By Chauntelle Plewe
The makers of 'The Singles Ward' and 'The RM' try to capture the humor of the Mormon culture again with their newest film, 'The Home Teachers.'
'It''s so important to find some sort of a thread or some life experience in the comedy to make them work,' said director Kurt Hale. '''The Home Teachers'' is about a guy that just kind of learns the value of home teaching after 12 hours of non-stop disasters. Our whole objective is to make people laugh.'
Hale and Dave Hunter, both BYU film graduates, created Halestorm Entertainment in 2001 and have since produced two successful Mormon movies. They said they plan to continue creating as long as they have success, though this film will be different from its predecessors.
'I think ''The Home Teachers'' has an ability to hit a broader audience,' said Michael Birkeland, who plays Greg, a laid-back church member. 'Home teaching is a situational comedy, so it''s more like a ''Tommy Boy'' kind of a movie -- it''s a buddy comedy. You don''t necessarily have to have gone home teaching to get this one.'
Though this is his first leading role, Birkeland played Hyrum in 'The Singles Ward' and Dooey in 'The RM.'
Co-star Jeff Birk, a BYU graduate in international studies, plays the orthodox Nelson, a strict church member. Birk is no newcomer to comedy; he has been doing stand-up as a hobby for 13 years, and was the 'paint ball guy' in 'The Singles Ward.' The two co-stars have great chemistry because they have been making people laugh together for about 10 years, Birk said.
'I think that everybody of the LDS faith who has ever been subjected to home teaching is going to find something that they can identify with in this movie -- that''s funny, that''s sad, that''s touching or whatever,' Birk said.
BYU film graduate John Moyer, who wrote the screenplay for 'The Hometeachers,' had an idea of Birkeland falling through a ceiling, and built a script around it. That scene developed into Birkeland, wearing a wedding dress, falling through the ceiling onto a fully set kitchen table, followed by a toilet.
'I swallowed about 2 gallons of water at one point through my nose,' Birkeland said.
That''s just a taste of what it''s like on the set of 'The Home Teachers.'
'Drama is about conflict; I think comedy for me is about absurd conflict,' said Moyer.
Hale and Hunter keep things light and fun for the cast and crew.
'They create this atmosphere where, hey, we''re having fun first and foremost and we''re making a movie on the side,' Birkeland said.
BYU students and graduates are a large part of the cast and crew.
Elizabeth Sands, Greg''s wife in the film, is a BYU communications student. This is her first feature film after doing two independent films when she lived in New York. She said she enjoys playing the mother of three daughters in the film, and the crew said she is a natural mother.
Technical director Doug Ellis is also the director of the BYU scene shop, and brought three BYU students onboard with him.
The BYU connection goes back as far as the producer''s mother, Nan Hunter, who graduated from BYU and now lives in California. Hunter and other family members were in 'The Singles Ward' and some will also be in 'The Home Teachers.'
Halestorm Entertainment has stirred up controversy by walking a fine line between joking and offending members of the church. Hale said that he has gained a lot of people''s trust when they see that it''s active Mormons making films about our quirky culture without getting too close to the line.
'We''re not about offending anyone,' Hale said. 'We can''t bite the hand that feeds you. If we begin offending our audiences they''ll turn and walk away. There''s a level of trust there, and they know we''re not going to step too far over.'
Though they can''t please everyone, the cast and crew agree this film has a lot to offer.
'We really want people to watch this movie, like the characters, find something in those characters that they can relate to and just laugh their heads off,' said Birkeland.