Sons of Provo
Encyclopedia
Sons of Provo is a 2004 film
written
by Peter Brown and Will Swenson
, and directed by Will Swenson. It is a mockumentary
that portrays the experience of an LDS boy-band
named Everclean from formation to resounding success.
Will Jensen (Will Swensen) is an aerobics
instructor and is popular with women. Throughout the "documentary" the blond woman that he is seen with is different in every scene. (This is pointed out in the DVD
commentary.) He sees the band as his. Kirby later says that Will is near controlling, but not quite.
Danny Jensen (Danny Tarasevich) is an ice hockey
player and has a life philosophy that is a fusion of Buddhism
and Mormonism. His introductory interviews are done in front of posters of Ozzy Osbourne
and Donny & Marie
. Whenever he has a moral dilemma, he thinks, "What Would Donny & Marie Do?" (WWD&MD) (Compare WWJD
and CTR
.)
Will and Danny Jensen are the remaining members of an LDS boy-band from Provo, Utah
that recently lost its third member because of "artistic reasons." Will and Danny begin the search for a new third member of their band that does not yet have a name.
They begin by posting flyers and holding auditions in their own house. After that fails, they start searching local plays and baseball games (for singers of the national anthem
). They eventually decide on the star of a production of Forever Plaid
at a local community theatre. He turns them down without reservation. They then do an impromptu try-out of one of the costars, Kirby Laybourne (Kirby Heyborne), and recruit him for the group. Kirby is a scrapbooking
specialist who works at Daisy Cutter Scrapbooking Company. His CTR ring is his most important possession.
The group needs a manager, so Will and Danny hire their nephew (who is older than they), Grayson Jensen (Peter Brown), as their manager. Their first gig that he books for them is the targets at a pie-throwing booth at a local fair. They sing while pies are being thrown at them. They are not pleased with their manager.
Their second gig is at a local wedding reception in a church gymnasium. The gymnasium is partitioned off so that half is for the wedding reception. When they begin to perform, one of the microphone stands collapses. A boy scout troop begins to shoot hoops in the other end of the gymnasium. Kirby turns up the music to overpower the sounds of the basketball playing and causes feedback. The bride and groom then begin to argue and the bride walks out. Then the group ends their performance and argues vociferously with their manager during which the manager uses the words "fetchers", "flippin'", "heck" and "butt". Will tells him, "Watch your language!"
In the next scene, Will says, "I, for one, am fine with the fact that we had to let Grayson go. There is a certain level of conduct that is expected from a boy-band's manager. I know that Justin Timberlake
's manager doesn't throw out language like that." At the next official group meeting, the first order of business is to find a new manager. The band ends up hiring an old girlfriend of Kirby's who works at Provo Theatre Company, Jill Keith (Jennifer Erekson).
Meanwhile, Will has set up their next gig to perform at a local fireside
. Will splurges and purchases headmikes that are "the same model as Jessica Simpson
used at her last two mall appearances." One of the men who hears them there has a recording studio in his house and offers to record their music so he asks, "What's your band's name?" They hold a brainstorming session in a park and come up with the name Everclean. (However, until late in the movie, it is spelled "Everkleen".)
They decide that they need to hire a professional choreographer
, a local ballet
instructor, Yvonne Bolschweiler (Maureen Eastwood). She insists on them working hard without backtalking.
After recording their first album, they begin to get some paying gigs. It doesn't take long until they have a tour starting in Salt Lake City, Utah
and including Logan, Utah
, Salem, Utah
and Moscow, Idaho
. During their tour, the reservations that they had made for the Days Inn
in St. George, Utah
had been lost and, "There's no room in the inn." They camp out that night on the Red Hill in Utah, with a short campfire song named "I Am Called Buttercup." This is the first concert where they let Kirby sing lead vocal, in the song "Spiritchal as Me".
Some time after this performance, they read a review in the newspaper which pans their performance. It was written with such highbrow
words that they think that it is a good review.
