By BRIAN THOMPSON
Amid a flood of controversy and negative reviews, a new film depicting LDS missionaries has been making money, especially in Salt Lake City.
Trey Parker, best known as the co-creator of Comedy Central’s “South Park,” wrote and directed “Orgazmo,” which portrays a missionary named Joe Young who becomes involved in the Los Angeles porn industry.
The film was given a restrictive NC-17 rating by the Motion Picture Association of America despite a special hearing brought about by Parker on Oct. 7, to have the decision replaced with a more favorable R-rating.
The NC-17 rating is considered a box office curse, allowing the film to be shown in only 94 theaters on its opening weekend, including the Tower Theater in Salt Lake City. Yet the film still grossed more than $200,000 in its first three days of release.
A spokesperson for the Tower Theater called the film a best-seller.
“It’s doing better than any movie we’ve shown in the past five years,” she said.
The movie’s success is surprising considering the negative reviews it has gotten.
Deseret News movie critic Jeff Vice attacked Parker’s abilities as a writer and director. “This crude, low-brow comedy just isn’t funny,” he said.
CNN critic Paul Tatara called the film “painful to watch.”
“Save yourself some money and just go make faces in the bathroom mirror,” he said.
The movie, whose closing credits include the line, “no Mormons were used or abused in the making of this film,” has been treated with disgust by most members of the church, yet has met little protest from Utah’s predominantly LDS communities.
LDS novelist/playwright Thom Duncan said the film may actually be beneficial to the church.
“The important matter is that Mormonism is in the film at all,” he said. “When making fun of Mormons gets tiring, someone will make a more thoughtful film. Maybe someday a filmmaker may do to our story what was done to Ghandi’s,” he said.
In an interview with Mr. Showbiz online, Parker said making fun was never his motivation for making the film.
“Actually my first girlfriend was a Mormon,” he said. “Every Mormon I’ve ever met is a great person and to me this was a great character. He wins, he destroys evil and stays a Mormon. The Mormons win,” he said.
