Book of Mormon

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A few random thoughts/comments:
1) I am not now, nor have I ever been, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (aka the Mormons), although I have spent time in the company of Mormons.
2) I don't agree with Mormon theology or many of their social and political agenda items. However,
3) I don't understand why it is okay to make fun of Mormons.
4) I am a prude and don't find cursing or sexually explicit jokes all that amusing.
5) While I enjoyed the musical aspects of the South Park movie, I found other aspects of it painfully unfunny. And I have never made it through an entire South Park episode.
6) Because of number 5, I went into Book of Mormon with major trepidations.


Sometimes when you go into a show with low expectations you are pleasantly surprised. And for the first few minutes of Book of Mormon, I was. The prologue was an amusing, if heavy-handed, depiction of the story that Mormons believe about the creation of the actual Book of Mormon. This went into a song that was hysterical regarding Mormon propensity for door to door evangelizing, and for a while, I had hopes that this tone would continue. Unfortunately, once the main characters were introduced, my hopes started to sink. They didn't feel like people to me, but stock stereotypes. There was the good looking over-achiever who believed that he was going to get what he wanted just because of who he was and the awkward, geeky, chubby kid who could not connect with his peers and who, of course, somehow gets paired with this wonderboy on the two year mission that is the coming of age of every young Mormon. The pair is played by Andrew Rannells (the pretty boy Elder Price) and Josh Gad (Elder Cunningham). Someone described Elder Cunningham as the "Jack Black" character, a description I found quite apt. This odd couple gets send to Uganda for their two year mission. Once there, things go all wrong. They are completely unprepared for the "reality" of Africa. I put "reality" in quotes, because again, I felt the African setting and characters were not based in reality, but in stereotype (and the running joke of Elder Cunningham misprouncing Nikki M. James character's name did not strike me as funny at all).

Spoilers below....

In typical comedy fashion, the golden boy falls, and the odd ball triumphs. But the odd ball triumphs by re-writing portions of the Book that he has been sent to teach. (A book that he admits he has never read. Which was another point that jolted me out of the show. A Mormon on mission who has never read the Book, who does not know the basics of Mormon theology? Somehow, I find that hard to accept.) Part of the golden boy's fall includes him going to the local war lord and attempting to convert him (with a quite amusing song). However, the warlord is not receptive and to put it bluntly, the Book of Mormon ends up as a rectal blockage. Now, would our writers have dared do that with a Bible? Would the audience have found it amusing?

Our missionary pair are not alone in Uganda. They are supported by a dozen other missionaries, all of whom dance quite well, but again, they don't seem real, they seem like stock characters (the repressed gay mission leader is especially overdrawn). The African characters also seem like something from a cookie cutter; the local farmer with the naive daughter, the overbearing warlord and his goons, etc. They are originally hesitant about the Mormon boys, and openly contemptuous of missionaries of all kinds, but eventually the are won over by Elder Cunningham's unique brand of Mormonism. To the point that they produce a play for a visiting Mormon dignitary. One that looks more like a spoof of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" than anything like the Mormon story.


End spoilers.

Now, don't let it be said that I disliked everything about this show. While I found Josh Gad's character annoying, his sincerity in the role was heartening. And Andrew Rannell's singing is enjoyable. The supporting cast also do well with what they are given, the dancing is energetic and the music itself upbeat. The scenery and costumes perfectly do their job, especially the replica of the Salt Lake Temple with its statue of the angel Moroni.

I am in the minority in regarding my feelings about this show. Most of the rest of my family loved it, and the review and on-line buzz has all been positive. But no matter how many people loved it, it was not my kind of show and while I wish the show well, I'm going to be wary of recommending it.

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Comments

[Haviva]

When I come to New York . . .
So, I guess when I come to New York, this isn't the show we will see.