Elijah Peel (Robert Malcolm Cumming) is a rock superstar who fills stadiums, but with fame also comes a party hard lifestyle. He lives life on the edge, is constantly self-destructive, and seems to be trying to kill himself. It’s just hours before Eli is supposed to be at the stadium doing his soundcheck, and manager Rock Diamond (Kevin Sorbo) is losing his patience. Once again Eli is drunk, high or both, and can barely function. Before they head out, Eli takes one more bump of cocaine for the road, and once they arrive at the venue, he collapses and has a heart attack, ending up in the ICU. There he meets a young cancer patient named Jessica Sanchez (Evelyn Grace Kite), who starts to question him about his faith and belief in God. He decides he wants to change things and turn his life around, but can he really do it? He also wants to change his music to be more faith-based, but will his fans, agent and record label accept it?

There have been many similar addiction recovery movies over the years, some with religious slants and some without, but Elijah Peel is not one I would be likely to watch again. There was no aspect of this film that really got me excited or inspired. Elijah Peel starts off as this very unlikeable person who just parties hard and is a nuisance. Even his only true friend, his agent Rock, is getting tired of his antics. In the hospital he meets this inspiring young girl Jessica who is dying. She challenges his thoughts about God, Jesus and religion in a way that no one else has. He starts to have this spiritual awakening, and decides to go in a different direction for his new album, with faith-based music. This spiritual revelation never really feels earned, and there never seems to be this big change in the character. From the moment Eli wakes up in the hospital, he already feels like a much more normal and stable person, even before he speaks with Jessica. And as for the music, we never really get to hear what his music is like before he decided to make this big change, and his new faith-based music isn’t even very remarkable or memorable. It feels very generic.

Another thing that didn’t quite work for me is this friendship between Elijah and Jessica. It could have been really fun and inspiring. They both have something to offer the other. Jessica is dying, but Eli has this way of injecting happiness into her life, and so her mother Maria (April Billingsley) agrees to allow Eli to keep in contact with Jessica. And Jessica finds ways to challenge Eli (though the religious stuff feels very forced and out of nowhere). However due to a scene early on, this relationship ends up feeling a bit creepy. After they first meet, Eli sends Rock off to get this little girl’s number, in the same way he would normally go off to get some adult woman’s number for Eli to hook up with. While this is meant to be a joke, it was also stuck in my mind anytime this little girl is off in Eli’s room or vice versa with no parent around.

The film does have some fun moments, such as when Eli tries to resist temptation while selecting his new personal nurse, resulting in nurse Hattie (Princess Elmore), who also ends up assisting in his spiritual journey.

Disciples Moonlight/Alliance Home Entertainment have released Elijah Peel on DVD & Digital. We were sent a copy of the DVD release for review. The video presentation generally looks quite good, with a clean, detailed picture, and a solid audio track that provides clear dialogue an an immersive ambiance throughout.

The disc comes packed in a standard DVD keepcase, without a slipcover. The disc is barebones, with no bonus material, and no digital copy is included.

What’s Included:

Film: (1:47:36)

Blu-ray:
• 480i / Anamorphic Widescreen 2.39:1
• Audio: English 5.1 Dolby Digital
• Subtitles: English SDH

Extras:

There is no bonus material included.

Final Thoughts:

Elijah Peel is a pretty lackluster addiction recovery movie. The character seems to go through an instant change in the first 15 minutes rather than a gradual change that must be worked at over the course of the movie. The religious aspects also feel quite forced and out of the blue. And for the main character being a music superstar, there aren’t really any memorable songs or performances. The DVD release looks and sounds solid for fans of the movie, but it’s not one I’d likely ever watch a second time.