Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

Back in 2003, the year I graduated from college, I recall spending several weeks toward the end of the summer being inundated with commercials for a new show entitled Joan of Arcadia. They showed the clip again and again: Joan (the marvelously talented Amber Tamblyn) talking to God, who is in the form of a cute teenage guy (Kris Lemche), seeking proof that He was who He claimed. "Okay," she demands, "show me a miracle." God points to a tree, to which Joan scoffs, "That's just a tree." "Let's see you make one," He replies. And in the background, they played Joan Osbourne's One of Us, whose lyrics are so appropriate for the show I would have thought it was written specifically as the theme song were I not already familiar with the song. I was intrigued enough by the idea of this modern-day Joan of Arc - well, sort of - that I made a point of watching the first episode and was quickly hooked. Too bad the show was axed after only two seasons...

Joan Girardi is a fairly ordinary teenage girl. She's moody, snarky, trying to find her place in the world. Life is confusing enough for her, especially following her older brother Kevin's (Jason Ritter) paralyzing car accident, but it's about to get much more complicated once a mysterious figure starts talking to her, peppering her with instructions and offering her own deep dark secrets as proof of His divinity. Yes, for whatever reason, God has chosen as His instrument a sullen girl with a whole lot of attitude and a lot of maturing to do. Still, she is compassionate at heart, bonding quickly with outcasts Grace (Becky Wahlstrom), an anarchic tomboy, and Adam (Chris Marquette), an eccentric artist. And in spite of all her arguments, she is ultimately obedient when God gives her a task - most of the time, anyway. Muddling the matter is the fact that God chooses to appear in many forms, so Joan is never sure at first if a random stranger who talks to her is God or just an ordinary person. This is His way of keeping Joan on her toes, and perhaps encouraging her to see the possibilities of good in everyone, from the lunch lady and the construction worker to the dog walker and the little girl in the park.

The show has an ongoing story but is fairly episodic in that each installment revolves around God giving Joan a particular assignment, though often in vague terms and rarely with any explanations attached. This is very frustrating for the headstrong teenager, who always wants to know why she is doing what she is doing, but she gradually builds up faith over the course of the first season. The show, billed to some extent as a replacement for Touched By An Angel, which had just finished its run, is dark and edgy where that popular drama was warm and fuzzy, always ending with an impassioned speech from a luminescent Monica and a life changed for the better. As such, I'm not sure how big of a crossover there actually was in the audience. Joan of Arcadia grapples with the big questions in ways that are sometimes unsettling. Joan's mother (Mary Steenburgen), for instance, grew up Catholic but hasn't attended church in years. The trauma of her son's accident has led her to become a religious seeker, but by the end of the season she still hasn't settled into any real sense of comfort. Also coming into play is the Jewish upbringings of Grace and Friedman (Aaron Himmelstein), the grating friend of Joan's nerdy little brother Luke (Michael Welch).

In many ways this is a typical high school drama. While the show sometimes focuses on Mrs. Girardi's quest for meaning, Mr. Girardi's (Joe Mantegna) duties as chief of police and Kevin's struggles to feel like a person again, the most engrossing parts of the show for me always revolve around Joan, Luke and their friends. There are the typical teen romances - geeky, overlooked Luke falling for aggressive Grace though similarly nerdy Glynis (Mageina Tovah) clearly swoons for him; sensitive Adam and Joan (who he always calls "Jane") clumsily trying to turn their friendship into something more. There are the staples of high school experience that come to the forefront in individual episodes - learning to drive, throwing a party with the parents out of town, running for school office, squaring off against a belligerent teacher. But through it all, Joan has this very intimate yet frustrating confidante who offers comfort and concern but never appears on her terms and always doles out perplexing instructions, the results of which Joan often is unable to see until much later. What she is more than anything is a catalyst, taking small steps that lead to bigger actions in the future.

There are frustrating aspects to this show, all stemming from the characters' personalities. As someone with a direct pipeline to God, I would think Joan would be a little more grateful; instead, she reserves her most sarcastic remarks for Him, rarely showing any respect. The Girardi parents battle their own demons, and both come across as rather annoying - Mom often whiny and abrasive like Debra on Everybody Loves Raymond and Dad stubborn, angry and unable to let go of old prejudices. Kevin, meanwhile, was an arrogant jock before the accident, and his personality remains rather crass, though he gradually becomes more likable over the course of the next two seasons.

Luke is my favorite of the Girardis and the center of many of the show's best moments, both comedic and touching. Soft-spoken Adam is a complete sweetheart, and tough-talking Grace's acerbic wit is a welcome addition to any show. Never mind that she looks about ten years too old for the part. I really enjoy the aspect of the show involving God's multiple forms, and the many actors who take on the portrayal all do a fine job. The vessel coincides with the purpose of the conversation; if God just wants to have a friendly chat with Joan, it's the cute guy; if it's a deep philosophical discussion, it's the little girl with the big glasses; if Joan needs a hug, it's the maternal librarian. It's unconventional and experimental, but I think it works.

What doesn't work, and I think what really spelled doom for the show that was such a hit in its first season, is the trippy finale, which breaks all the rules that the show had been operating on up to that point and shatters the suspension of disbelief the audience had so diligently built up over the course of the season along with Joan. I firmly feel that the series finale was a mis-step, too much too soon, and whether it was just for the sake of a massive twist or to take the show to another level (the second season is much darker than the first), I think it caused audiences to feel they had been betrayed, and I suspect many were significantly less interested when the next season rolled around.

Joan of Arcadia doesn't have across-the-board appeal. Some find it too blatantly religious, others borderline blasphemous. For me, however, it was a show that explored compelling spiritual and moral questions week after week and was extremely entertaining as well, so I was very sad to see it go. At least it is available on DVD, so if you didn't catch it the first time around you still have a chance to immerse yourself in its intriguing episodes. If only there had been more of them...

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD