8’ Gets its points across, if awkwardly

Here I sit in Washington, D.C., in the midst of a rainstorm, with family having deserted me. No plans to see movies in theater over the next three or more days, but I did catch a TV screening of the DVD documentary “8: The Mormon Proposition.”

Poorly made, filled with talking heads — the vast majority of whom agree with the filmmakers and their basic proposition — and, overall, a cineatic equivalent of preaching to the choir, the film has only one thing going for it: a compelling case to make.

Which is that money from the Mormon Church, millions in donations, were spent in California to influence the voting on state Proposition 8, which would undo the rights of gays and lesbians to marry (a change that occurred following a California Supreme Court decision). In fact, the Mormons have spent a lot of money — the exact figure is in dispute — across the nation in an effort to push back on gay rights everywhere.

So check the film out. It’s a fairly one-sided view, but the view is a vital one, especially given the recent decision by the Obama administration to cancel the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy. Not to mention basic notions of justice for all.