Mr. Dungbeetle

If Don Quixote lived in the 21st century, he surely would have been committed to a mental institution--probably one similar to the opening scenes in this unvarnished and openly human film. Let's hope that the Man of La Mancha would have escaped and had the splendid adventures told in Mr. Dungbeetle. How sanity is measured or identified remains a multi-generational cultural enigma, one that is adeptly explored in this film but never explained.

The powerful absurdities revealed in the terse and memorable dialog anchor a remarkable story of self-discovery that never becomes reckless or cloying. You never feel you are being force-fed an agenda; rather you find yourself on the quixotic adventures as a co-traveler. Expect both laughter and tears as the story takes its expertly crafted verbal turns.

One of the most charming and quotable indie films I've ever seen.

I was fortunate enough to go to the cast/crew screening of this film. It is one of the most moving and thought provoking films I have ever seen. Hollywood doesn't want people to think or to feel. They only want to cram as much glitter and eye candy as they can into 90 minutes. This could be and should be a huge hit at the box office, but isn't picked up because it's not what Hollywood is looking for. If a movie doesn't fit the norm or doesn't have enough big names in it, it is hard to get a distributor for it. It's a shame. Mr. Dungbeetle will have you laughing and crying at the same time. It will touch your heart and lift your spirits. This movie is not mindless dribble. It is a soul searching and bears the mark of its maker. Rarely do you find a film that exhibits so much of the maker's own life, trials, troubles, and discoveries. All I have to say is great job Tom and everyone else that made this movie one of the best of all time.

This is truly an excellent movie. It is one of my favorite movies of all time. It raises some interesting questions, while making you laugh ... a lot. I saw it at a screening a few years ago with my wife and wish I could share it with others. It is very similar to "Mental" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0791128/), but even better. This is so much better than a vast majority of what Hollywood normally puts out. Someone needs to pick this movie up and make it widely available so more people can share this wonderful, funny, thought-provoking film. I am not an 'insider' to the world of 'indies' and don't know the details of what it takes to get a movie like this into theaters and onto DVD, but everyone I know who has seen it has absolutely loved. I would readily pay full price admission to see this movie again (and that says a lot coming from me - I don't even like paying matinée prices).

Well-intentioned but ultimately disappointing effort. Nice performances by all involved, but there just is no story here.

I saw this film at a screening on the BYU campus earlier this year, and I truly enjoyed this film. I talked my sister into seeing it with me, and we stood in line for an hour and a half so we could get on the "waiting list," and we were not disappointed. It was refreshing to be able to enjoy a film that had humor (a great deal of it, too) and a good message without all of the sexual content and graphic language that is prevalent in many of today's films. I hope it finds a distributor soon, because I have told my friends about it, and they too are excited to see this movie (I am looking forward to seeing it again). I look forward to being able to say a line from the movie and have others say,"oh yeah, that's from Mr. Dungbeetle!" A charming film that deserves to be recognized.