Louis Theroux: The Most Hated Family in America (2007)

Good movie but grossly overrated

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

The Phelps family protested across the street from my daughter's high school and the students responded with hundreds of kids on the other side of the street. The Phelps family was restricted by police, the students were respectful and didn't engage in name calling or violence and it all dissipated in the news. This was three years before I saw this documentary. I had been aware of the Phelps family for 15 years before that but this documentary really brought their lunacy front and center. "What's Wrong With Kansas" -- Indeed. These people, and many more like them in the Midwest (my roots) are what is wrong with America. I don't doubt for an instant that they believe in the purity of their cause. But they are dead wrong. From a religious standpoint, an ethical position, a moral position, and a political position. These people and their supporters are what is making America a laughingstock to the rest of the world. I pity them.

This is an example of the best that a documentary film can be.It has an "on-the-fly" sort of feel, but you realize as it rolls out that a lot of pains were taken.It's hard to imagine someone doing a better job of capturing on film the amazing phenomenon which is this peculiar species of religiosity finding full, unalloyed expression in this church family. As a teenager, I dabbled in fundamentalism, and the most amazing thing was how I found this film to be nostalgic. People may watch this and thank god such folks are in such a tiny, inbred minority, but they'd be jumping to a self-satisfied conclusion. The specific, extreme behaviors of the Phelps clan may be isolated to the Phelpses, but the underlying subservience to doctrinal purity on display is way, way more prevalent in American society than is comfortable to admit.For example, we're treated to the spectacle of a tiny kid who quite painfully, obviously doesn't really know what the heck he's picketing. This may shock you... but guess what? If you're reading this in America, there is, probably within about 30km of where you're sitting right now, a church where they're planning or enacting a "baptism" ritual on kids who are too young to have the foggiest what they're really doing. That's not all that far-flung from what you see happening to kids in this flick.*** SPOILER AHEAD *** Perhaps the most amazing thing is how Theroux finds a chink in Fred Phelps' armor. He asks Phelps, "How many children do you have?" and Phelps adroitly--or so he thinks--shrugs it off as unprofessional and irrelevant. But come to find out, it was a theological question after all--and Phelps dodged it. Furthermore, he dodges it by retreating behind a facade of stony, patriarchal isolationism. So, maybe there's hope for the old man, after all! One begins to suspect that the flinty hearted man of doctrinal exactitude act is just a shtick, and it could be a matter of time before he comes around and learns to accept and love again.Perhaps that's the moral of the story--but I wouldn't bet on it. The greatest likelihood is that he'll go down cursing.

This was a wonderful documentary for British television about the Reverend Fred Phelps' family and their crusade to make pretty much everyone outside their sick little cult hate them! I say wonderful because while these are very vile people, the interviewer manages to come off as very decent and caring towards some of the most unlovable and nasty people on Earth! He is able to put a human side on the group and extensively interviews Phelps family members. Fred himself is mostly absent from this documentary (for more of him, try watching FALL FROM GRACE) because he was just so incredibly surly and rude that getting more than a smattering of abuse was all the poor interviewer could arrange!! The Phelps cult, if you are unaware of them, is from Topeka, Kansas and is world famous for their hateful protests--most notably, at soldiers' funerals but also at churches, synagogues and the like across America. Their protests consist of holding up very hateful signs indicating that God is happy that Americans die because we and the rest of the world tolerate homosexuality (in other words, because gays aren't killed outright by society, God will destroy us). Within their tiny cult of about 60 members, there is no mention of God being a God of love or forgiveness. Instead, He is all wrath and hate--and their signs are full of provocative phrases such as "God Hates America" or "Thank God for IEDs". Lovely sort of people, huh?! But the documentary goes beyond just portraying their sick message by trying to humanize, somewhat, the family and show the emotional and psychological toll this message of hate has upon them--and in particular, the children. Fascinating and a great insight into some scary and thoroughly despicable people. I really commend the crew and especially Louis Theroux for a remarkable and exciting documentary.

The Westborough Baptist Church believe that America is condemned by God because of its acceptance of homosexuality and rejection of His true teaching. The members of the church are overwhelmingly from one family – the Phelps family under the tutelage of Pastor Phelps – father or grandfather to many of the group. In an attempt to understand why they are so hated and try to get a grip on their beliefs, Louis Theroux spends several months with them at their home, talking to them as individuals and joining them on their pickets at the funerals of dead soldiers, whom they believe are dead because God is punishing the US.Louis Theroux has made a name for himself in seeking out the weird and the wonderful characters and scenes in the world and managing to get close to them, using his affable and harmless manner to often reach the heart of the people and let them show more than they intended. And so it is here with the Phelps family – a group that we start out seeing as a group of religious cracks but gradually become more and more upsetting as the film goes on. The film does a great job of exploring its subjects and Louis effortlessly brings a lot out of some of them.Of course it is not hard to get them to come over as hatemongers who have fixated on one sin and one teaching from the bible and are seemingly ignoring the rest (regardless of the defence that it is the "elephant in the room") and Louis just lets them preach at him. However he also nudges them to talk with mixed results. Pastor Phelps is a waste of five minute of film but the mother is interesting in her immobility in her position. Where he has much more success is with the children because they are quite normal people despite these views. He gets them talking and his style rewards the viewer by drawing out the slightest touches of doubt and a belief that seems to stem more from repetition and, dare I say, brainwashing than it does from a considered thought process and understanding. It disturbing to see because it is hard to escape the belief that the children genuinely have no chance. I suppose it is no different from those born into violent families, abusive families, overly protective families and so on – but it still doesn't make it easy viewing.Fans of Theroux will love it and the casual viewer will find that the subjects are difficult to fail to be engaged by. Enjoyable in the way Theroux's films usually are, but also upsetting and a touch disturbing too.