The R.M. (2003)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Kurt Hale

Writers:

Kurt Hale (writer)
John E. Moyer (writer)

Release Date:

31 January 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Family

Tagline:

Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the world . . .

Plot:

Jared Phelps (Kirby Heyborne) has completed two years of full-time missionary service for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...

Plot Keywords:

Latter Day Saints | Missionary | Utah | Police | Video Camera

Cast

Kirby Heyborne	...	Jared Phelps
Daryn Tufts	...	Basketball Player
Will Swenson	...	Kori Swenson
Britani Bateman	...	Kelly Powers
Tracy Ann Evans	...	Emma Phelps
Merrill Dodge	...	Brigham Phelps
Michael Birkeland	...	Dewey
Maren Ord	...	Sariah Phelps
Big Budah	...	Humu
Curt Dousett	...	Defense Attorney
Wally Joyner	...	Brother Colin Jensen
Jericho Road	...	Prison Band
Gary Crowton	...	Bishop Andrews
Rulon Gardner	...	Good Samaritan
Larry H. Miller	...	Car Dealer

Also Known As:

The Returned Missionary (USA)

MPAA:

Rated PG for some thematic elements.

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Utah, USA

Company:

Halestorm Entertainment

Trivia:

Director Cameo: [Kurt Hale]as one of the janitors at the mall where Jared tries to sell his engagement ring.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: The bike that Jared Phelps rides has a horn, but when he rides down the driveway, we hear a bell.

Quotes:

Jared: Kirby? That's not even a name!
[Later]
Ring seller: Kirby? That's not even a name.

Movie Connections:

Edited into The Singles 2nd Ward (2007)

Soundtrack:

Give Said The Little Stream

We loved it!

My sister left the DVD for The RM after Thanksgiving this year with her recommendation. We'd never heard of the movie before this Nov [2004] but were willing to give it a try.

Looking over the DVD cover gave me a fair sense that the movie would likely be wholesome enough for our entire family, which is always a plus here. [Really that stuff does matter to a lot of people.] That was refreshing all by itself.

Both of us, our six children, and two of our friends [in their 50s] just finished watching The RM this evening, for the second time. We're all still grinning and humming the music. None of us are LDS or ever have been, but we got most of the jokes. From our perspective The RM seemed to offer plenty of gentle tweeks without becoming offensive or disdainful. For any LDS wondering, we did not think it portrayed LDSs in poor light at all - rather it appears that there are some with an excellent sense of humor in your midst.

I don't know how many films already exist in this genre, but we're very impressed with our first exposure to HaleStorm Entertainment. We found the acting and comedic timing quite good. The storyline was refreshing, the wit was sharp, and the music was great! [We've already looked up Sweethaven and played the bonus video several times.] Considering the subject matter [and the movie never having crossed our radar previously] we were expecting a low-budget, home-movie type deal and found ourselves surprised and impressed with the production quality. And while the moral may be simple, the importance of choosing to do the right thing is a universal principal that plenty of non-Mormons can appreciate too.

I doubt we would have ever run across this movie accidentally on our own, but we consider it a gem. Accordingly, we're going to see if our local [artsy] theater will consider bringing The RM to their big screen so it can be enjoyed by others as well. Our collective opinion is that this movie deserves a broader audience.