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Return with Honor (2007)

This recent addition to the LDS film genre stars Javen Tanner as Rowe McDonald, a young man who has just been released from his mission. He has two goals upon leaving the mission field – the first is to baptize his mother (Tayva Patch) and the second is to marry Ali (Joey Jalalian) the girl of his dreams. She’s been planning the wedding already, so that one’s practically done, but he’s not sure how things are going to go with his mother.

On the way home from the airport, the taxi he’s in is hit by a semi-truck. The taxi driver is killed and Rowe is, as well – but he is sent back, told that he has sixty days to set things right with his mother. Rowe knows his mother has struggled for years, but he doesn’t realize just how much until he discovers that she’s working as a bartender and has moved in with the man who owns the bar. Rowe has a strict belief system that doesn’t allow for differences in others, and he comes down on his mother pretty hard for her choices. This drives a wedge between them, and as he marks the days off his calendar, he doesn’t know what to do.

His good friend Corbin has changed a lot in the last two years – now sporting a head tattoo and a nose ring, he’s not the guy Rowe remembers. But we come to realize that the message of this movie is the importance of not judging, but just loving. Corbin is a wonderful young man and in many ways, has it over Rowe. Rowe has done everything “right,” but his heart is too rigid.

Things take a downward spiral with Ali when she finds out he’s been spending time in a bar, but he can’t bring himself to tell her that he’s only gone there to try to talk to his mother. He’s too ashamed of his mother to tell Ali the truth. He makes matters worse by suggesting that they elope to Las Vegas – he believes he has sixty days to live and doesn’t want to wait, but Ali feels that he’s throwing away their dreams of a temple marriage. Again, he hasn’t told her the truth.

When the sixty days are up, we discover a surprising plot twist – one I certainly didn’t see coming, and believe me, I was looking for one. Lessons are learned, relationships are patched, and I was very satisfied at the conclusion. This is one of the better LDS films we’ve seen – with the exception of the sister missionaries, the acting was very good and the script was believable and fresh.

This film was rated PG.

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