Watching Love Note, a 1987 Christian movie for teens that plays like an episode of Highway to Heaven, you see hints of things to come for lead actor Craig Bierko. Craig Johnson, his fast-talking salesman of a high school student, isn’t so different than Harold Hill, the slick Music Man role for which Bierko was Tony-nominated 13 years later. In Love Note, he’s simply peddling a different product than Hill—salvation.
Our introduction to this precocious teen gives us a lot to digest. Standing before his classmates for a speech assignment, he recites a well-oiled (but still squeaky) spiel that sounds like the work of a middle-aged “How do you do, fellow kids?” youth pastor. It kicks off with a knee-slapper of an anti-choice joke:
Craig: Good morning, and welcome to the morning edition of Point of View. My name is Craig Johnson and I’ll be your host for this morning’s controversy. I was gonna talk about abortion, but, uh, homicide seems like a real ugly way to start the day.
[Classmates laugh appreciatively]
Love Note (1987)
Cranky Lesbian is a disgruntled homosexual with too much time on her hands. Click for film reviews or to follow on Instagram.
