Praise This follows Sam, who shifts to Atlanta to live with her uncle and aunt, where she joins an underdog praise team choir that dreams of winning the national competition. The movie is now streaming on Peacock.
Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers
Plot summary
Since losing her mother, Sam hasn’t had a great relationship with her father. Although she has been very productive with her music stuff, her father doesn’t see hanging out with musicians who get arrested as ethical.
Sam’s father drops her off at her Uncle Larry and Aunt Liz’s house in Atlanta, where she will be living from now on. Aunt Liz has also pulled some strings to have Sam attend the same college as her cousin, Jess.
Sam isn’t all that excited about being here or about joining college, but an overjoyed Jess makes sure that her cousin is having a great time here. Jess, who is still grieving her cat’s death, always wanted a sister, and now Sam is here to fill that gap.
Jess oversteps a bit and learns a lot more about Sam, who is a singer who likes to write her own lyrics. Jess also gives her a tour of Atlanta and introduces her to her praise team choir, the Oil Factory. The name comes from the fact that their church is in a warehouse where there once was an oil factory.
The Oil Factory is aiming to win the National Praise Team Competition again this year. Last year, they tried to improvise a little and embarrassed themselves in front of everyone.
Apparently, the only person Sam cares about in Atlanta is the popular musician TY. Sam is planning to go to his house. Jess says Uncle Larry won’t allow her, but Sam and Jess lie about going to a praise team practice in order to go to the party at TY’s house.
Sam grabs the chance to impress TY at his party by singing his own song. The moment TY invites her to his studio, the cops come in to raid the place.
Officer Troy is friends with Larry. He takes Sam and Jess back home and tells Larry where these girls have been. Larry and Liz punish Sam by having her join the praise team officially.
During her time in the Oil Factory, Sam encourages the team to be creative. Melissa, the daughter of one of the church’s biggest donors, who also leads them, doesn’t welcome improvisation. She likes to stick to real church music because she feels that’s their lane, and the last time they tried to improvise, things didn’t go well.
Melissa is also a bit jealous of Sam for hogging the spotlight. At an arcade game, Sam leaves everyone in awe after joining a DJ and singing a few songs. Melissa also sees Big Love, the boy she has a crush on, getting attracted to Sam.
At the local National Praise Competition, Melissa ditches her team and the music she loves to join the Oil Factory’s rivals and last year’s winners, Champion Life.
Since Melissa is not on their team anymore, Sam leads them and gets creative. She asks Jess to use drums on their song, and they put on a show. With that performance, the Oil Factory makes it to third place and the next round.
Sam later shows up at TY’s and puts forth her interest to work with him. When TY learns that she can do anything for some popularity, he asks her to leave.
Sam expresses the kind of talent she has; she can pick up any song and turn it into gospel. TY decides to give her one shot with one of his songs, and she leaves quite an impression on him. He allows her to use his song at the competition.
Sam records the song with TY and makes Jess listen to it back home. It turns out that the drive TY gave her also contains another musical recording, probably for a brand new song of TY’s.
The Oil Factory practices the song well. At the regional competition, Sam panics and changes the music of their song at the very last moment. She uses TY’s new track from the drive, and her praise team misses all the steps.
TY, who attended the competition to see Sam perform, is left disappointed after watching her steal his music. On top of that, since the Oil Factory hadn’t practiced for this new music, they failed to secure a place in the Nationals.
When the rest of the team learns that Sam stole TY’s song, Jess and Sam indulge in an argument. They both call out each other, and the team falls apart.
Sam spends time at the bar, where Natalie, the wife of Nick ‘PG’ Goodman, the pastor who runs the Oil Factory’s church, comforts her. Natalie once used to sing every Sunday too. She had noticed that, at the arcade, when Sam sang, she was scared.
Sam admits it and confesses that she really stopped believing in God after her mother passed away. Natalie explains to her how life is going to be; they are going to have some wins and some losses, but God will be there for them all the time.
Sam goes back home and makes up with Jess. She also visits TY’s house to apologize. Though she sheds a tear, TY doesn’t let her in.
Praise This ending explained in detail:
Does the Oil Factory get another chance?
PG calls all the team members together at the church. The church of the praise team known as the Promise Ringtones is not allowing Kelly, who leads them, to perform at the Nationals because of a tape that has been leaked.
The Promise Ringtones say they won’t perform without Kelly. Therefore, the Oil Factory is being invited to take their place and compete at the Nationals.
The Oil Factory also wholeheartedly welcomes Sam back. All the members make amends and reconcile with each other.
Does Sam make up with her father?
Sam has been avoiding her father since she came to Atlanta. At the finals, Sam’s father shows up for his daughter. He initially feels that she might be upset that he came because the last time they talked, they fought badly.
It turns out that Sam is glad that her father is here. Sam’s father learned about her singing from Larry. He gives Sam her mother’s pendant and reminds her that he is proud of her and that her mother would be too.
In turn, Sam assures her father that his presence is a sign that everything is going to be alright.
Who wins at the Nationals?
The National Praise Team Competition brings many outstanding performances. The Oil Factory, unlike last year, not only gives its best but also brings everyone on their feet to dance.
The reigning champions, the Champion Life, are quite overconfident. They are pretty sure that they are winning the competition. They are left in shock when it’s announced that they finished in second place.
Following that, the Oil Factory is announced as this year’s winner. The team turned their fate around in a year. After all the celebrations, TY approaches Sam to hand her her jacket back, which she forgot at his place.
While she apologizes, TY promises to keep in touch because he intends to work with her. The Oil Factory celebrates their victory again by singing another song in the row all alone.
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