At a performance at Utah State University
, Kirby loses his CTR ring down a drain just before a performance. In one of the earlier interviews, he conveys how important it is to him. He can be seen clearly performing below par. During the performance, the band manager gets someone to take the drain apart and retrieve the ring which she gets to Kirby during the performance.
One of the songs that they perform in their concerts is titled "Dang, Fetch, Oh my Heck" It starts out with the lyrics, "Dang! Fetch! Oh my Heck! What the holy scrud? / H-E double hockey sticks! That's frickin' flippin' crud!" Their former band manager, Grayson, who is at the performance walks out calling them hypocrites
, and saying some other near-profanities. (See earlier for why he was fired.)
Their next performance is at the Jensen family reunion. (Everyone is wearing orange t-shirt
s that say, "Did I forget to mention / that It's great to be a Jensen?" / JENSEN FAMILY REUNION) It will be the first time since the band has seen Grayson since he was fired. When they encounter each other, they are cordial. Everclean performs to some applause. Then Grayson introduces the singing group that he has been managing for the past few months, moosebutter
(an actual a cappella
comedy group) who performs to wild applause.
The Everclean tour ends up at Centerville High School (Provo, Utah
), where the Jensen brothers went to high school. While practicing for the performance, Will doesn't appreciate that a high school junior is managing the technical aspects instead of a senior. This escalates in to an argument between the band members from which they all walk away. The band manager talks to Will and convinces him to listen to the tape that Kirby has made of the song that he wrote and wants to perform. Will then apologizes to Danny. They both call up Kirby who is listening as they leave a message on his answering machine
. Will and Danny are practicing Kirby's song just before the performance not knowing if Kirby will show up.
He does show up, and Will admits that the group can't get along without Kirby. The movie ends with the performance of Kirby's song by Everclean, with Will and Danny singing backup.
The movie then fades to black. While the credits are rolling, some scenes are shown that were cut from the movie. The largest part is from a (fictional) television program called "Good Morning Taylorsville
".
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
written
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
by Peter Brown and Will Swenson
Will Swenson
William Swenson is an American actor, writer and film director best known for his work in musical theatre. He also has developed a film career, primarily in Mormon cinema...
, and directed by Will Swenson. It is a mockumentary
Mockumentary
A mockumentary , is a type of film or television show in which fictitious events are presented in documentary format. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on current events and issues by using a fictitious setting, or to parody the documentary form itself...
that portrays the experience of an LDS boy-band
Boy band
A boy band is loosely defined as a popular music act consisting of only male singers. The members are expected to dance as well as sing, usually giving highly choreographed performances. More often than not, boy band members do not play musical instruments, either in recording sessions or on...
named Everclean from formation to resounding success.
Story
Will and Danny Jensen are brothers, and the film begins with an interview with their parents. They talk about Will and Danny's youth-pageant championships and their singing abilities. Will and Danny's parents can't sing, as their poor attempt shows.Will Jensen (Will Swensen) is an aerobics
Aerobic exercise
Aerobic exercise is physical exercise of relatively low intensity that depends primarily on the aerobic energy-generating process. Aerobic literally means "living in air", and refers to the use of oxygen to adequately meet energy demands during exercise via aerobic metabolism...
instructor and is popular with women. Throughout the "documentary" the blond woman that he is seen with is different in every scene. (This is pointed out in the DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
commentary.) He sees the band as his. Kirby later says that Will is near controlling, but not quite.
Danny Jensen (Danny Tarasevich) is an ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
player and has a life philosophy that is a fusion of Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
and Mormonism. His introductory interviews are done in front of posters of Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English vocalist, whose musical career has spanned over 40 years. Osbourne rose to prominence as lead singer of the pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, whose radically different, intentionally dark, harder sound helped spawn the heavy metal...
and Donny & Marie
Donny & Marie
Donny & Marie may refer to two television shows hosted by Donny and Marie Osmond.* Donny & Marie , a variety show aired from 1976 to 1979* Donny & Marie , a talk show aired from 1998 to 2000...
