“The R.M.” details a Latter-day Saint phenomenon: someone goes out to serve as a missionary for the church and then returns home (R.M. stands for returned missionary), where they have to readjust to life.
This 2003 comedy produced by Halestorm Entertainment follows Jared Phelps, who returns home from his mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints only to find out that his girlfriend is getting married to someone else and that he no longer has a job. On top of everything, Phelps gets rejected from his top school, Brigham Young University.
In a positive review of the film, Variety called it “good-natured and innocuously wholesome.” The reviewer said that the film had a modest budget, but pointed out its quirky humor and noted that it had “more universally accessible humor” than other films produced by the same company.
Not unlike “The Singles Ward,” this movie is undeniably campy, but it also shows Phelps facing real challenges (and real time — watch the movie to understand the pun). The film has some moments that show the charming peculiarity of Latter-day Saints, like Phelps slumping over a glass of Diet Coke when he’s upset.
While the comedy borders on absurd in the number and scope of challenges that he faces, it highlights a real issue that many returned missionaries have: Adjusting to home life can be difficult and be full of unexpected challenges.
The movie is similar to “The Singles Ward” in that it also has celebrity cameos. The soundtrack features rock-n-roll versions of Latter-day Saint songs — it includes songs like “If You Could Hie to Kolob” and “I Hope They Call Me on a Mission,” but these hymns have been arranged to be peppier.
While the film didn’t win any Academy Awards and likely won’t go down in history as one of the funniest comedies, I think there’s cultural value in it and I found rewatching it a pleasant experience. The filmmakers didn’t take themselves too seriously and so the film doesn’t come across as overly defensive of Latter-day Saints.
Instead, it shows some of the quirky elements of Utah and Latter-day Saint culture, such as drinking Diet Coke instead of alcohol when things get rough.
I thought the film was smart to explore the difficulties that missionaries face when they get home while also touching on something critical: Trials can make it difficult to have faith.
Phelps questioned his faith in the film — after all he went through, he didn’t know if he wanted to remain a Latter-day Saint or not. During the film, he not only experiences personal trials, but has a difficult time with church leaders.
At the end of the film, he’s able to emerge faithful again and have a strong testimony. I think this film takes faith seriously because it shows Phelps grappling with his faith and emerging faithful at the end.
Phelps’ faith reminded me to slow down and be patient — a lesson we all could use.