posted
Of course, the overwhelming majority of LDS movies are made for the MST3K treatment. I remember the first time I saw Legacy, when they showed it between conference sessions on my mission. I'd spent so many years hearing that it was the awesomest movie ever (often in those exact words), only to find out that it was nothing more than a bad episode of Doctor Quinn, Medicine Woman. My poor entertainment-starved companion just wanted to enjoy it, and I shut him down throughout the whole presentation, then mocked him mercilessly for liking it the entire rest of the time we were together.
When I became a senior companion, I refused to show any movie to an investigator aside from Mountain of the Lord, Jonny Lingo or Voice from the Dust, because those were the only movies we had access to that I could make it through with a straight face. On the Way Home in particular was right out. The Godmakers paints the LDS church in a more favourable light than that steaming pile of cinema. I still don't know how anyone has the nerve to watch it with someone they're trying to teach about the church.
And if you ever get a chance, make sure you watch the movie Christmas Snows, Christmas Winds. I don't think you can buy it anymore, but check your church libraries. You won't regret it. That was in the stockpile of BYU productions from the '70s that we had in one of my apartments, and it was one of the most twisted, surrealistic and depressing Christmas movies ever made by anyone. It was like a bizarre mix of Pi, A Clockwork Orange and It's a Wonderful Life. If that movie ever comes back in print, I'm going to buy a copy for everyone I know.
[edit: I just looked up Christmas Snows, Christmas Winds on IMDB, and I found out some disturbing facts. First, it was directed by someone that is related to me... I recognize the name as someone my Grandma has talked about, although I've never met him. Second, he was a co-founder of the Sundance film festival. And third, he directed the new Work and the Glory movies. I'm not shocked about the third point because his directing has improved... I've never seen those movies, and I doubt I ever will. I'm just surprised that he's still got a job in film. ]
Posts: 2804 | Registered: May 2003
| IP: Logged |
quote:The Godmakers paints the LDS church in a more favourable light than that steaming pile of cinema. I still don't know how anyone has the nerve to watch it with someone they're trying to teach about the church.
Ouch. That's much harsher than I meant. It's not the pinnacle of achievement, but jeez.
quote:My poor entertainment-starved companion just wanted to enjoy it, and I shut him down throughout the whole presentation, then mocked him mercilessly for liking it the entire rest of the time we were together.
If you were my comp, you would have had duct tape across your mouth. I love MSTing things, but you have to pick your audience.
Posts: 26077 | Registered: Mar 2000
| IP: Logged |
quote:If you were my comp, you would have had duct tape across your mouth. I love MSTing things, but you have to pick your audience.
In fairness, you've got to admit that it was a pretty bad movie. And he had been building it up for me. I tried to hold back, but I'm only human.
Posts: 2804 | Registered: May 2003
| IP: Logged |
I still have a standing offer floating around somewhere, betting that nobody could offer even a marginally reasonable approximation of the plotline.
Posts: 14017 | Registered: May 2000
| IP: Logged |
posted
CT, I'm pretty certain that Night Train to Venice would actually render the MST folks utterly speechless.
Posts: 1090 | Registered: Oct 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
The movie the missionaries showed us was actually quite good. It had actors that you'd know by sight if not name, and a great script.
That's what made the wee little things that set me off so horribly amusing.
CT-I must make watching Night Train to Venice a group activity at the next Hatrack gathering. I am now very curious.
Posts: 9293 | Registered: Aug 2000
| IP: Logged |
posted
As you may imagine, I am an insufferable wiseacre, and I can't resist cracking wise during the movies. But I don't shout things out to the entire theatre. I just say it loud enough to amuse all those around me.
I think that the reason that they are turning around in their seats and glaring is because they're amused...
But, back in the day <gasp!> before multiplexes, my friends and I went to see the movie "The Chosen". In the scene where we are first introduced to Rod Steiger, playing Reb Saunders, a venerable Chassidic Rebbe with a big white beard, he is in a full screen close up. A little boy's voice rang out in the silence of the theatre: "Papa Smurf!"
The all the theatre goers missed the next lines because we were convulsed with laughter.
Posts: 10397 | Registered: Jun 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
Every time I forget how hilarious my wife is, she has to remind me.
We were just watching The Scorpion King on TV. Yes, we were that bored. I'd never seen it before, but it's worse than I'd ever imagined. It makes any of the Conan movies look like Lord of the Rings.
Near the end of the film, The Rock engages in an interminable fight with the main bad guy. As he's doing this, he gets thrown clear and then shot in the back with an arrow. In the faux-dramatic climax to the film, The Rock finds a bow laying on a table. In slow motion he reaches back, pulls the arrow out of his shoulder, and loads it into the bow. As he slowly takes aim at the main bad guy with his gore-covered arrow, my wife chimes in: Oh by the way, I have AIDS.
My stomach is still sore from laughing so hard.
Posts: 2804 | Registered: May 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
That's great Speed. I just read this whole thread and there are some funny ones, but your wife's probably take the cake.
My contributions ...
One of the funniest theater performances me and my friends had was during Tristan and Isolde. There was only one other couple in the theater and let me tell you, we were merciless. It was hiiilarious. Two of the ones that stick out most in my mind are the scene where they make love in some ruins or another, on stone, at night, in Ireland or wherever. We all looked at each other and simultaneously asked "Wouldn't that be cold?" Also classic was in the climactic scene where Tristan cuts the big bad guys head off and it falls into the moat, my friend turns to me and says in a pretty loud voice for a movie theater, "Do heads float?"
Posts: 2827 | Registered: Jul 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
My friends and I had a blast doing MST3K style stuff during Eragon, which we were convinced was a comedy by the end.
Anyway, at the very end, Eragon and Saphira are talking and Eragon says something like "And then tomorrow will come." And Saphira says "Maybe sooner than you think."
And my friend next to me leans close to me and says "What, daylight savings time?"
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
| IP: Logged |
1 - Attack of the Clones. It's the midnight showing, we've been drinking, and some guys a few rows back have snuck in an entire big bucket of KFC under a jacket (I still have no idea how they pulled that off). It's a fairly rambunctious crowd, but the highlight (for most people, at least) came right after the Yoda/Dooku lightsaber fight. Dooku gets in his ship, other stuff happens, and then Yoda picks up his staff. Immediately, some guy in the back shouts "FAKER!" and we lose the next few minutes of the movie.
2 - Not quite the MST3K, but I've never had this happen anywhere else. A friend and I went to see Volver yesterday here in Tucson. There's a lot of cooking in the movie, but at one point, Raimunda finishes up a flan - and I kid you not, the entire theatre lets out a collective "MMmmmmmm!" I was laughing for at least ten minutes.
Posts: 3932 | Registered: Sep 1999
| IP: Logged |
I saw the sneak preview, front row with all the kids (I got in late). At the climax, when they're surrounded on every side by hungry raptors...one hissed at them, crouched, prepared to lunge...
And the projector went dead.
There was a massive groan from the audience. The projectionist (who was watching it, too -- first showing) yelled down, "I don't know what could have happened. They must have cut the power!"
Before we were done laughing, a little girl called out, "They're behind the curtain! They're behind the curtain!"
Posts: 1877 | Registered: Apr 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
Once, at a college lounge showing of Return of the Jedi, when the ewoks start blowing horns to announce their attack, I roared, "Today's the day the teddybears have their picnic!"
Posts: 3826 | Registered: May 2005
| IP: Logged |
Printer-friendly view of this topic
![[Eek!]](eek.gif)
]
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
