The Most Hated Family in America (2007) (TV)

User Rating:

8.3/10   

Director:

Geoffrey O'Connor

Writer:

Louis Theroux (written by)

Release Date:

1 April 2007 (UK)

Genre:

Documentary

Tagline:

Louis struggles to come to terms with the infamous family who picket the funerals of soldiers in protest against an America that tolerates homosexuality.

Plot Keywords:

Homophobia | Homosexual | Religious Teen | Sexual Discrimination | Intolerance

Cast

Louis Theroux	...	Himself - Presenter
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Steve Drain	...	Himself
Fred Phelps	...	Himself
Jael Phelps	...	Herself
Megan Phelps-Roper	...	Herself
Rebekah Phelps-Roper	...	Herself (as Bekah Phelps-Roper)
Shirley Phelps-Roper	...	Herself

Runtime:

60 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Filming Locations:

Topeka, Kansas, USA

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Quotes:

Louis Theroux: [attending a picket with the church at a funeral] I mean, I've only been out here 25 minutes or so, but so far the reaction has been, I'd say, a 100% negative. Would you agree?
Bekah Phelps-Roper: Uh huh. Yeah, I would agree.
Louis Theroux: Do you think maybe there's another way of delivering the message, maybe like a letter of consolation to the family of the soldier?
Bekah Phelps-Roper: Oh, we send letters all the time, but not consolations.
[dictating]
Bekah Phelps-Roper: "You anger the Lord, your God and now he's cursed your family." There's no consolation there. They're not going to have any consolation.

Movie Connections:

References Fred: The Movie (2000)

Five Year Old Bigots

I accidentally saw this on a plane. I don't usually watch TeeVee shows, what with all the compromises you have to make.

One of those compromises is the subjects that the market demands be chosen. We're trailer park critics. We like to find people with lives so obviously honked around that it makes us feel better about our own only slightly less feeble foundations. Often its a broken celebrity trapped by excess. Just as often it is some group similarly captured. In this case its excess in the opposite direction.

These people are obsessed by sex. They are so obsessed that sex means fornication (the word having power only because it was used in the King James translation) and that means homosexual fornication. This is presumed to be widespread and to consist primarily of babyraping or similar unknown devilish things. Everyone not in the group are coconspirators, so they blame us all, and especially the military.

Its bizarre, and we allow ourselves to smugly follow these nitwits, this cult. Its embarrassing that this is how we choose to entertain ourselves.

Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.