http://www.tulsaworld.com/homepagela...d2509addc.html
Ok, I think I know who Jason Siegel's character kinda sorta represents...also the "Reggie" character, who was part of the music ministry and had in fact died a few years after Carlton's change. Of course I expect certain details to not be exact, probably because certain individuals did not (or could not) want to be associated with this film...and I didn't know about the uncle in jail--either I don't remember who that person was, or this was just "artistic license".