Imagine opening a bottle of 100-year-old champagne and opting to drink the delicate liquid from a sippy cup that looks like a bunny rabbit. What’s inside has not lost its importance, but it loses its impact from the delivery system. That is the case with the new feature film “Average Joe.” Director Harold Kronk and writer Stehpanie Katz have taken a monumental court case and presented it with a kind of wink-and-a-nudge approach that is completely counter to the tone of this tale based on a true story. The story has not lost its impact, but the delivery has done it no favors. “Average Joe” examines the action of Joe Kennedy (Eric Close) who is suspended and eventually fired from his job at Bremerton High School because he took a knee in the middle of the football field after a game for a moment of silent prayer. The district asks Kennedy to stop or at least do his praying in a more private place. He doesn’t and that makes national headlines. Katz lays solid groundwork for understanding how an average joe like Kennedy could become the center of a legal hurricane. His childhood was a series of foster family nightmares. He finally found a home in the Marine Corps, where he served in the Gulf War. After his service, Kennedy returned home to start a family. When offered a job to help coach the local high school team, Kennedy becomes convinced this is a path God wants him to take. “Average Joe” falls squarely in the genre of faith-based movies, but is not as heavy handed as some. Kennedy is shown as being a man who lives by his faith rather than one who just spouts Bible passages. The film takes a turn into a legal drama when First Liberty Institute steps in to file a lawsuit against the school district. Their argument is that keeping him from quietly praying violates the Constitution.  It would take 14 years but the Supreme Court in 2022 sided with the coach. This argument of freedom of speech against the separation of church and state is monumental. Because of its importance, the design of the film should have better reflected the gravatas of the situation. Kronk’s approach touches on elements of a “Saturday Night Live” sketch. Often Close speaks directly to the camera as he explains what Kennedy is thinking. There are scenes that pull back the cameras to show how movies are made. Comic moments are mined as the story gets told from different directions. Much is made of Kennedy being an average guy who gets caught up in a situation that is anything but average. The way Close plays Kennedy is less like an everyday man and more like an actor who is self-aware that cameras are recording his every move. There’s nothing wrong with the work Close does but the comical tone he must deliver because of Kronk’s directing erodes the powerful message. Had Close been able to play the role with more reality, the impact of the final court decision would have been less of a punchline and more of a line that is so powerful it packs a major punch. There is a bit of irony to suggest Kronk’s approach is wrong as it does smack a little of infringing on his First Amendment rights as a director to present his image. This is not a criticism of what he is trying to say but how he says it. That is more an issue of artistic license. Presentation is a major part of filmmaking. When a story is solid, the right design to tell the tale can emphasize the most inconsequential moment. Take a less serious tone and those same moments are like taking champagne and mixing it with water before putting it in a sippy cup. “Average Joe” is worth seeing because it deals with a decision that will ripple through time. Don’t let the lack of seriousness in the delivery system distract from that message. Movie review Average Joe Grade: B- Cast: Eric Close, Amy Acker, Paul Rae, Austin Woods Director: Harold Kronk Rated: PG-13 for thematic elements, some violence Running time: 110 minutes.