Emma Smith : Andy and Natalie's Review

So, we were both extremelly sceptical about this movie. In the past we have absolutely loved some of the LDS cinema that is out there. Natalie and I both loved, The Other Side of Heaven, The Best Two Years, The Work and the Glory. I loved the Singles Ward. There have been some ok films as well. Those films we were happy to see once, but aren't heartbroken if we never see them again. And then there were those that we desperatly wish we could have that 1 or 2 hours of our lives back to do something more productive.

So when we heard that they were making an Emma Smith movie, we both just gave each other that look that said the same thing. "Is this one gonna be another flop?"

One of the blessings of my job is, that unless there are service calls, I can listen to the radio. On Friday morning, I was able to listen to portions of the Movie Show on KSL radio. Generally Natalie and I are pretty dead on with Doug Wright. If he likes a movie, we can pretty much be certain that we will like it as well. And he works with a Standard Examiner writer, Steve Salas (spelling?). Steve generally shoots about a 1/2 star to a star below what Natalie and I feel like a movie should get. When I listened to the show I was pleasantly shocked to hear the reviews from Doug and Steve. 2 1/2 stars from Steve, and 3 stars from Doug. However Doug had a lot of nice things to say about the movie.

So on Saturday night, Natalie and I got the chance for a rare night out. We did the math and its our first date since Valentines day. We drove to Logan and ate at the Iron Gate Grill. I had the prime rib, Natalie had the fish. If you are wondering, prime rib at Iron Gate Grill; 2 1/2 stars. After dinner we had a lot of time so we drove to Brigham to Walker Cinema (despite all the cool places we have seen movies, we love the familiar feeling of Walkers). The movie choices were a toss up and we couldn't decide what to see; 21, Leatherheads, or the Emma Smith movie. Natalie made the choice, and I am glad she did. I wasn't going to choose the Emma Smith movie just because LDS cinema has failed pretty badly in the past. Tickets were purchased, and in we went. While waiting for the movie to start, we watched a group of three teenage boys walk into the theater. Everything from their clothes to the fact that there were no girls with them made Natalie and I wonder if they had accidently walked into the wrong theater. But they sat down and sat through the entire movie. Now without further delay, our review!!

Emma Smith: My Story
(PG)

Andy
Natalie

So as you can tell we both really enjoyed this movie. It was actually quite a weird feeling to walk out of this movie and find that you were in a movie theater. It felt like we belonged in a visitors center, or a church meeting. There was definitly a quiet reverence about this movie. One of the things that both Natalie and I commented on, was that usually after a movie, people are rushing for the exits to beat traffic. After this movie, no one moved. It was like everyone was just sitting there trying to soak in everything they could, including the teenage boys.

Natalie and I have a new respect for Emma Smith (and a particular group of teenage boys). We loved the experience and will see this movie again at some point in time.