250 Great Movies for Latter-day Families

250 Great Movies for Latter-day Families

By Jonathan Decker

There are few subjects in the Mormon culture as divisive, opinionated, and polarizing as what constitutes a clean, entertaining, and interesting film. What one person considers to be clean, another considers to be dull and boring. What another considers to be thought-provoking and artistic, another may call provocative and distasteful. To create a list of films of interest and compatible with the standards of the Mormon culture is ambitious, but Jonathan Decker (www.mormonmovieguy.com) does it well.

Decker’s new book, “250 Great Movies for Latter-day Families” will appeal to families with younger children that seek wholesome and clean entertainment will find many old and new titles to consider.

The book includes a long list of films from several genres- cartoons, straight-to-video, classics, LDS Church produced, popular and recent, musicals, mysteries, etc. It runs the gauntlet from Veggie Tales to Brian Regan stand-up comedy. It includes all of the Harry Potter and Star Wars films, Bing Crosby flicks, romance, action, and everything in between. Conveniently there is a handy index at the back of the book to help you reference films by genre, theme, or title.

Decker reviews the films based on three components: Artistic Merit, Wholesome Content, and Gospel Parallels. He offers a rating of the film, a brief synopsis, and a list of scriptures and gospel parallels found in the film.  Each film in the book is judged by the media standards offered in the “For the Strength of Youth” pamphlet. Additionally there are discussion guides, along with scriptures and quotes from latter-day prophets regarding the theme of each movie.

Some readers may be disappointed that the only flicks listed in the book are the ones that received high ratings. The book is not a reference tool to see what sort of rating a film received. Readers should not approach the book with a “Let’s see if this film is family friendly” mentality. All of the films in the book are deemed family-friendly.

For families looking for more suggestions and new ideas for clean, uplifting films, or for someone unfamiliar with the LDS-themed independent film market, this book will be a great resource.

250 Great Movies for Latter-day Families is available on Amazon in paperback and on Kindle.