Baptists at Our Barbecue

"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.

We bought this movie a few years ago and finally got around to seeing it. We howled with laughter! It's just hilarious, quirky, and fun. Corny, yes, but who cares? It's a feel-good movie in a world that needs some feelin good.

Not really a great movie, or a great use of talent, and the portrayal of the Church and the situation in the town was unbelievable and ridiculous, BUT: it had its very funny moments, and was clean. The underlying theme of getting along and resolving differences by bringing people of varying ideas together was apt and even noble. I'm a Mormon and I know my Baptist cousins are taught at we (Mormons) are going straight to hell, but they are still accepting of me and my family. Hence, to an extent, the movie rings true.

Just a note to the critics: This isn't a statement about Mormon doctrine or the grander social wars in our world or in American culture; this movie is, obviously, mostly an insider (to Mormons) poke-fun-at-ourselves type of movie. No reason to get all uppity about whether the movie took upon itself the most appropriate disparate subcultures of Christianity, or whether Mormons could truly accept anyone but others so (from the outside) similar.

Generally, I've found that if you don't hear about a movie prior to seeing it on DVD, there's probably a good reason for it. I hadn't heard about this movie at all until I was in a Blockbuster the other day and saw it on a shelf. Since all the good movies had already been rented out (the ones I wanted to see, anyway), I figured I'd give this one a shot.

It's really not much different than other movies in the genre, such as The Singles Ward or the R.M. If you're into those type movies, you'll probably enjoy this.

However, if you're not a mormon, this movie probably won't appeal to you. There's no way to avoid the overtly religious (mormon) message contained within, and at times it comes across as sappy and cheesy. Ultimately, if you don't fall within the mormon demographic, you're probably better off watching something else.

Admittedly, there were some very funny moments in the film, but I didn't think that it was enough to salvage the movie overall.

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.