IMHO, it showed Mormons in a positive light!
This was why I asked the question.
OK, here’s the scoop:
Elder Joe Young is doing his mission in LA, and, as one can expect, things aren’t going well. Meanwhile, a well-known porn producer is in the middle of filming his latest adult epic, “Captain Orgazmo.” However, his lead in the role sucks. By chance, Elder Young knocks on his home while they are filming. Angered at the interruption, the producer has his lackeys beat Joe up, but it turns out Joe can beat them up. Seeing him in action (and finding out he was a theatre major at Brigham Young U.), the producer offers him $20K to star as Captain Orgazmo. Of course Joe is appalled at the idea, but, as he is engaged and his fiancee back home wants a big wedding at the temple in Utah***, and the producer promises they’ll use a “stunt c*ck” so Joe doesn’t actually have to have sex with any of the women, Joe agrees, but of course lies to his fiancee and tells her he’s doing “Death of a Salesman.”
All throughout the movie Joe is constantly “being Mormon,” i.e., rebukes swearing and kissing women, and never once involves himself in the actual sex. (One of the best lines: “Stick your tongue in her mouth for Christ’s sake!” “How would the Lord benefit from me sticking my tongue in anyone’s mouth?” :D) He is also continually trying to figure out what God has in mind for him, and he discovers, much to his surprise, that he’s good at this acting thing, and “Captain Orgazmo” becomes a crossover success, prompting sequels and more money. (There is a subplot, of course, where Joe actually fights crime and injustice in real life dressed as Captain Orgazmo.)
At one point his fiancee comes to visit from Utah, and discovers his secret. He, of course, quits and wants to return with her to marry her, but in the end, she discovers that, perhaps, the Lord is calling him to fight crime, albeit in an oddball way (and there is a quickie appearance by a vision of Jesus giving him the “thumbs up”).
Now, how many superheroes do you know who pray before fighting crime?
All in all, I thought Trey Parker played Joe as a straight-laced faithful Mormon who just happens to be in some oddball circumstances.
As far as the NC-17 rating, it’s unwarranted. There is no frontal nudity (we do see some nekkid butts, all men’s), only moderate profanity, and the sexual situations are decidedly comical. (The whole movie, though, was very Parker/Stone, and you can even hear them do some early versions of the characters from “South Park” if you listen carefully.) “Something About Mary” was a worse film, just for different reasons. (It should also be noted that as a direct result of the unfair rating of “Orgazmo” [NC-17 equals death at the box office, which this movie did], the two purposely made “South Park: Bigger, Longer, Uncut” as vulgar and crude as possible and just eked it under the R rating guidelines. The hipocrisy of the MPAA, while watching those two films, is glaringly evident.)
I did not know that the LDS advises its members not to see NC-17 rated films, but to any Mormons reading this, I’d actually recommend the film. It was very cornball and cheesy, very funny, very positive, and half as “offensive” as the worst thing you might have already seen.
Esprix
***It was pointed out to me by a very devout LDS friend that it costs nothing to have a wedding at temple, so in this the movie was inaccurate. It probably would have been better if they’d just said they needed the money for a big reception or the accoutrements, but they seem to indicate that it actually costs money just to be wed inside the building.