Monday, May 16, 2016

Don Verdean: Christian, Charlatan, Archeologist

5
Has anybody seen this? Currently, it has 30% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Here is the promo:
Hired by an ambitious small-town pastor to find sacred relics in the Holy Land, a self-proclaimed Biblical archaeologist comes up short and his attempt to cover up his failure fuels a comic conspiracy from the filmmaking team behind Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre.

5 comments

  1. Looks funny. Obviously a spoof/comedy. Obviously modelled on the Indiana Jones of Biblical Archaeology.

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  2. I think they mocking the supposed archeological finds of Ron Wyatt. Or his sensational claims may have inspired the film to some degree.

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  3. Hi Christian,
    I did not find 'Don Verdean' as funny as 'Napoleon Dynamite' (2004), or the funniest of all the Jared and Jerusha Hess movies, 'Nacho Libre' (2006)--hard to believe Nacho Libre was released a decade ago. Jared Hess, and his wife, Jerusha, studied film at Brigham Young University (Provo, UT), and grew up in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (AKA "Mormons"). So, there is no "cussing"/swearing (normally) in the script dialogue. As for basing on a certain archaeological character for the role, Sam Rockwell (and Danny McBride - who played the minister) did not mention Ron Wyatt in an Online Interview (Feb 2015). But it is possible as part of their research. Moreover, Sam Rockwell's point about the intentions of the film was the lengths that some go to to "prove" their faith. One cannot help but wonder to what degree the Hess' (writers) are using irony/satire to make the wider point concerning the use archaeology to "prove" the Bible. Of course, concerning "proofs" over the historical "documents" of the LDS Church (Book of Mormon, Doctrine & Covenants, and the Journal of Discourses) is, in my opinion, rather humorous.

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