God's Army (2000)

Director:

Richard Dutcher

Writer:

Richard Dutcher (writer)

Release Date:

10 March 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Saving the world one soul at a time

Plot:

Life as a Mormon missionary isn't what 19-year-old Brandon Allen expected: so many rules and so few successes...

Plot Keywords:

Christian Film | Mormon | Christianity | Christian | Los Angeles California

Cast

Matthew A. Brown	...	Elder Allen
Richard Dutcher	...	Elder Dalton
Jacque Gray	...	Sister Fronk
Jeffrey Scott Kelly	...	Elder Mangum
Desean Terry	...	Elder Banks
Michael Buster	...	Elder Kinegar
Luis Robledo	...	Elder Sandoval
John Pentecost	...	President Beecroft
Lynne Carr	...	Sister Beecroft
Kelli Coleman	...	Sister Monson
Anthony Anselmi	...	Elder Harmer
Peter Jackson	...	Elder Downey
Seamus Hurley	...	Elder Rex
Francine Riber	...	Connie
Fawn Perez	...	Laura
Lorena Mena	...	Lyla
Jennifer Christopher	...	Karla
John Kraemer	...	Tim
Erica Clare	...	Sindy
Todd Davis	...	Elder Stokes
Louie Olivos Jr.	...	Laura's Father
Elaine Hill	...	Elaine
Lance Johnson	...	Brother Rose
Darron Johnson	...	Lionel
Doug Stewart	...	Benny
Malayika Singley	...	Jenna
Dominique Dumas	...	Jenna's Boy #1
Jeremiah Dumas	...	Jenna's Boy #2
Taz Brighton Dodge	...	Tim's Kid #1
Eli Dutcher	...	Tim's Kid #2
Kiki Kehoe	...	Tim's Kid #3
Paul Downey	...	Paramedic
Albert Cabrera	...	Ambulance Driver
Scott Sandler	...	Nurse
Gwen Dutcher	...	Sexy Mormon Lady
Ethan Dutcher	...	Beach Kid #1
Lucas Dutcher	...	Beach Kid #2
Paul Vito Abato	...	Old Man
Sherri Boyzsa	...	Dragon Lady
Soledad St. Hilaire	...	Latina
James Thiel	...	Bathroom Man (as Jim Thiel)
Cody Rosenberg	...	Coroner
Larry Bagby	...	Cop #1
Richard Radstone	...	Cop #2
Robert Consoli	...	Perp (as Rob Consoli)
Lance Schmidt	...	Mortician
James Powell	...	Gene Dalton
Cade Kleven	...	Little Pop #1
A.J. Desveaux	...	Little Pop #2
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Carrie Morgan	...	Karla
Mark Shady	...	Mormon Boy (uncredited)

Directed by
Richard Dutcher

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Richard Dutcher		writer

Produced by
Gena Downey	....	associate producer
Paul Downey	....	line producer
Richard Dutcher	....	producer

Original Music by
Miriam Cutler

Cinematography by
Ken Glassing

Film Editing by
Michael Chaskes

Casting by
Jennifer Buster

Makeup Department
Jamie Ann Ontiveros	....	key makeup artist

Production Management
Gena Downey	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Paul Downey	....	first assistant director
Peter Jackson	....	first assistant director: second unit
Peter Jackson	....	second assistant director

Sound Department
Doug Allen	....	sound mixer

Stunts
Doug Coleman	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Thomas Bango	....	gaffer
Matthew Caudillo	....	focus puller
Bryan Gilbert	....	key grip

Editorial Department
Wade Felker	....	colorist

Production Companies

• Main Street Movie Company

Distributors

• Excel Entertainment (????-????) (USA)
• New Films International (????-????)

MPAA:

Rated PG for thematic elements and some language.

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

New Zealand:PG | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Main Street Movie Company

Goofs:

Factual errors: In real life, Elder Dalton would have been sent home from his mission when he had brain cancer. No missionary is ever allowed to stay in the field "just because he wants to," particularly in life-or-death matters of health like that.

Quotes:

Dalton: So, what did you think of the sisters?
Allen: Monson's nice, I don't know about the other one.
Dalton: Yeah, Sister Fronk.
Allen: Yeah, her.
Dalton: She's a very smart girl.
Allen: Well, she thinks so.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Singles Ward (2002)

Soundtrack:

Best of Me

Let's go out and do some good

I attended an open house for the recently completed 97th Mormon Temple and was once again impressed by these 'true believers' - men and women of steadfast religious conviction (some would say, the product of communal brainwashing). But judging by "God's Army", an honest and down-to-earth depiction about Mormon conversion, you have to say the young members are far from being willing robots, ready to accept their faith. It took a lot of guts for writer, director, and star Richard Dutcher to make this mainstream religious feature that, on the whole, is both inspiring and entertaining. But in his quest for a wide audience, Dutcher has toned down the religious preaching and built up a story about multi-ethnic characters in the heathen Los Angeles. Devoid of some proselytizing however, we don't fully appreciate the Mormon beliefs nor their missionary work. The various conflicts in the story and their syrupy resolutions also lent themselves more to the "Touched by an Angel" TV series. That being said, "God's Army" has several good points. The humor is both refreshing and yet self-directed: in their pristine mission quarters, the men have a posted cockroach board with specimen and species identification; Elder Sandoval boosts himself above a railing to face the famous Hollywood sign as he delivers his salvation message even as his fellow missionaries are throwing pieces of food at him; and the house antic is to take pictures of fellow missionaries sitting on the commode. The acting (mostly first-timers) is surprisingly good, especially the genuine chemistry between Elder Dalton (Dutcher) the mentor and Elder Allen (Matthew Brown) the student. In their shared dialogues, we learn much about a disciplined lifestyle that will lead to personal growth and salvation. It isn't afraid to air out dirty laundry in discussing issues of black bigotry and dissent to the Book of Mormons. It shares with us flawed characters trying to overcome their barriers - Elder Allen raised by a stepfather who baptized him to the Mormon faith and later landed in prison for child molesting, Sister Fronk unable to commit to a Mormon suitor because of her inadequate faith, and Elder Kinegar who could not overcome his religious disbeliefs. "God's Army" isn't a film for everyone because in witnessing men and women struggling to understand their faith and commitment, we are bound to ask ourselves the same questions.