OREM — Curtis Taylor's "American Grace" is a good, first major feature effort, but the echo to "American Graffiti" is unmistakable.

And the script has holes. A filmmaker is one of those rare individuals who gets to relive his high school days and change the ending. So the movie is based in part on Taylor's own life and partly on how he says events should have gone.

Utah director/actor Richard Dutcher plays a kindly cop.

The story line follows a group of mostly mischievous California LDS teenagers through a day, starting with early morning seminary, attending school at Grace Davis High School and ending with the rescue of a classmate and death-by-train of a drug dealer.

The title draws from the school name and from an encounter between Dave and a beaten, homeless man. Dave helps the man, then gives him all his money.

As the story unfolds, two of the teens engage in vengeance against a rival high school prior to the "big game," a concert following the game and cruising scenes leading up to the snatching of their friend and the drug dealer's death. As the movie concludes, Dave and his friends learn the meaning of grace.

Taylor raised $500,000 for the film before the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. The commitments evaporated but he produced the film for $200,000.

Some of the implausibilities in the film: The cruising scenes were a rolling car show. Nearly every car was beautifully restored or tricked out. Most teenagers can't afford vehicles like that.

Also problematic was one character's ability to call the pilot of a radio station helicopter from a pay phone, convince the pilot to land and pick him up to search for the drug dealer-kidnapper driving a customized hearse, then from the air shoot a gun out of the man's hand with a potato bazooka.

Yet Taylor scores high marks for entertainment.

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American Grace

Produced by: Curtis Taylor

Starring: Richard Dutcher, Michael Sorensen, Ryan Sevy, Loren DeLong.

Rating: Not rated

Length: 88 minutes

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E-mail: rodger@desnews.com