Mitt takes hit on 'Big Love'
 
By By Gayle Fee and Laura Raposa
Boston Herald
Herald file photo
The Romneys

Romney and his wife, Ann, speak to the media after the 2002 Olympics.

Ex-Gov. Mitt Romney, whose Mormon religion has become an issue in his quest for the White House, got a cameo mention in the season finale of HBO’s polygamy drama "Big Love."

The set-in-Utah series, which follows the adventures of a Mormon fundamentalist and his three wives, wrapped up this week with a cliffhanger focused on the arrest of polygamy cult leader Roman Grant, aka Harry Dean Stanton.

Before Grant is taken away in handcuffs, there’s a scene where Stanton is in bed watching TV. Although the picture cannot be seen, a woman is heard saying: "He saved the Olympics. Who cares if he lets his dog ride on the roof of his car? People are just out to get him for any little thing."

As you well know, Romney is credited with saving the scandal-plagued 2002 Olympics in - where else? - Salt Lake City. And he was recently slammed by animal-rights types for strapping his Irish setter, Seamus, to the roof of a station wagon for a family trip to Canada oh so many years ago.

"I suppose it could have been worse," said Romney’s spokesguy Eric Fehrnstrom. "He could have gotten a mention on ‘John from Cincinnati.’"

Ah, yes, that HBO drama is so bad it’s already been canceled.

But seriously, Mitt’s religion has been getting a bad rap from Hollywood - which can’t be good for the Romney campaign. Polls have shown that many voters are wary of supporting a Mormon and that the faith is often viewed as a cult.

In "Big Love," the leading characters are Mormon fundamentalists with multiple wives and the show highlights polygamy cults’ penchant for marrying off brainwashed young girls to creepy old men. Although Romney’s mainstream The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - which prohibits polygamy - is alluded to, it is a minor character in the series.

A second Mormon-centric drama, "September Dawn," opened in theaters last week. Criticized by the LDS, the flick is a retelling of the Mountain Meadows massacre, the murder of 120 unarmed Arkansas pioneers by Mormon settlers in Utah in 1857.

"That was a terrible, awful act carried out by members of my faith," Romney said last week. "There are bad people in any church, and it’s true of members of my church, too."

Romney rejected the claim that Brigham Young, then the president of the Mormon church, shared direct responsibility for the attack, and said he has no plans to see the film.
 
thetrack.bostonherald.com
Originally published Wednesday, August 29, 2007
 
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