Baptists at Our Barbecue

I felt compelled to write this after reading some of the negative reviews for Baptists at our Barbecue. I bought this DVD on a whim at Hollywood Video and it was just a lot of fun to watch.

Yes, it's clearly a low-budget little movie but I very much liked the actors and thought the did a great job. I'm not sure where some of the other reviewers are coming from in putting them down. It's a quirky movie with odd characters, most of whom are over-the-top. Would you expect subtlety? Other reviewers have criticized Heather Beers' performance as flat in the co-starring role. Maybe a little, but she is beautiful and pleasant and I'll be looking for her other movies, though I don't think there are many.

As for insider Mormon jokes, I felt like I got most if not all of the humor and I am not LDS. And I did find the movie to be funny in a gentle way. I don't know that I laughed out loud but it was enjoyable and, again, quirky without being strange or stupid. I like off-beat movies and I found this one to be easier to watch than, say, Big Fish or O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Finally, I really enjoyed the soundtrack. Much of the music just put a smile on my face.

I may not be mormon, but I LOVED this movie. It's cute, clean, and well worth watching. Not to mention, Tartan isn't too hard on the eyes either! Although the movie starts out somewhat slow, the love story soon comes into play between Tartan and Charity. I found myself cheering for the couple all the way through the movie. If you are a Christian, I would definitely recommend it. My only complaint is they never really tell you why the Baptists and the Mormons don't get along. I would have liked to have some more information of their differing theologies. I read up on the main actor, and it turns out that he is Mormon in real life too. But don't mistake this movie for evangelizing; it is subtle in its religious texts and does not force anything upon the viewer.

"Baptists at Our Barbecue" is the first movie I've seen in a long time that sent me out of the screening feeling great, happy to be alive, with a new love of other people...at least the first movie since "Napoleon Dynamite." This movie is full of overtly Mormon and Baptist characters, and yet it was accessible to everyone I saw it with, despite their wide range of beliefs. The story is about a small town of half Mormons and half Baptists, their bizarre religious feud, and the strange series of events that conspire to change their situation. It's also a love story, between an everyman forest ranger - twenty-nine, and convinced he might always be single - and a beautiful woman who comes to town to recover from a bad break-up. The town's bizarre feud makes things difficult for their relationship to progress, and yet brings them closer, as well, through a series of hilarious, surprising developments, and a sweet, touching ending that made me want to fall in love. It also made me feel grateful for the chance to break from laughing. ...My ribs hurt.

The story of the film was as simple minded as its morality: Go find a girl, marry her, live with her happily ever after. Though the film had some fine moments and turns, most of it stayed at the surface of what might have been shown in a film with the same storyline.

The Baptist/Mormon struggle was only touched superficially and was mocked about, probably intentionally. A more interesting story would have been a mixed couple.

If you wanna see a film which doesn't need too much concentration, which can be watched by the whole family and which teaches your children modest and conservative values (besides the modern tolerance stuff ;-) ), you will be fine with this film. Might be shown at a family-home-evening...

First, I'm not a Mormon, nor am I a Baptist (although I am a born-again Christian). Second, I'm a big indie fan (I generally hate blockbusters). Third, as much as I love movies, I'm tired of sex and cursing thrown in for no good reason than prurience, which generally distracts from the story line. Fourth, I love watching movies with my family (kids aged 13-23), but trying to find one that appeals to all age groups without insulting or embarrassing at least one at some level is quite a challenge.

How refreshing to see a movie that portrays religion as an integral part of life (as it is in my family and my circle of friends) without the main (religious) characters being portrayed as boorish, hypocritical, sanctimonious, etc. They're normal. And they consider God to be a normal part of their lives. Do I know boorish, hypocritical, and sanctimonious religious people? Of course I do. I also know NON-religious people who fall into that category. But the media generally presents religious people ONLY in those terms (or else totally wimpish and ineffective, like Father Mulcahy on M*A*S*H). So there were boorish, hypocritical, and sanctimonious people, both Mormon and Baptist, in this movie. There are in my church, as well. But there are also good, well-meaning, and even just quirky people who are just doing their best in a world that teaches us to satisfy every personal desire ("Try every possible sexual permutation! You owe it to yourself!") than to try to discipline one's personal desires and do something that seems distasteful, even if it's the "right" thing to do ("Try reaching out to someone who is different from you -- even if you're scared. You both might learn something.")

Simplistic story? Maybe. Boy meets girl, boy may lose girl, etc. There is an element of The Wizard of Oz in here -- "There's no place like home," even if it's not the most exciting place. The acting was fine -- certainly no worse than many other (and much better-known) actors' efforts (Nicholas Cage comes to mind as an overpaid one-note -- or should I say one-whine -- "thespian"). Were there some clichéd situations presented (i.e., the wise Native American)? Yes, but again, no more so than in other multi-million cinematic efforts. Of course, since my personal beliefs are closer to Baptist than to Mormon, I would have preferred to have seen the story told from a Baptist-as-peacemaker perspective, but ultimately it made no difference.

Thanks, Christian Viussa. I hope to see more of your work in the future.