Catholic Christian perspective, in a positive review, Christian media-review site Movieguide -- founded by evangelical Christian Dr. Ted Baehr -- called Broken Mary a "wholesome, redemptive movie for families," saying:
BROKEN MARY: THE KEVIN MATTHEWS STORY is an engaging, inspiring documentary that excellently captures the before and after of Kevin’s encounter with God. Kevin was a man of the world for the first decades of his life, but he now lives for a different purpose. Though his sins were great, Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross was sufficient to forgive and redeem him, something Kevin doesn’t take for granted.
Not all Christians share Catholics' deep love and appreciation for the Virgin Mary, but Reidy doesn't see that as a problem in appreciating Broken Mary -- once you understand Our Lady's purpose.
She hopes non-Catholics take away ...
The message that Our Lady only leads us to her Son. That is literally her role. She brought Christ to us, and she only wants to continue to do that.
Our own mothers are our first relationship, and who we are most intimately connected to. We spend nine months inside of our mother! Think about that. And it is what Christ did in the Blessed Mother.
She knows Him more intimately than any other living soul, and loves Him more than any other soul. And, He gave her to us as our Mother at the foot of the Cross when He told the Apostle John (a k a us) to behold your mother. To love her is to love her Son.
Broken Mary is produced by ODB Films (based about 40 miles from Chicago) and Family Theater Productions, in association with Windrider and Dynamic Catholic. Tickets for the one-night theatrical showing are on sale NOW. Click HERE.
Image: Fathom Entertainment
Kate O’Hare, a longtime entertainment journalist, is Social Media Content Manager and Blog Editor at Family Theater Productions.
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