Saturday's Warrior

As somebody who grew up watching this movie, knows practically every song and can pretty much act out the entire script, this might be a bit biased, but please bear with me. The movie is about family above all. A brother promises his sister before he is born that he will make sure that she is born into their to-be large family. But when he's born, the veil is pulled over his mind and he forgets. The movie follows many subplots involving the other kids in the family as well as the parents and some of the kids' friends. But the main focus is on the older brother as he strays from the beliefs of his family and how he finds his way in life. True, the movie plays out like a community theatre project, but that doesn't make the film any less than any high-budget blockbusters out there.

It's a good family movie, and has many opportunities for children to ask their parents about some of the topics involved: religious beliefs, family problems that the characters are faced with, peer pressure, and romantic relationships, to name a few. You may love it (like me), you might hate it, you may or may not agree with everything, but at least give it a try.

This is a stage play that was video taped!

It takes a few liberties with Mormon beliefs and pokes fun at Mormon culture in a light-hearted way. Basically it is about a Mormon family and the issue of Mormon pre-existance, large families, and over-population. Some of the songs are nice, but Lex de Azevedo is a well known composer of LDS songs and usually does a good job.

This was fairly big in Utah in 1989-90. Erik Hickenlooper (who plays Jimmy)was a minor celebrity for a while.

If you're not Mormon, you probably won't enjoy it. And even if you are Mormon, you may find the plot a little corny. At BYU or in Utah it may be appreciated. I enjoyed some of the songs, and the parts about the Mormon missionaries.

But if you're looking for a story on Mormon missionaries or a little of the culture, rent "God's Army" or "The Other Side of Heaven" instead.

Mormon films are starting to make inroads, especially Richard Dutcher's stuff. But this one is really just a Mormon Ward play made into a video.

When I first saw it in Utah in 1989, I liked it, because I was part of the culture there, so I gave it a 7/10. But having been removed from Utah culture for a number of years, and looking back, I would give it a 5/10, because some of the song are still nice.

This video has an uplifting message which helped me to feel a greater Closeness to my family, plus the peaceful reassurance that there is someone who cares; so very much about us - which words cannot portray adequately enough. Though with the understanding of that simple sweet truth, it reminds us to endeavor; by always striving to - fill the void in the lives of the many heartbroken people that we come into close contact with everyday - and not, to just let these opportunity pass us by. This movie 'Saturday's Warrior' is great and that is how it touched me... I recommend it to anyone and everyone. Good for viewers of all ages. I gave this theatrical, musical a 10/10.

While I can admit that this movie wouldn't appeal to many people outside the Latter-Day Saint community, I still feel it's a decent movie to watch...especially for children that are born and raised LDS. The plot can't be reduced to something simple--on the surface, it's the story of a family and some of their acquaintances before, during, and after mortal life. But the most important part, in my opinion, is the subtext--how do we really know what's the truth, or is what our parents/church have been telling us since we were small really the truth? Jimmy's struggles with that are what many people--no matter what religion--go through at some point in their life, and the movie does a good job at showing that internal battle. As I said, it's not the greatest movie in the world, but it does a good job where it counts.

Thi smight be the cheesiest movie in the history of ever.