Perfectly adorable

Disappointment for a huge fan!

A different way of telling a story

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

I really wanted to like this film for educational value, but the filmmaker only presented both sides without asking any of the hard questions. One reviewer said that the Phelps Clan was allowed much unedited time to talk and was allowed to "hang themselves". I doubt if the Phelps's or their sympathizers feel that way, more on that below in the hard questions section. Frankly they didn't sound as nutty in the film as they have in the past on other TV shows and radio programs I have heard. For example, I can't remember the DVD, but Fred Phelps said without any qualifiers "this country is doomed." Well, he was much more precise but I remember clearly thinking "ok, if there is nothing we can do, why don't you sit down , shut up and wait for the end?" Perhaps in fairness, the producer wasn't able to ask pointed questions, but if he spent a month with them and felt comfortable, seems like he could have or at least explained why he didn't in the bonus features. For example - do the Phelps clan all agree, all 13 children? If so, that is amazing. I suspect some don't, interview them too! Does he feel his ministry is a success if they don't attract any new members? Is there any value at all in loving your neighbor as yourself or does that only apply to people you agree with? Do soldiers protect their rights too, not just "fags?" Or are soldiers completely unnecessary? What about the Good Samaritan? The reason that story is so powerful, which is often lost today is because Jews and Samaritans hated each other. At the very least, doesn't Christian charity at least mean being courteous enough not to shout over someone else during a debate? In essence ask these people why they believe as they do. Best yet, and so far unexplored in the debates I have seen - most of the clan are lawyers. Someone should mention that the free speech they cling to strongly is also constitutionally matched with the idea that people are free to believe in any religion they want or none at all. No one seems to have ever mentioned this that I'm aware of. As an aside, I wish the Phelps clan felt as strongly about dishonest politicians and big business. Not charging interest is in the Bible too! There's much more, but I would say the opposition in the film was way too tepid and this film does not really give most people any new information despite being well done.

Fred Phelps has run the Westboro Baptist Church for over 50 years, but the church only grew famous after it picketed the funeral of hate crime victim Matthew Shepard. Since then, it has staged protests at the funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq, alleging that the troops got killed because America tolerates homosexuality.Ryan Jones's documentary "Fall from Grace" is a look at Phelps and his congregation, which consists largely of his family. It features interviews with people who consider Phelps evil, but there are also interviews with Phelps and his family, who all make themselves look psychotic.The point is that Phelps has twisted the gospel to fit his narrow-minded views, as have numerous other clergymen. Even so, the price of free speech is that we have to allow even the most repulsive speech. This is a documentary that everyone should see.In the past year, the WBC picketed the funerals of Christina-Taylor Green (a nine-year-old girl killed in the attack on Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords) and stunt performer Ryan Dunn. The WBC had planned to picket the funerals of Elizabeth Taylor and Steve Jobs, but then canceled their plans.

The director would have done well to hire an outside editor.The poor editing takes away from the film.For example, while showing an interview with a woman who is talking about her husband who was a soldier. Text is shown explaining that he had been killed in Iraq when he was 22. The next shot is the woman saying 'I was so excited!' The editing during the interviews with two of Phelps' estranged children was also fairly tedious and kind of annoying. Other than that it's a fairly entertaining doc.

This documentary is about one of the most despicable and evil men living in America today. The Reverend Fred Phelps is a leader of a small cult in Kansas that has risen to national prominence due to their protests of funerals and churches--with its followers holding up placards that are mostly too offensive to list here on IMDb! Among the mildest of them is "God Hates America" and "Thank God for IEDs". The group takes sick pleasure in offending and makes no effort to actually convert. Their message is that God hates pretty much everyone and that THE message of the Bible is God's wrath and all-consuming hatred of everything about the US, Sweden, Ireland, Mexico and, well, pretty much EVERYONE but the 60-some members of his odd little hate filled church.The documentary features many interviews with Phelps and his clan. It also features many interviews with community leaders, ministers and phone interviews with two of Phelps' own children who have left the cult and talk about the abusive nature of their clan.About the only aspects of the film I didn't particularly care for were some quotes from other ministers (such as Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson). While their views on homosexuality might offend some, they never in their worst days came close to the evil hatred-spewing methods of Phelps and his smug followers, so playing the "moral equivalency card" seems inappropriate.For a slightly more succinct and more interesting view of the Phelps cult, try watching the one hour British documentary "The Most Hated Family in America". While featuring far less of Phelps himself (he was too surly and hate-filled when they tried interviewing him so they had little footage of this maniac in action), they let the kids in the cult do a lot more talking and the film maintained a tighter focus--as a few of the interviews from FALL FROM GRACE seemed a tad weak.