. Whenever he has a moral dilemma, he thinks, "What Would Donny & Marie Do?" (WWD&MD) (Compare WWJD
What would Jesus do?
The phrase "What would Jesus do?" became popular in the United States in the 1990s and as a personal motto for adherents of Evangelical Christianity who used the phrase as a reminder of their belief in a moral imperative to act in a manner that would demonstrate the love of Jesus through the...
and CTR
Choose the right
"Choose the right" is a saying or motto among members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that is taught to children and used by members of the church as a reminder to act righteously. The phrase is taken from an LDS hymn of the same name written by Joseph L...
.)
Will and Danny Jensen are the remaining members of an LDS boy-band from Provo, Utah
Provo, Utah
Provo is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Utah, located about south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. Provo is the county seat of Utah County and lies between the cities of Orem to the north and Springville to the south...
that recently lost its third member because of "artistic reasons." Will and Danny begin the search for a new third member of their band that does not yet have a name.
They begin by posting flyers and holding auditions in their own house. After that fails, they start searching local plays and baseball games (for singers of the national anthem
The Star-Spangled Banner
"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States of America. The lyrics come from "Defence of Fort McHenry", a poem written in 1814 by the 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet, Francis Scott Key, after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by the British Royal Navy ships...
). They eventually decide on the star of a production of Forever Plaid
Forever Plaid
Forever Plaid is an off-Broadway musical revue written by Stuart Ross in New York in 1990 and now performed internationally. The show is a revue of the close-harmony "guy groups" that reached the height of their popularity during the 1950s. Personifying the clean-cut genre are the Plaids...
at a local community theatre. He turns them down without reservation. They then do an impromptu try-out of one of the costars, Kirby Laybourne (Kirby Heyborne), and recruit him for the group. Kirby is a scrapbooking
Scrapbooking
Scrapbooking is a method for preserving personal and family history in the form of a scrapbook. Typical memorabilia include photographs, printed media, and artwork. Scrapbook albums are often decorated and frequently contain extensive journaling...
specialist who works at Daisy Cutter Scrapbooking Company. His CTR ring is his most important possession.
The group needs a manager, so Will and Danny hire their nephew (who is older than they), Grayson Jensen (Peter Brown), as their manager. Their first gig that he books for them is the targets at a pie-throwing booth at a local fair. They sing while pies are being thrown at them. They are not pleased with their manager.
Their second gig is at a local wedding reception in a church gymnasium. The gymnasium is partitioned off so that half is for the wedding reception. When they begin to perform, one of the microphone stands collapses. A boy scout troop begins to shoot hoops in the other end of the gymnasium. Kirby turns up the music to overpower the sounds of the basketball playing and causes feedback. The bride and groom then begin to argue and the bride walks out. Then the group ends their performance and argues vociferously with their manager during which the manager uses the words "fetchers", "flippin'", "heck" and "butt". Will tells him, "Watch your language!"
In the next scene, Will says, "I, for one, am fine with the fact that we had to let Grayson go. There is a certain level of conduct that is expected from a boy-band's manager. I know that Justin Timberlake
Justin Timberlake
Justin Randall Timberlake is an American pop musician and actor. He achieved early fame when he appeared as a contestant on Star Search, and went on to star in the Disney Channel television series The New Mickey Mouse Club, where he met future bandmate JC Chasez...
's manager doesn't throw out language like that." At the next official group meeting, the first order of business is to find a new manager. The band ends up hiring an old girlfriend of Kirby's who works at Provo Theatre Company, Jill Keith (Jennifer Erekson).
Meanwhile, Will has set up their next gig to perform at a local fireside
Fireside (Mormonism)
A fireside is a supplementary, evening meeting in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are usually held for a subset of members of a congregation or congregations in an area. A fireside is most commonly held on Sunday evenings, but may be held on any day of the week...
