Latter Days (2003)

A promiscuous gay party animal falls for a young Mormon missionary, leading to crisis, cliché, and catastrophe.

Director:

C. Jay Cox

Writer:

C. Jay Cox

Stars:

Steve Sandvoss, Wes Ramsey, Amber Benson

3 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Steve Sandvoss	...	Elder Aaron Davis
Wes Ramsey	...	Christian Markelli
Rebekah Johnson	...	Julie Taylor (as Rebekah Jordan)
Amber Benson	...	Traci Levine
Khary Payton	...	Andrew
Jacqueline Bisset	...	Lila Montagne
Joseph Gordon-Levitt	...	Elder Paul Ryder
Rob McElhenney	...	Elder Harmon
Dave Power	...	Elder Gilford
Erik Palladino	...	Keith Griffin
Mary Kay Place	...	Sister Gladys Davis
Jim Ortlieb	...	Brother Farron Davis
Linda Pine	...	Susan Davis
Bob Gray	...	Susan's Husband
Judee Morton	...	Noreen (as Judith Morton Fraser)

Storyline

Aaron Davis (Steve Sandvoss) and Christian Markelli (Wes Ramsey) are the two most opposite people in the world. Aaron is a young Elder (or a Mormon missionary) who wants to do his family proud and is quite passionate about his religion and film. Christian is a shallow WeHo waiter/party boy who only looks forward to bedding a new guy every night. After Aaron and three other missionaries move into the apartment across from Christian, his friends bet him $50 that he can't get one of them to jump into the sack, so he instantly latches onto Aaron. There are two problems, though - Christian is falling in love with Aaron and the Mormons are not the biggest fans of the homosexual community. Once Aaron is discovered, the two have to go through trials of regret, loss, perseverance, and forgiveness if they both want to get to the thing that matters to them most: each other.

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Plot Keywords:

christian | missionary | mormon | mormon missionary | bet | 

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Taglines:

Aaron prays. Christian plays... Opposites attract.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sexual content and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [de] TLA Releasing

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 July 2004 (Israel)

Also Known As:

Eshates meres

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$850,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$5,174 (Hong Kong) (17 December 2004)

Gross:

$5,174 (Hong Kong) (17 December 2004)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Funny Boy Films, Davis Entertainment Filmworks

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film was originally to be shown in the "Madstone" theater in Salt Lake City, Utah (which has a heavy LDS population) on the day of its national release, but the theater pulled it a few weeks before it was scheduled to open. The reason given was that the film "lacked artistic merit", but the film's promoters contend that the theater management gave in to local pressure not to show the film due to its unflattering portrayal of the LDS Church. The film was shown a few weeks later in a different Salt Lake theater and attracted a large audience.

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Goofs

Harmon asks the elders to cite First Corinthians 7:1. Aaron answers with citing Second Corinthians 7:1. Harmon, however, says it is correct.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Elder Aaron Davis: When I first came to Los Angeles, it looked like just this mass of dots... all jumbled and disconnected. It was pretty disorienting.

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Crazy Credits

A Special Thank You to... The Erik Palladino Screening Room and His Xylophone Backup Singers

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Connections

References Solaris (2002)

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Soundtracks

"More"
Written by C. Jay Cox
Lyrics Performed by Rebekah Jordan
Produced by Rudy Guess & Eric Allaman

User Reviews

Deeply symbolic... grossly intellectual... highly recommended

I am a Sociologist/Anthropologist specializing in the field of Symbolic Interactionism, and I must say that this film exhibits high quality in the symbolic context throughout the entire film. To anyone who has not yet seen this, I recommend that you also read "Man's Search For Ultimate Meaning" by Victor E. Frankl. I think you will be able to draw some amazing correlations.

That being said, I would like to say that despite the fact that the main characters are gay, this is not a story about being gay. This is a story about seeking out and finding meaning in life, despite the difficulties and challenges, the pain and terror that stand in your way. This is a story of seeking and finding balance and wholeness and happiness.