Hark! Sequel doesn’t totally suck
If it took God six days to create the Earth, it took LDS-filmmaker Richard Dutcher five years to make a Mormon movie that doesn’t totally suck.
Following the 2000 release of “God’s Army,” a flood of LDS-themed feature films hit local theaters. Titles such as “The Singles Ward,” “The RM” and “Brigham City” exhausted the market with stereotypes and inside cultural jokes.
The recently released “God’s Army 2: States of Grace” is Dutcher’s ark to the drowning genre he created.
While the plot of the movie basically compiles a few of the most common, extreme mission stories into a three-week period, “Grace” does something the rest of the so-called “Mollywood” productions don’t do; it deals with problems.
Lucas Fleischer plays Elder Farrell, an ostensibly wholesome and over-achieving missionary, and incidentally, one of the more annoying characters in recent movie history. Farrell’s companion, Elder Lozano, is in the final weeks of his mission and he’s counting the minutes until he can go home.
A gang shooting erupts in the film’s opening minutes, revealing a sordid past and changing the lives of both missionaries.
Other problems arise when the missionaries cross paths with a street preacher and the girl next door – an aspiring actress who may, or may not, have some adult film roles on her resume.
As per other LDS feature films, the acting in “States of Grace” is over the top at times. Still, this time around, Dutcher goes out of his way to add some depth to his roles, creating characters instead of stereotypes.
Dialogue in the film falls short at times. When a 6-foot-3-inch, recently reformed gang member walks into the church’s Hawaiian luau and says, “Ya’ll Mormons know how to party,” it becomes increasingly difficult to keep your palm from smacking against your forehead.
The soundtrack for “States of Grace,” is also a major improvement for the genre. Dutcher and crew utilize music that is fitting to film, instead of merely commissioning Utah bands to cover their favorite hymn.
To Dutcher’s credit, “States of Grace” is not the feel-good movie of the year. It’s a major step in the right direction for a genre that is still trying to make it’s target audience forget about the bad taste “The Home Teachers” left in their mouths.
Aaron Falk is critic at the Utah Statesman. While he may not like Mormon movies, he loves Mormons. Comments can be sent to acf@cc.usu.edu.