Conversations with God: Cliche and Boring

I feel that we need to see more movies of a spiritual nature, especially during these times of war, and rumors of war. Unfortunately, several of them, as is the case with "Conversations with God", are missing the mark in one way or another. This film version of the world wide book series, "Conversations with God" by Neale Donald Waltch, tends to find itself caught up in several over-used cliches, bad directing, and one of the worst screen beards I've seen in a long time. At first I thought I was watching a sketch on "Mad TV". 

The film is about Neale Donald Waltch's rise from the ashes, as his life had gone down the tubes up till the time he was in his early fifties. The film doesn't mention it, but he had been married six times, and he couldn't hold down a job.  In the film the first forty minutes cover a downtrodden Neale who is in a car accident and breaks his neck. He loses his job, his family, and is self-worth. He then ventures to a type of park for the homeless where he resides for awhile till he can figure out where his life is going. 

After landing a job at a Radio Station, which is work he had done in the past, the station closes down due to budgetary problems, and he is back on that spiral, not knowing where his next meal will come from. In a dejected, depressed state he starts writing to God. The pen pretty much takes control and he writes the first book, which is published, and then eventually picked up by a larger publisher, and goes world wide. 

Although I found the books to be incredible, the story put to film, was less than satisfactory. As mentioned, the Director, Stephen Simon, of "What Dreams May Come" with Robin Williams, another movie that was way off the sap meter, gave us something that didn't ring true, and instead dragged, and made the actor Henry Czerny appear to be less than likeable. Simon's over-use of sunsets and dream sequence flashbacks covered every possible cliche known to mankind. 

Eric DeLabarre's screenplay I feel was probably adequate as I can't imagine trying to adapt that book into three Acts. Unfortunely, the directing was so heavy handed, that we will never know.