Spring Break is a somewhat notorious vacation when
college students head to the sun and just party wildly to dawn every day. Its primary aim seems to be one of excess,
whether it be alcohol, partying or just sex and cramming as much of all three
into one single week. Hard then to
imagine what a Mormon version of that would be like, as according to church rules
all of that is completely forbidden, but that is exactly what this fascinating new documentary is about.
It follows four of the 1000+ Latter Day Saint Church members
aged between 20 and 30 year olds who hold their annual Spring Break in Duck
Bay in North Carolina, which becomes like a Mormon Jersey Shore for a few days.
These chaste and devout clean-living singles are there to hopefully meet their
future ‘Eternal Companion’. The central
message of the church is after all that they should get married and have children
and as soon as possible as this is part of fulfilling our purpose on earth as we
get ready for the next life at the same
time.
aged between 20 and 30 year olds who hold their annual Spring Break in Duck
Bay in North Carolina, which becomes like a Mormon Jersey Shore for a few days.
These chaste and devout clean-living singles are there to hopefully meet their
future ‘Eternal Companion’. The central
message of the church is after all that they should get married and have children
and as soon as possible as this is part of fulfilling our purpose on earth as we
get ready for the next life at the same
time.
The aim of their precious few days is too have as much
fun as they can without losing their modesty, sobriety and virginity. They cruise the beaches by day barely trying
to contain their excitement at being surrounded by so many other Mormons but
seeming few make any connections as even devoutly religious people want to hook up with
a hottie too.
fun as they can without losing their modesty, sobriety and virginity. They cruise the beaches by day barely trying
to contain their excitement at being surrounded by so many other Mormons but
seeming few make any connections as even devoutly religious people want to hook up with
a hottie too.
Of the four people the filmmakers had elected to
follow, one is a geeky male nerd who teaches Latin in a Brooklyn High School
and is socially awkward; another is good looking real estate broker from Utah
who spends a lot of time in the gym (instead of sex?) and although he readily
and sincerely quotes all the churches teachings about relationships, he seemed
very much like a ‘player’ to me.
follow, one is a geeky male nerd who teaches Latin in a Brooklyn High School
and is socially awkward; another is good looking real estate broker from Utah
who spends a lot of time in the gym (instead of sex?) and although he readily
and sincerely quotes all the churches teachings about relationships, he seemed
very much like a ‘player’ to me.
Of the two female subjects, one was unusually 34 years
and divorced (shock horror!) she articulately and convincingly explained that
the reason that her marriage hadn’t worked is that she had chosen her partner,
and not listened to God. Evidently he
picks out winners, which was later backed up by the fact when it turned out that she was
one of the few to make a ‘connection’ that weekend, and even an atheist like me
could see that he did look like a good catch.
and divorced (shock horror!) she articulately and convincingly explained that
the reason that her marriage hadn’t worked is that she had chosen her partner,
and not listened to God. Evidently he
picks out winners, which was later backed up by the fact when it turned out that she was
one of the few to make a ‘connection’ that weekend, and even an atheist like me
could see that he did look like a good catch.
The second female, a dancer from Utah, was annoyingly
bubbly and effervescent 24/7 and seemed like ‘the girl most likely to succeed’ and even though she went on a few dates with the real estate broker, nothing
happened. Then the moment she stopped
seeing him in the space of three weeks she met and dragged another man down the
aisle at the temple. God evidently works
in a very mysterious way and also very quickly too at times.
bubbly and effervescent 24/7 and seemed like ‘the girl most likely to succeed’ and even though she went on a few dates with the real estate broker, nothing
happened. Then the moment she stopped
seeing him in the space of three weeks she met and dragged another man down the
aisle at the temple. God evidently works
in a very mysterious way and also very quickly too at times.
It’s all very intriguing for a non-church member to
take on board, although as much as diverting and funny that I found this ‘Girls
(and Guys) Gone Mild’ film, I could not escape from the fact that seeing these bright
intelligent people chanting the totally bizarre mantras of their prophet Joseph
Smith is simply downright scary.
take on board, although as much as diverting and funny that I found this ‘Girls
(and Guys) Gone Mild’ film, I could not escape from the fact that seeing these bright
intelligent people chanting the totally bizarre mantras of their prophet Joseph
Smith is simply downright scary.
Even if I could be brain washed into believing I
discovered from this movie that there are another two things which are deal
breakers for any move I may have made into Mormonism. First the ONLY thing you are allowed to do
with your partner when dating is to kiss each other standing up, but far far
worse than that is you cannot drink coffee!
I can live without my vodka and beer ( and heaven knows without any sex) but a life without Starbucks would
not be worth living.
discovered from this movie that there are another two things which are deal
breakers for any move I may have made into Mormonism. First the ONLY thing you are allowed to do
with your partner when dating is to kiss each other standing up, but far far
worse than that is you cannot drink coffee!
I can live without my vodka and beer ( and heaven knows without any sex) but a life without Starbucks would
not be worth living.
P.S. The film is currently doing the Film Festival Circuit and you can track all the screenings from their website (something that I would really recommend) http://www.duckbeachmovie.com/
★★★★★★★
Labels: documentary
