Now Streaming: Mormon Action Comedies

In 1999 I was a die-hard Jackie Chan fan, seventeen years old, and on the student council of our large LDS seminary in Mesa, Arizona. With a love of the Gospel, a soft spot for cheesy seminary videos of yesteryear, and a profound desire to impress girls through stunt-work, my friends and I set out to create something utterly unique: a Mormon martial arts comedy.

I’d had some experience in this regard; during the previous year I starred in a Mission Impossible parody for the seminary that required some stunt-work. The reaction was positive from the 1200-plus students who viewed it. Building on the success of that film, we crafted NiceGuys’ First Strike, a 40-minute (including outtakes) movie about respecting women and honoring the priesthood…which had a ten minute parkour fight sequence. We kept our values in check: the action was silly instead of brutal, and the heroes acted only out of self-defense.

That film was a minor hit with the seminary students, and as I’ve grown older it has been enjoyed by my children and the youth of the Church with whom I’ve labored. On its heels came a slew of Mormon-made (and occasionally LDS-themed) action comedies produced in high-school and at Brigham Young University, building up to the feature-length “24” fan-film CTU: Provo (co-starring Donny Osmond).

These movies, along with over 40 sketches performed during with BYU’s Divine Comedy (where many Studio C cast members got their start) and segments from The KJZZ Movie Show, are now available for families to enjoy on my Vimeo and YouTube channels. As part of my new Your Family Expert brand, these channels will also feature marriage, dating, and parenting advice as time goes on. For now, they include the following.

( * Indicates content during or after the closing credits).

• Mission: Impossible- Lettering (1998, 25 mins): I fight the bad guys, get the girl, and learn how to advance in seminary. Sorry about the poor video quality of this one, it’s all I had. (Vimeo, YouTube).
• NiceGuys’ First Strike* (1999, 38 mins): Three righteous brothers unite their testimonies with martial arts to teach some “bad boys” about treating women right. (Vimeo, YouTube)
• Indiana Jones and the Search for Eternal Joy (2000, 45 mins): Indy and Short round battle evil-doers and learn about The Book of Mormon. (Vimeo)
• DinoHand* (2002, 15 minutes): Touching story of a boy and his new friend, a disembodied hand shaped like a Brontosaurus. (Vimeo, YouTube)
• Mullet Mania’s Mischievous Moments* (2003, 9 minutes): Public pranks and parkour stunts around Brigham Young University. Stick around after “The End” for the action. (Vimeo).
• DinoHand Triumphant* (2003, 27 minutes): Bigger, sillier sequel finds DinoHand searching for love and companionship. Kids seem to enjoy these ones. (Vimeo, YouTube).
• What Else is On?* (2004, 15 minutes): Mormon parodies of The Bachelorette, Trading Spaces, Charlie’s Angels, telenovelas, infomercials, exercise programs, and more. (Vimeo, YouTube)
• Daydreaming Dave (2004, 10 minutes): Modern silent comedy about a college student with a wandering mind who must get it together or fail his class. (Vimeo, YouTube; outtakes also available). 
• 29: Day One (2005, 29 minutes): A group of die-hard “24” fans race against the clock to make it home in time for the season finale, facing perilous obstacles and heartbreaking double-crosses along the way. (Vimeo, YouTube; outtakes also available).
• A Day in the Life (2006, 103 minutes): A jock, a Mormon, a klepto, a liberal, a Polish man, and Harry Potter share an apartment in this reality TV spoof. (YouTube; outtakes also available).
• BYU’s Divine Comedy (2005-2006): During my first year with the comedy troupe we roast Harry Potter, Grease, Gilligan’s Island, Sunday School faux pas, and the campus police beats. (Vimeo, YouTube).
• 29: Day Two (2006, 51 minutes): In this ambitious sequel, a Jack Bauer wannabe and his friends fight to restore Provo cable on the evening of the “24” season premiere. (Vimeo, YouTube; outtakes also available).
• BYU’s Divine Comedy (2006-2007): During my second year with the comedy troupe we take on the X-Men, share testimony through modern dance, wrestle with Multimedia Personality Disorder, and adapt The Wizard of Oz to BYU. (Vimeo, YouTube).
• CTU- Provo (2007, 90 minutes): “24” fans use their knowledge of the show to help the understaffed Utah Counter-Terrorist Unit fight eco-terrorists in Provo. Recommended for teens and up, with violence and mild language on a PG-13 level. (YouTube; outtakes also available).
• Special Features (1999-2015): Trailers, making-of documentaries, commercials, swimming with sharks, and more! (Vimeo, YouTube)
• KJZZ Movie Show segments (2012-2015): My weekly segment on classic, overlooked, and family-friendly movies, courtesy of The KJZZ Movie Show. (Vimeo, YouTube)

Subscribe, share, and enjoy! I hope your family enjoys these films. Merry Christmas!

Jonathan Decker is a licensed marriage and family therapist, as well as a film critic with The KJZZ Movie Show. His book 250 Great Movies for Latter-day Families is available in paperback and Kindle.