. Will splurges and purchases headmikes that are "the same model as Jessica Simpson
Jessica Simpson
Jessica Ann Simpson is an American recording artist, actress, television personality, and fashion designer whose rise to fame began in 1999. Since that time, Simpson has achieved many recording milestones, starred in several television shows, movies, and commercials, launched a line of hair and...
used at her last two mall appearances." One of the men who hears them there has a recording studio in his house and offers to record their music so he asks, "What's your band's name?" They hold a brainstorming session in a park and come up with the name Everclean. (However, until late in the movie, it is spelled "Everkleen".)
They decide that they need to hire a professional choreographer
Choreography
Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements in which motion, form, or both are specified. Choreography may also refer to the design itself, which is sometimes expressed by means of dance notation. The word choreography literally means "dance-writing" from the Greek words "χορεία" ...
, a local ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
instructor, Yvonne Bolschweiler (Maureen Eastwood). She insists on them working hard without backtalking.
After recording their first album, they begin to get some paying gigs. It doesn't take long until they have a tour starting in Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
and including Logan, Utah
Logan, Utah
-Layout of the City:Logan's city grid originates from its Main and Center Street block, with Main Street running north and south, and Center east and west. Each block north, east, south, or west of the origin accumulates in additions of 100 , though some streets have non-numeric names...
, Salem, Utah
Salem, Utah
Salem is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Provo–Orem, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 4,372 at the 2000 census...
and Moscow, Idaho
Moscow, Idaho
Moscow is a city in northern Idaho, situated along the Washington/Idaho border. It is the most populous city and county seat of Latah County and the home of the University of Idaho, the land grant institution and primary research university for the state...
. During their tour, the reservations that they had made for the Days Inn
Days Inn
Days Inn is a motel chain headquartered in the United States. Founded in 1970, it is now a part of the Wyndham Hotel Group, based in Parsippany, New Jersey, which was formerly a part of Cendant...
in St. George, Utah
St. George, Utah
St. George is a city located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Utah, and the county seat of Washington County, Utah. It is the principal city of and is included in the St. George, Utah, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is 119 miles northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada, and 303 miles ...
had been lost and, "There's no room in the inn." They camp out that night on the Red Hill in Utah, with a short campfire song named "I Am Called Buttercup." This is the first concert where they let Kirby sing lead vocal, in the song "Spiritchal as Me".
Some time after this performance, they read a review in the newspaper which pans their performance. It was written with such highbrow
Highbrow
Used colloquially as a noun or adjective, highbrow is synonymous with intellectual; as an adjective, it also means elite, and generally carries a connotation of high culture. The word draws its metonymy from the pseudoscience of phrenology, and was originally simply a physical descriptor...
words that they think that it is a good review.
At a performance at Utah State University
Utah State University
Utah State University is a public university located in Logan, Utah. It is a land-grant and space-grant institution and is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities....
, Kirby loses his CTR ring down a drain just before a performance. In one of the earlier interviews, he conveys how important it is to him. He can be seen clearly performing below par. During the performance, the band manager gets someone to take the drain apart and retrieve the ring which she gets to Kirby during the performance.
One of the songs that they perform in their concerts is titled "Dang, Fetch, Oh my Heck" It starts out with the lyrics, "Dang! Fetch! Oh my Heck! What the holy scrud? / H-E double hockey sticks! That's frickin' flippin' crud!" Their former band manager, Grayson, who is at the performance walks out calling them hypocrites
Hypocrisy
Hypocrisy is the state of pretending to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that one does not actually have. Hypocrisy involves the deception of others and is thus a kind of lie....
, and saying some other near-profanities. (See earlier for why he was fired.)
