Expecting Amish

The inaccuracies in this movie alone made me want to turn it off after the first 15 minutes. From Amish holding church in a dedicated building (they worship in their homes) to the girls having bangs cut in their hair, wearing white aprons (only on Sunday and special occasions), down to the wrong buggies and colors (they are gray in Lancaster County)and their perfect American speech (minus the "dutch" accent) ... the whole thing made me feel silly just watching it. Also a stretch that Amish kids would spend their Rumspringa time in Los Angeles ... really? I have been exposed to the Amish my entire life ... this movie is nothing but a "fairy tale" ...

Oh dear. Who researched the Amish for this movie? No credibility. This scriptwriter was operating on a stereotyped version of religious people that rings false at every turn. Let me count the ways: (1) Amish do NOT wear buttons at all. Ever. (2) They-do NOT have church buildings but worship every other Sunday in one another's homes. (3) Amish do not believe in religious symbols; the crosses on the "church" and the interior wall would never be seen in Amish country (4) rumspringa-the teen-age period of living away from home in the "world" can last a year or more unless they are unhappy out there and come back home sooner. That giddy 2-week vacation in an upscale house with cute wardrobes was just unrealistic. (4) where did the money come from? Amish are not poor but they are frugal (5) Amish female attire allows for only dark colors (6) Amish conduct worship services in their Germanic language only (7) They all speak this language at home. (8) They do not use hymnals (8) Theirs is a pacifist religion. They would Never sing "Onward Christian Soldiers". (8) they learn English as a second language in school; their English has a distinct German accent (9) they are hardly that clueless as they work for and with "the English" all the time in our homes, our shops, our industries and are familiar with modern conveniences -like toasters. They are just not allowed-or choose not- to own such items or have them in their homes or farms.(10) They are not allowed to have or play musical instruments (11) Brandenburg Concerto"? They don't attend concerts, or know classical music. This false depiction of a hard-working people shows utter disrespect for them, and the soap opera plot was hackneyed and predictable..

It's an Amish romance set in 2014 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and Los Angeles, California. It follows a young Amish woman who participates in a rumspringa trip to Los Angeles and the consequences devolving from that trip.

Hannah Yoder (AJ Michalka) lives with her father (Brian Krause), younger sister, and brother. Her mother died three years earlier, so Hannah has been running the household. Everyone assumes after being baptized, Hannah will marry Samuel (Jean-Luc Bilodeau). However, her friends, Mary (Alyson Stoner), Sarah (Aurelia Scheppers), and Isaac (Cayden Boyd), convince Hannah to join them on their rumspringa trip to Los Angeles for a month or six weeks. She hesitantly joins them.

In LA, Hannah slowly begins to explore "English" life, and meets a college techie and disc jockey, Josh (Jesse McCartney). Ultimately, she must decide between Josh and Samuel.

"Expecting Amish" is a Lifetime movie with a woefully weak script and little linkage to reality. Samuel has a wooden manner and looks nothing like an Amish man. The community meets in a plain church (which doesn't happen) and shuns offenders whether or not they have been baptized. Rumspringa, where practiced, doesn't operate this way with the church's blessing. Elder/Bishop Miller (Ron Ely) baptizes by immersion in the lake. The ceremonies make no sense. Much of the dialogue is canned and predictable, along with the lack of research.

While the acting, the actors, and story are interesting and could be very true, I'm disappointed in many simple details that were overlooked. The Amish would not wear clothing bought at a retail store but every shirt worn by Samuel is just that. All clothing is made by hand and the shirts worn by Samuel are very obviously machine stitched, with buttoned down collars, no less. The double stitching is another clue. Another thing that bothered me throughout was the haircuts on the men. Their hair is PERFECTLY groomed, obviously trimmed with electric clippers. The Amish cut their own hair, with scissors, and would not look so GQ. However, I still enjoyed the movie despite being very disappointed that these details were overlooked; I couldn't rate it higher because of these real goofs! I found them VERY distracting.

It's like the research of the Amish subject was done exclusively from an inaccurate children's book.