Missionário Retornado

I have lived in Utah for 12 years, and like another reviewer, I had seen part of this on a local TV station a couple of weeks ago, and thought what I saw was pretty funny, so I rented the DVD. The first half of the movie is hilarious! Nothing goes right for the main character after he returns from his mission to Wyoming (a big laugh right there...). My daughters and I laughed our heads off. Toward the end of the movie, the momentum was somewhat lost by the convoluted story. The movie tried to turn serious, and it came off as a bit preachy. It was a bit heavy handed toward "jack" Mormons and toward non-Mormons, as they are depicted as heavy drinkers and just all around bad people. It wasn't a bad movie, however, and we got some good laughs out of it. "Big Budah" the local radio personality did surprisingly well in his acting debut! The DVD has a lot of fun extras too. All in all, I recommend it for good family viewing and a few laughs.

Jared is a young Mormon man who has just finished his two year missionary stint. He believes he is coming back to a job and plans on proposing to his longtime girlfriend. Horrors! After buying the ring, he learns his girlfriend is two weeks away from marrying someone else and his job is down the drain, too. Not only that, but his parents have sold his car and adopted a young man who is now inhabiting Jared's old room! Whew. Well, there is the den and Jared snags a job as a repo man for a rental company, among other prospects. And, he valiantly tries to sell the ring to improve his cash flow. But, things look up when he meets Kelly. She is the daughter of an important church man and she is beautiful. Can she possibly be interested in Jared? Everyone will take a shine to this film whether they are Mormon or not. The actors are engaging and funny, the script is snappy and the production values are good. There are a few insider jokes about Mormons which may fly over the viewer's head but it does not matter in the long run. If you are searching for another romantic comedy with good principles, put your faith in this review and find this movie. The film delivers a dose of happiness for any member of the viewing audience.

Just when I imagined LDS-driven comedy had reached a maximum, having no more cracks to make on the cinematic scene, I saw the world premiere of The RM in Sandy, Utah. I found myself bent over in laughter for a majority of the film, but ultimately left the theatre wishing there was more of a story-line and actors with more talent. In comparison to the 2002 film Singles Ward, corny jokes were found without much effort; however, I found a stronger comedial aspect in The RM. I would definately see it again, but not until it reaches the dollar theatre or comes out on video. I would describe this movie as a must-see for LDS people of all ages. I rated this a 7 out of 10.

I think a lot of people have seen "Single's Ward" by the same writing/production team and expected "The R.M." to be the sequel. I know that I went under that impression, so it came as quite a surprise when the same ol' cast from Single's Ward were playing very different parts. It was a good movie that very much reminded me of an LDS version of the "Meet the Parents" (Nothing seems to go right). While there were many funny scenes that most any returned missionary could relate to, the film seemed to try to take the R.M. stereotypes a little to the extreme. I felt the plot suffered a little just to get a laugh. All in all I enjoyed the movie and hope that the Hales continue to put out films. If you're LDS and you want a good laugh I don't think you can go wrong with this one.

Being in the theatre and film industry myself, I've generally been critical of cheesy LDS comedies, but The RM was not cheesy. Almost all of the humor is based on exaggeration, some of it more exaggerated than others. The contrast between Relief Society and Elder's Quorum meetings, however, was almost right on the mark, right down to the doily on top of R.S. radio and the E.Q. instructor's plea to have someone read the first 6 pages of the lesson. Having grown up in the Idaho-Utah LDS culture myself, I found much of the humor about LDS culture delightful; though I expect that members of the church from other states may miss the humor that is aimed almost exclusively at the Idaho-Utah culture.

The RM fits into the farce genre, which does not require realism, depth of character, or a poignant moral, so if the viewer goes into the theatre expecting any of these, he or she is going to be disappointed.

My one criticism is that the film, perhaps in its attempt to portray the humorous elements of LDS society, comes across as cynical in many scenes, and the more critical LDS viewer may find this offensive. For example, contrary to the film's depiction, Elder's Quorums do have many elders who bring their manuals, who diligently prepare lessons, and who faithfully perform their home teaching--even in Idaho and Utah. It is doubtful this perceived cynicism is intended, and it is more likely that it is merely the byproduct of the film's attempt to maximize humor.

My wife and I found the film delightful. We found it far more entertaining than most of the comedies that prevail in movies theaters today--most of which are also farces, but that, despite their multi-million dollar casts, maximize humor with cheap sexual references, foul language, and cynical views of the America and the family and leave us feeling that we need to scrub our eyes and ears with a Brillo pad. Watch The RM. It's well worth your time.