Love, Kennedy(2017)

Purdie Distribution

PG
Rated PG for thematic elements
1h 32m
- Drama

Release Date: Jun 2, 2017 | Limited

A teenage girl copes with her diagnosis of terminal juvenile Batten Disease.

Releases

Original Release | Jun 2, 2017

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Box Office Results

Results

Opening Weekend US & Canada:
$45,285
Total US & Canada:
$407,871
Total Worldwide:
$407,871

Current Showtimes

Your Location or

(U.S. Only)

Director & Top Cast

T.C. Christensen
Director

Jasen Wade
Jason Hansen

Heather Beers
Actor

Tatum Chiniquy
Kennedy Hansen

Scarlett Hazen
Young Kennedy

Eliza de Azevedo Brown
Young Anna

Brennin Williams

Beau Hansen

Yvonne D Bennett

Actor

Tony Hill

Dr. Scott Weaver

Bailee Michelle Johnson

Jordyn Chandler

Shona Kay

Actor

Danna Louisa

Amber Hartman Wilson

Chloe Oloren

Emily

Nathan Osmond

Bishop Nye

Trinity Roberts

Charlee Nelson

Kalvin Stinger

Jaden Loftus

Paris Warner

Jaden Loftus

Nanci Wudel

Parent

Other Details

Country of Origin: United States

Language: English

Summaries

Plot Summary

In this fact-based movie set in Utah, Jason Hansen tells about a dream he had. He met the most beautiful woman, and then he saw the cutest little girl ever. and the dream comes true. Jason occasionally narrates the movie.Kennedy is a cute little girl but somewhat naughty. Jason and Heather have another little girl Anna, and both little girls are buckled in their seats in the SUV as their mother has to go in the house. Kennedy gets in the driver's seat despite her younger sister's protests and backs the SUV down the driveway. Heather comes out and sees the SUV in the street.Kennedy also enjoys riding in the pickup truck with her father. And she likes boys, sending a message to one she likes.Kennedy plays on a soccer team and one of the girls on the opposing team is a bully. Her father yells at the referees to call foul, but nothing happens. Kennedy thinks the girl just needs love. Then the girl gets hurt and Kennedy runs out to her. At last, her dad thinks, she's going to give the girl a piece of her mind. No, Kennedy asks if the girl is all right and hugs her.Nine years later Kennedy (sometimes called Dee Dee) still plays soccer. She falls but doesn't seem too concerned. One day her mother gets a call because Kennedy has really gotten hurt. After being checked out further, Kennedy has something serious wrong with her. The doctor asks if Kennedy has been hit. No, her parents respond, they don't hit her. Does anyone? Because that's the only way this could be happening.The video is speeded up as Kennedy visits one doctor after another. She even hugs one of the doctors.Finally, Kennedy's parents are given the bad news. She has Batten's Disease which will make her go blind and cause her to lose motor skills. It will also cause seizures. There is no cure.The family meets Charlee, who also has Batten's Disease. Charlee hasn't spoken. When she meets the very loving Kennedy, she speaks again.Kennedy believes Jesus will heal her, even if that means calling her home. As she begins to go downhill, she keeps a positive attitude.Where did this come from? In a flashback, Heather recalls that her mother Mona died when she was young and the family received a noisy rocker that Mona used to rock Heather. Kennedy was rocked in this very rocker. One night, Kennedy cried but Heather heard the rocker and Kennedy had stopped crying. The next day Heather mentioned this to Jason, who said he didn't rock Kennedy. If he didn't, who did? Kennedy says it was her grandmother.Kennedy's behavior annoys her younger brother Beau, but the behavior and Beau's reaction is of course completely normal.Before she loses her sight completely, Kennedy is in the truck with her father, enjoying one of their rides together. she wants to drive. And when her father is in a store, she does, just briefly. Kennedy attends Fremont High School and meets Jordyn, who is very accepting, and makes other friends.One day her parents give her a cane and Kennedy acts like she doesn't understand. Then she laughs and says she was only kidding.Jason has Kennedy give her testimony in a church group.Kennedy wants to go to a dance, but when she is invited, she won't go. She is afraid none of the boys will want to dance with her, There is another dance and Kennedy goes but won't leave the kitchen. Her father brings her out on the dance floor but soon many boys want to dance with her.Jason feels he is being told to bring Kennedy to a football game. Kennedy has pretended to be a cheerleader. at the game, Kennedy is very enthusiastic, and eventually she goes out onto the field with her cane. The cheerleaders invite her to join them. Eventually she becomes an official member of the team, with a uniform and everything.The cheerleaders perform for an audience, including Kennedy's family. A woman behind them wonders why this one girl can't keep up with the others. Afterward, Jason calmly explains, without being critical, that Kennedy is doing her best.At a game, one of the cheerleaders is hurt. Kennedy says they should pray and invites Lexi to lead the prayer. Lexi's father thinks people shouldn't be praying at a public school event.The cheer coach is annoyed when the girls aren't taking practice seriously and she asks them all to explain what is more important. Some of the girls have good reasons for being distracted. Others are just shallow, with problems in their lives that aren't really problems. When Kennedy is asked what her challenges are, she says she doesn't have any. These words have a profound effect on the girls.Kennedy does get to date a boy, who later goes on to be a Mormon missionary.Jason helps a class of young men in which one of them has doubts.At long last, Kennedy can do very little, yet she still performs with the cheerleaders in a wheelchair.One night, the cheerleaders all come over and spend time with Kennedy, who can only communicate by squeezing someone's hand in response to a question that can be answered with a "yes" or "no". Is she scared? No. Is her boyfriend hot? Yes.The moment has finally arrived and dressed for a funeral, Jason says appropriate words. Kennedy was only 16.A few months later a pair of Mormon missionaries approaches a house. The elder knows the man living there will reject them. The trainee is frustrated that the elder won't be more helpful.The Velasquez family invites the Hansens over. Lexi has a story. It seems Kennedy was able to speak one word the last time she and the other cheerleaders visited. Later that night, Lexi cried and cried, and she felt like someone was sitting on the bed she couldn't see. She says she was told her father needed to listen to a message from missionaries. Then she saw Kennedy, and then she didn't. Her parents told her about Kennedy's death, but she said she knew.The missionaries are shown again in a flashback. Lexi's father isn't home but they are told he was a church member but something happened that made him angry at God. This does not bother the missionaries and when the father does show up, He is reluctant to listen but the men are very patient and have a message he will accept.Back in the present, the Hansens are told the father has pancreatic cancer, but he listened to the missionaries and is once again in a right relationship with God.Narrating once again, Jason says when Kennedy was very young, He was told Jesus needed her and would have to take her someday. He tells how many thousands were touched by her story.During the credits, actual footage of the real people portrayed in the movie is shown, as well as interviews with some of them and others who were touched by Kennedy's life. Also shown are others with Batten's Disease.

Storyline

Kennedy Hansen, a funny, loving child, inexplicably begins to fall. It takes years for the diagnosis: Juvenile Batten Disease, an extremely rare, terrible, and terminal prognosis. There is no cure for Batten Disease, and after living only 16 years, Kennedy leaves behind a great legacy of love and friendship. But her story doesn't end at her death; that's when the miracles really begin. Based on a true story.