Meet the Mormons

Meet the Mormons is a 2014 American documentary film directed by Blair Treu and produced by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The film documents the lives of six devout Mormons living in the United States, Costa Rica, and Nepal. The LDS Church donated all net proceeds from the theatrical release of the film to the American Red Cross.

Meet the Mormons
Theatrical release poster
Directed byBlair Treu
Produced byJeff Roberts
Music bySam Cardon
CinematographyR.J. Hill
Brian Sullivan
Edited byWynn Hougaard
Production
company
Distributed byPurdie Distribution
Release date
  • October 10, 2014 (2014-10-10)
Running time
78 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$6,047,363[1]

Production

The film was originally designed for viewing in the Legacy Theater in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in Salt Lake City, but after screenings with test audiences, LDS Church leadership decided to release the film first in theaters across the United States.[2] According to Jeffrey R. Holland, the film is "not a proselytizing effort but informative" and is an "opportunity to share who Mormons really are".[3] The film is financed and distributed by the LDS Church, a first for the church. It is shot in documentary format and will be translated into 10 languages.[2]

American singer-songwriter and actor David Archuleta sang the track "Glorious" for the film.[4]

The film features Jermaine Sullivan, "The Bishop", and his family. Sullivan is an African-American who is an academic counselor at the University of Phoenix. He was bishop of a ward in Atlanta, Georgia when the film was made, and now serves as a stake president.[5][6] The film also covers Sullivan's wife and children. Darius Gray was among the associates of Sullivan interviewed.

"The Coach", Ken Niumatalolo, head football coach at the United States Naval Academy.[7]

"The Fighter", Carolina Muñoz Marin, an MMA fighter from Costa Rica who had a chance to go pro international, but she and her husband decided it would separate their family too much.[8]

"The Humanitarian", Bishnu Adhikari, a man from Nepal, with a degree in engineering who is the country director for Choice Humanitarian in Nepal. The organization works to improve the living situation in rural parts of Nepal.[9][10][11]

"The Candy Bomber", Gail Halvorsen, the United States Air Force pilot best known as the "Berlin Candy Bomber" who dropped candy to children during the Berlin airlift from 1948 to 1949.[12][13]

"The Missionary Mom", Dawn Armstrong, her story is chronicled from the birth of a son when she was a teenager, abandonment by his biological father, meeting her current husband - who had both her oldest son and her deceased next oldest son sealed to him when they were married in the temple, to her oldest son leaving to serve a mission.[14]

Release

Meet the Mormons was released on October 10, 2014, in the United States by Purdie Distribution and Excel Entertainment. The LDS Church donated all net proceeds from the theatrical release of film to the American Red Cross.[15] Beginning January 2015, the LDS Church began showing the film in all of its visitors' centers and historical sites.[16]

Theme song

The theme song from the documentary was "Glorious" originally written and recorded by Stephanie Mabey. It is found in her album Wake Up Dreaming released on August 1, 2012.

For the film version, the song was sung by David Archuleta, a finalist in season 7 of American Idol. The Archuleta version was released as a single in English language accompanied by a music video. An alternative Spanish version as "Glorioso" was also released again sung by Archuleta.[17]

Reception

On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 18% based on 11 reviews, with an average rating of 5.2 out of 10.[18] On Metacritic the film has a score of 29 out of 100 based on reviews from 6 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[19]

The film has been criticized as propaganda.[20][21] Critics felt the documentary lacked information about Mormon history,[20][21][22][23] its tenets,[22][24] and its controversies.[22][23][24][25] Producer Jeff Roberts responded to these reviews saying, "Most reviewers wanted the movie to be controversial, but we wanted to tell stories about those who make up our base."[26] Some reviewers praised the movie for its "slick" cinematography.[20][27][22]

The film grossed $2,509,808 in its opening weekend, placing it outside the top 10.[28] As of October 2015, it is listed 34th in revenue-producing documentary films.[29]

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See also

References
  1. "Meet the Mormons". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 15, 2015.
  2. "LDS Church invites movie goers to "Meet the Mormons"", Daily Herald, September 17, 2014
  3. Jeffrey R. Holland. "Elder Holland introduces "Meet the Mormons"". LDS Church. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
  4. "Glorious". DavidArchuleta.com. David Archuleta. Archived from the original on October 4, 2014. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
  5. Meet the Mormons spot on Sullivan
  6. Deseret News, Aug 21, 2014
  7. "Football Coach Ken Niumatalolo confirms he's staying at Navy to attend to 'unfinished business'". Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-09-26.
  8. Meet the Mormons entry on Marin
  10. 2010 Deseret News article on Adhikari receiving an award
  11. May 12, 2015 Forbes article on Adhikari
  12. "Berlin Airlift 'Candy Bomber' still dropping sweets from the sky after 70 years". ABC News. 2018-07-26. Retrieved 2018-09-26.
  13. Eschner, Kat. "The Sweet Story of the Berlin Candy Bomber". Smithsonian. Retrieved 2018-09-26.
  14. Meet the Mormons profile on Armstrong
  15. Pugmire, Genelle (September 17, 2014), "Coming soon to a theater near you: 'Meet the Mormons'", The Salt Lake Tribune
  16. "News Release", MormonNewsroom.org, LDS Church, December 29, 2014 |contribution= ignored (help)
  17. ""Glorious" - David Archuleta". David Archuleta. 2014-10-02. Retrieved 2018-09-26.
  18. "Meet the Mormons". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
  19. "Meet the Mormons Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
  20. Moore, Roger (October 9, 2014). "'Meet the Mormons': a sugarcoated introduction". The Seattle Times. (also RogersMovieNation.com version of same article)
  21. Means, Sean P. (October 7, 2014). "Review: 'Meet the Mormons' a sales pitch in the guise of a documentary". The Salt Lake Tribune. Archived from the original on October 9, 2014.
  22. Scheck, Frank (October 9, 2014). "'Meet the Mormons': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter.
  23. Beifuss, John (October 10, 2014). "Movie Reviews: 'I Am Ali,' 'Meet the Mormons'". The Commercial Appeal.
  24. Kang, Inkoo (October 8, 2014). "Want to Pay $14 to See a 90-Minute Commercial for Mormonism?". The Village Voice.
  25. Tsai, Martin (October 9, 2014). "Review: 'Meet the Mormons' shows diverse lives, to a point". Los Angeles Times.
  26. Bond, Paul (October 13, 2014). "'Meet the Mormons' Proves the Box Office Power of Faith-Based Audiences". Retrieved October 22, 2015.
  27. VanDenburgh, Barbara (October 9, 2014). "Review: We don't learn much in 'Meet the Mormons'". The Arizona Republic.
  28. Bowles, Scott (October 13, 2014). "'Gone Girl' Charging To Strong Second Weekend;'Dracula' And 'Alexander' Healthy In Debuts; Saturday Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 14, 2014.
  29. "Documentary: 1982-Present". Retrieved October 22, 2015.
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