Sons of Provo
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Plot Summary:
It's boy-band fever in Provo, Utah as the Mormon singing trio "Everclean" share their brand of pop spirituality with Utah Valley residents. Much three-part harmonizing ensures...
Opinion:
Good satire mixes elements of truth with humorous exaggeration--it's fake, but it's not that fake. "Sons of Provo" is a fairly lightweight addition to the ranks of LDS cinema, but certainly has its moments. Inspired most obviously by "This is Spinal Tap", "Sons of Provo" satirizes boy-bands within the context of LDS culture--but it isn't that far removed from what an actual LDS boy-band would sound like. The members of the boy-band "Everclean"--who have a large poster of Donny & Marie Osmond right next to a poster of Ozzy Osborne (without noting the irony)--are sincere about wanting to be spiritual...yet hip. Righteous, yet 'fly'... Their lyrics (written by the actors themselves) are simultaneously clever yet insipid--spouting basic gospel platitudes wrapped in modern-day Gen X language and driven by a modern techno beat. It's funny...yet not that different than many of the EFY 'songs' you hear in real life containing preachy Sunday-School-level lyrics over rudimentary and unimaginative accompaniments.The best parts of "Sons of Provo" are, in fact, when "Everclean" are performing their songs with their energetic (albeit amateurish) choreography and witty lyrics. From subtle comments on the speed of LDS courtships ("The two weeks we've been together... have been the best of my life!") to pleas for girls to "Wait For Me" while they serve a mission, the songs are silly, yet catchy, and can leave you smiling and tapping your foot even though you're thinking you'll probably skip buying the soundtrack. Outside of the musical numbers, the humor is more hit-and-miss as the band rises to the top (such as it is) of the Utah Valley musical scene, first with a tour manager who spouts head-scratching nuggets of wisdom ("There's no 'me' in 'team'") and is replaced by a girl who's primary reason for getting the job seems to be "because she has her own car".
The biggest danger of 'mockumentary'-style movies, where much of the dialogue is improvised, is a lack of focus--and wasting time on scenes that don't go anywhere. "Sons of Provo" suffers from this a little, as many of the non-singing scenes are underdeveloped (or don't have much to offer in the first place). Danny's Buddhist influences, Kirby's relationship with his roommates, and the expert on the 'history of boy-bands'--to name a few--had some comic potential but didn't amount to much in the end. The quality of music seems to go downhill, too, (perhaps purposefully) as "Everclean" soon finds themselves doing a rap (unsuccessfully) in an effort to gain 'street cred', leaving one young woman in the audience in tears, asking her young women's leader to come take her away from that 'bad place'. The attempt at being more 'urban' brought to mind Homer Simpson's attempt at rapping to advertise his snow plow business (Lisa: "Promise me you'll never do that again...")
Regrettably, the movie's biggest failing is lack of ambition, especially at the end. There are a number of ways "Sons of Provo" could have kept up comic momentum, while simultaneously including more edgy satire that tackled more serious issues. What happens when three guys who base their music on being righteous and clean get a little bit of fame and fortune and encounter many of the unrighteous influences that such things can bring. (More 'open-minded' groupies, perhaps? "Oh...I love the Lord...and your music...SO...MUCH! [Kiss me!]") What happens when advertising and righteous living mix? When your product IS righteousness in a sense, how do you market it to other people without being insincere and hypocritical? What happens when you're tempted to lower your standards to increase (or simply maintain) your audience?
The direction taken by "Sons of Provo" at the end--focusing shallowly on the interpersonal conflicts of the band members--is a disappointment, only because there was so much more potential there. "Sons of Provo" is pleasant and witty as is, but perhaps next time, Will Swenson, Kirby Heyborne and the rest will try harder to create a movie that's both entertaining AND insightful--something that will leave audiences talking about the deeper issues at play afterwards, instead of merely humming "Sweet Spirit", or "Word of Wizzum" to themselves...
Content Analysis: (PG)
Some Mormon profanity, and a creative use of the phrase 'gift of tongues'. (Nothing to worry about...)
In-depth Analysis:
Any time the majority population in an area is comprised of one relatively homogenous demographic (like Mormons in Utah Valley), it can lead to some interesting cultural changes. Being the majority means LDS religious culture tends to intrude in the business sector in a number of ways...not because the Church forces its way in, but because (naturally) businesses will take into account the demographic composition when making business decisions. (Utah Valley, for example, is one of the only places on Earth where businesses will actually advertise that they are closed on Sundays...) Many business ideas (such as LDS bookstores or edited video rentals) are obvious choices based on the population--and frequently it's not Church members who open them, but rather non-members who understand the basic tenet of successful businesses (find what your customers want...and give it to them).The dark side of doing business in Utah Valley (and entertainment...which is still a business when you get down to it) comes from the facades that are put on to attract those customers in the first place. I've complained before about LDS targeted advertising which uses family values, and Choosing The Right as advertising pitches simply to market their products to you (giving you the impression that all good, temple-worthy Saints should naturally be buying this or that product. If you don't...obviously you don't really love the Lord or your family) Secular businesses are relatively honest about just wanting your money--LDS-owned and/or oriented businesses often blend in spirituality and morals while still, fundamentally, also just wanting your money. The dangers when spirituality and business meet is that the Holy Spirit becomes just another sales pitch--where the store owner appeals to your spiritual side just to make the sale. Does that person really care about your spiritual growth, or is it just a cynical attempt to pry cash from your wallet?
The other difficulty comes when spiritual things are made into packagable and saleable commodities (take the "Passion of the Christ" videogame, for example...or imagine Twelve Apostle action figures) It's bad enough when art is passionlessly exploited by large corporations--it's quite another when spiritual stories and principles are turned into mass-produced products to sell to Latter-Day Saints. When does the business machine start to negate the value and uniqueness of those spiritual things through overexposure and frivolity. (In other words, how long will it take before Jesus becomes "That character in that video game" instead of "The Savior".
Another danger when spirituality and business mix is the issue of standards. When your business is designed to attract LDS customers (like, say, LDS-oriented musicians), your personal beliefs and behavior can become relevant to your income. Your average Top 40 singer or nationally known book author probably won't hurt his/her bottom line if he/she appears drunk at a social event one day, but if your primary customer base is LDS? Then you're in trouble... Will Latter-Day Saints accept the work of a writer or musician whose personal life doesn't happen to meet LDS standards? What happens when a member of a LDS music group feels compelled to whitewash certain personal habits in his own life, if he feels his audience demands extremely high standards from him. Can competing businesses resist the urge to 'mud-throw'--advertising their competitors moral failings in an effort to attract more business? When your business model is based on spiritual matters and morality, can you avoid having your own spirituality and morality used to judge the quality of your product...even if your product is just T-shirts or coffee mugs?
This is a rich area for discussion, which was brought to mind by "Sons of Provo" even though the movie itself did not address any of these issues directly. If LDS culture affects our secular lives as well as our activities on Sundays, how can businesses in high-LDS areas not use LDS culture as the fundamental selling point for attracting customers? How does this method of advertising play off of the sacred things of the Church--either using spirituality as an 'in' to make the sale, or turn spiritual things into money-making tools? What religious-themed products can be considered 'appropriate' and which cross the line? (I'm thinking an Elder Boyd K. Packer action figure may be too much...) Can the religious world interact successfully with the secular world without some significant consequences down the line?
