One aspect of Catholicism I like to remind readers of is that the religion is not antithetical to science.  Indeed, there have been Catholics involved in some of the most major advancements in human history.  An early pioneer of genetics was an Austrian Augustinian friar named Gregor Mendel in the nineteenth century.  If his name is not familiar to you, then you might have been subjected to the pea experiment in one of your science classes.  Mendel, who earned the label “the father of genetics,” noticed that by breeding plants with different characteristics, he could produce expected results.  Then there is the twentieth century Belgian priest, Father Georges Lemaître, who first theorized the Big Bang Theory, saying that everything came from a “primeval atom.”  Given that this last example is about space, it is a good one to lead into today’s film, Troop Zero (2019).

Space is where Christmas Flint (Mckenna Grace) has her attention focused before there is ever a Troop Zero.  We meet the young girl sitting on a dock at night, a flashlight pointed to the sky, and her narration telling us that she hopes to communicate with her deceased mother in this way.  If this does not work, then maybe the aliens she thinks are up there will look after mom.  Christmas feels like an alien herself, and part of her alienation is her derogatory nickname: bed-wetter.  The only people with whom she communicates are her father, Ramsey “The Boss” Flint (Jim Gaffigan), and his lone employee, the no-nonsense Miss Rayleen (Viola Davis).  Because The Boss is such a terrible lawyer, much of his and Miss Rayleen’s time is spent trying to collect money owed to them to keep their practice going.  They are concerned about Christmas’ socialization, but all they can suggest is a broad admonition to make more friends.  The person with whom she spends any time is Joseph (Charlie Shotwell).  He is the effeminate boy who lives next door, though his parents would rather he be into football.  School is a lost prospect for Christmas.  There are two camps of bullies with which she has to contend.  The more violent of them are Hell-No Price (Milan Ray) and her friend Smash (Johanna Colón), who exact a toll for anyone to pass by them.  While hiding from them in a tree, Christmas and Joseph are approached by the other set of tormentors, the local set of Birdie Scouts.  They exude prim and proper behavior, viewing everyone else as trash.  They are encouraged in this attitude by their leader, the school principal, Krystal Massey (Allison Janney).  While Krystal speaks to her girls, she introduces to them Persad (Ash Thapliyal), a representative from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).  He has come to this rural Georgia community to recruit young people to be recorded on a record they plan to send out into the cosmos.  In order to have the honor of your voice being a part of the project, they have to compete in the Birdie Scout jamboree and win it.  Think talent show and you have the idea.  Speaking of ideas, Christmas is instantly interested in the possibility of communicating with extraterrestrials, potentially her mother, but the Birdies will not accept the bed-wetter.  Undeterred, she checks out a book on the organization in order to figure out how to start her own troop.  Because there is no explicit rule against boys being part of a group, the first person she addresses is Joseph.  He is the only one who says yes for a while, forcing her to turn to those on the fringes.  This means Hell-No and Smash, whom Christmas convinces by not backing down from attempts at intimidation.  The last one is the Christian Anne-Claire (Bella Higginbotham), who we meet passing out balloons that say “Jesus Saves.”  She is my favorite for obvious reasons.  The final piece is coming up with a troop mother.  With some help from The Boss, Christmas is about to get a reluctant Miss Raylene, who is focused on trying to get into law school.  Once they are assembled, they present themselves to Krystal, an old acquaintance of Miss Raylene’s, for admission as unit of Birdie Scouts.  Though Krystal gives in to their demands, she adds that there is little hope for them to make it to the jamboree because they each need to earn at least one badge and they have few skills between them.  Thus, the next few scenes are each of them completing some unlikely task, leaving Christmas the last one to do so.  It happens when the girls are left to fend for themselves for a night in the woods, an experience that not only helps them achieve their goals but serves as a bonding experience for all of them.  Still, Krystal attempts one last gambit to keep the title set out of the jamboree, and that is the reading of an arcane scout rule that says the mothers cannot have a criminal record.  Though Miss Raylene had never been charged, it is enough for her to turn to The Boss in order to fill in for her.  At the same time, she remains with the ladies she had spent so much time with, though it is with the understanding that she will soon be leaving to start her own law career.  At any rate, The Boss agrees and they travel by bus to Marieta for the Birdie gathering.  The act that the troop has put together is different, as one might expect, being a musical interpretation of “Space Oddity” by David Bowie.  So shocked are the other adults that they cut the music off before they are finished.  An embarrassed Christmas pees herself on stage to even louder snickers, but is soon joined by the rest of her group in urination.  Ultimately, they do not win, but they are more satisfied by their new friendships.  We close with them watching a meteor shower, and Persad sneaking up behind them to record their delighted voices.

Watching a meteor shower like at the end of Troop Zero is another way of experiencing the awesome beauty of God’s creation.  For centuries, we tended to look at the Earth as the totality of God’s work, and yes, the Church did contribute to that view for a few centuries.  All I can say is that the Body of Christ no longer thinks this way.  Indeed, there is a lot in the film featuring the characters working against entrenched ideas, mainly embodied in how Krystal enforces the Birdie Scouts code of behavior.  They seek to represent what they deem to be normal, but this ignores the vast variety of God’s people.  I am not quite on board with all the ways in which our title group responds to this narrowmindedness, but what should never be forgotten is how everyone is loved by God and should be treated with according dignity.  In this sense, my favorite scene comes in the final moments as they are watching the chunks of rock burn up in the atmosphere.  As they stand there, Miss Raylene reminds Christmas of the girl’s belief that saying things make vibrations that filter out into the reaches of space.  For this Catholic, she is describing prayer.  Just like Christmas, we have to believe that what we shout into the seeming void has some effect.  This point is underscored when Smash says her first line of the film: “Here I am.”  Throughout the Bible, when God calls to those He desires to serve Him, they respond with those same three words.  Since all communication with God can be called prayer, the fact that this is said in both cases when having an experience with the Heavenly, is another way God demonstrates His love.  Nobody is unworthy, no matter if you pee your pants or have one eye like Anne-Claire.  We are all precious in His eyes.

“Precious” is a good word to describe Troop Zero.  It is as good a movie I have seen of late, and I hope you watch it as well.  There are some puzzling behaviors in it, but it should also be remembered that God created everyone with certain gifts regardless of other factors.