Loose Suits
By Thomas Baggaley

I feel conflicted when it comes to reviewing Suits on the Loose. The fact is that the film could have been and probably should have been better than it is. But at the same time, if you can get past some of the script’s glaring flaws, it is kind of a cute, fun movie with some humorous moments. And I think the film was hurt by the fact that it has actually sat finished for some time while the film’s writer/director Rodney Henson (as far as I know no relation to the Jim Henson of muppet fame) and Halestorm Entertainment tried to figure out the details of its distribution, since it does show some marked improvement in some areas over Halestorm’s earliest films – yet in a way, it takes a step backward from some of the most recent LDS Cinema releases (even the lower budget ones).

The film is about two teens (played by Brandon Beemer and Ty Hodges) who escape from a juvenile detention camp in the Mojave Desert, stealing two Mormon missionaries’ car (and luggage) as part of the getaway. They end up being pulled over by a policeman who happens to also be a member in New Harmony, the town where the actual missionaries were being sent. 

Since the runaways have changed into the missionary clothing (complete with name tags), the officer assumes that they are the real Elder Talbot and Elder Johnson. Before long, the two find themselves playing the roles of missionaries, being asked to teach discussions and expected to keep all of the mission rules under the vigilant eye of the ward’s ever-watchful bishop (played by Robert Prosky).

In its favor, this was actually the first Halestorm production (when it was shot) to use SAG (Screen Actors Guild) actors, and there is a certain level of professionalism about the acting in general. Audiences will probably recognize some of the supporting actors, several of whom have impressive credits lists, including Robert Prosky (Mrs. Doubtfire, Dead Man Walking, Rudy), Charles Napier (The Manchurian Candidate, Silence of the Lambs, The Blues Brothers), Reginald VelJohnson (TV’s Family Matters, Die Hard (I, II and III)) and Fred Dryer (TV’s Hunter, Cannonball Run II).

The lead actors, meanwhile, are relative unknowns, but both Beemer and Hodges are adequate in their roles, Hodges taking the more entertaining role while Beemer’s performance is appropriately earnest.

The basic idea of the film, while not exactly original (it’s been done several times before by Hollywood, though usually with the less-than-angelic character hiding as a Catholic nun rather than a Mormon missionary such as in films like Sister Act), does seem to hold some promise. Once the premise is finally set up and the young men are established as “missionaries,” there are some enjoyable (if not predictable) scenes.

The challenge audience members will have is to overlook a rather weak plot line and just enjoy the film for its funnier moments. This is Brother Henson’s first feature film not only as a director but as a writer as well, and it shows. If you are going to have a film about delinquents hiding as missionaries, you’ve got to figure out how to get them to take the place of the missionaries in the first place, you have to figure out what to do with the real missionaries in the meantime, and you’ve got to find a satisfactory way to finally resolve the situation and get everyone back where they belong. Henson’s solution to these problems, however, seems contrived.

It also seems like a lot of opportunities are missed and that with such a potentially entertaining idea, that there is a lot more in the premise that could have been explored. For instance, from watching the movie, you would think that the only rules in the missionaries’ “white bible” are no dating, no girls, and no spending time alone with members of the opposite gender, since almost none of the other mission rules are even mentioned, despite the fact that an entire scene is spent with Hodges’ character reading them.

The film’s ending is particularly disappointing. While many of Halestorm’s early productions have seemed run out of steam about 2/3 of the way through, this is not the case with Suits on the Loose. However, the ending is too long and seems to lack a satisfactory resolution. It’s as if Henson is trying too hard to find some way to have everything end a predetermined way, but the ending just doesn’t ring true to the story, the characters and the situation.

There is also the intimation that the characters have learned something through their experience, but you’re never quite sure exactly what they learned and how that ties their actions at the film’s conclusion. Weak endings seem to be a consistent weakness in most Halestorm productions, actually, which is something that I would hope they are working to figure out, because you would think that the ending of a film ought to be that film’s strongest point – the payoff where all the elements of the story come together and are resolved in a satisfying way.

The guys at Halestorm have intimated that Suits on the Loose is the company’s first attempt to produce a film that is not targeted solely at the LDS market. Yet this film falls prey to the same weakness for which their early films have been criticized, specifically Mormon-centric references without explanation, which means they would only be understood by members of the Church.

A glaringly obvious example of this is a particular conversation in a diner in which several members are talking about dating and priests, teachers and deacons. The non-Mormon “missionaries” are bewildered by the whole conversation, but the filmmakers seem to forget that anyone in the audience who didn’t know the typical ages of priesthood holders of those offices or that members of the Church have been counseled not to date before the age of 16 would be equally bewildered by the conversation and would probably not find the entire scene very humorous at all.

So the film has its flaws. Still, if you can get past these flaws, it can be a pretty fun film to watch and I think audiences will enjoy it. It provides a couple hours of light entertainment. It’s not a memorable film that you’ll remember and quote for years to come, but if you have a couple of hours and just want to escape from everyday cares for a while, you could do worse than seeing Suits on the Loose.

Suits on the Loose is rated PG for some language and brief violence. It is currently playing in theaters in Utah and will soon be opening in various theaters throughout the Western United States. No additional information has been released regarding the film’s distribution to other areas.