Unfulfilled Prophecy

Latter Days

I really wanted to like Latter Days, the first film directed by Jay Cox, the writer of Sweet Home Alabama. But while the fluffy script of that movie was somewhat redeemed by high production values and a star cast, he goes overboard with his dialogue here and doesn't have either the actors or the money to distract attention from some cringe-worthy chatter.

That's not to say that there's nothing to like about this Mormon-boy-realizes-he's-gay-and-improves-gay-party-boy-in-the-process tale. The story is certainly touching even as the formulaic nature of it hits you over the head. And sometimes the syrupy lines Cox puts into his characters' mouths sound right, as when our Mormon missionary hero consoles a woman whose friend has died with a metaphor about the dots of ink that make up the Sunday comics, sounding utterly sincere. But when the party boy goes on a long storytelling tangent about being rescued from a cave after his father abandoned him in a snowstorm, it's a bit too much to swallow. And the coincidences that bring about the story's resolution are contrived even by formula movie standards.

Again, this is more than a trashy gay movie; it has a heart and substance and a message. Its portrayal of the two lead characters is sympathetic, if a bit unrealistic, and it allows at least one of the other Mormon missionaries, (played with snarky grit by Joseph Gordon Levitt of 3rd Rock From the Sun) to show depth and dimension through his otherwise constant stream of homophobic invective.

Four stars of five for effort, three for execution. And if you're squeamish about seeing male flesh, watch at your own risk. Of course, if that's what you're looking for, you can ignore the review above and rest assured this movie has a lot of what you want.