Their next performance is at the Jensen family reunion. (Everyone is wearing orange t-shirt
T-shirt
A T-shirt is a style of shirt. A T-shirt is buttonless and collarless, with short sleeves and frequently a round neck line....
s that say, "Did I forget to mention / that It's great to be a Jensen?" / JENSEN FAMILY REUNION) It will be the first time since the band has seen Grayson since he was fired. When they encounter each other, they are cordial. Everclean performs to some applause. Then Grayson introduces the singing group that he has been managing for the past few months, moosebutter
Moosebutter
Moosebutter is a comedy a cappella group that started in Salt Lake City, UT, and has been based for most of its existence in Provo, Utah. The quartet has performed at venues spanning the United States, with most of their shows in the Rocky Mountain region, most notably Utah and Colorado...
(an actual a cappella
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
comedy group) who performs to wild applause.
The Everclean tour ends up at Centerville High School (Provo, Utah
Provo, Utah
Provo is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Utah, located about south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. Provo is the county seat of Utah County and lies between the cities of Orem to the north and Springville to the south...
), where the Jensen brothers went to high school. While practicing for the performance, Will doesn't appreciate that a high school junior is managing the technical aspects instead of a senior. This escalates in to an argument between the band members from which they all walk away. The band manager talks to Will and convinces him to listen to the tape that Kirby has made of the song that he wrote and wants to perform. Will then apologizes to Danny. They both call up Kirby who is listening as they leave a message on his answering machine
Answering machine
The answering machine or message machine, also known as the telephone answering machine in the UK and some Commonwealth countries) and previously known as an ansaphone, ansafone, or telephone answering device is a device for answering telephones and recording callers' messages.Unlike voicemail,...
. Will and Danny are practicing Kirby's song just before the performance not knowing if Kirby will show up.
He does show up, and Will admits that the group can't get along without Kirby. The movie ends with the performance of Kirby's song by Everclean, with Will and Danny singing backup.
The movie then fades to black. While the credits are rolling, some scenes are shown that were cut from the movie. The largest part is from a (fictional) television program called "Good Morning Taylorsville
Taylorsville, Utah
Taylorsville is a city in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Salt Lake City, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 57,439 at the 2000 census...
".
Featured cast
- Will SwensonWill SwensonWilliam Swenson is an American actor, writer and film director best known for his work in musical theatre. He also has developed a film career, primarily in Mormon cinema...
as Will Jensen - Kirby HeyborneKirby HeyborneKirby Heyborne is an actor, musician, singer-songwriter, and comedian known for his work in LDS films.-Biography:Heyborne graduated from Alta High School in 1995 where he was student body president. He served a full time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Dominican...
as Kirby Laybourne - Danny Tarasevich as Danny Jensen
- Jennifer Erekson as Jill Keith
- Peter Brown as Grayson Jensen
- Maureen Eastwood as Yvonne Bolschweiler
Soundtrack
The soundtrack for the film contains the full-length versions of the songs that they sing in the movie. Each of the songs have tunes like popular boy-bands, from pop to rap. The lyrics are tongue-in-cheek, light-hearted jabs about the LDS culture. All of the songs are written by Will Swenson except for the final one which was written by Kirby Heyborne, reflecting the authorship by the characters in the film.- Everclean
- Word of Wizzum
- Love Me, But Don't Show Me
- Diddly Wack Mack Mormon Daddy
- Wait For Me
- Spiritchal as Me
- Sweet Spirit
- Nourish and Strengthen
- Dang, Fetch, Oh My Heck
- Beautiful Inside
Trivia
- The actors who portray Everclean actually sing the songs in the movie. While filming, they actually toured and performed as Everclean.
- In the beginning of the film, Will and Danny post audition flyers. The callback number is 867-5309. That number was a line in the chorus of a popular song867-5309/Jenny"867-5309/Jenny" is a song written by Alex Call and Jim Keller and performed by Tommy Tutone that was released on the album Tommy Tutone 2, on the Columbia Records label. It peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number one on the Billboard Top Tracks chart in 1982...
.
External links
- Official movie web site
- LDS Film's Sons of Provo page of reviews and links