This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2005, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

A "Spinal Tap" for the LDS crowd doesn't deliver the laughs.

Rated PG for mild language and thematic elements; 93 minutes.

Opening today at area theaters.

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The parallel universe of LDS pop culture - the cottage industry that produces everything from science-fiction novels to hard-rock music with Mormon themes - is a ripe target for satire, which the mock-documentary "Sons of Provo" hits with less force than a pop gun.

The made-in-Utah comedy chronicles the rise of Everclean, a fledgling boy band fronted by Provo brothers Will and Danny Jensen (Will Swenson and Danny Tarasevich). The Jensens have just lost their third member and start auditioning for a replacement. They soon find one in Kirby Laybourne (played by Kirby Heyborne), an earnest young singer with a day job as a "scrapbooking specialist."

The script (by Swenson, who directed, and producer Peter Brown) follows a little too closely to the "Spinal Tap" model as it chronicles the boy-band's struggles. The trio must find a competent manager, get gigs in venues larger than a fireside talk, and develop choreography. A major subplot involves poor downtrodden Kirby trying to get power-freak Will to listen to the pretty song he wrote.

That synopsis might make you think there's more going on in "Sons of Provo" than there really is. Alas, the movie feels like a "Saturday Night Live" skit stretched too thin, with more awkward moments than genuine laughs. (I giggled a bit when Will reads the band's first review, a pan filled with big words that he misinterprets as praise - but I'm a good sport about such things.)

Swenson the director gives Swenson the actor (who starred in "The Singles Ward") too much room for mugging, while Heyborne displays sharp comic timing and again outshines the material given to him.

Where "Sons of Provo" fails as satire, though, the movie's music (mostly written by Swenson and Jenny Jordan Frogley) succeeds. Songs like "Word of Wizzum," a slangy recounting of what good Mormons can and cannot consume, cleverly spoof LDS pop culture and the faux hip-hop stylings of the Justin Timberlake crowd. So skip the movie and get the soundtrack.

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