The Singles Ward

Lots of the jokes may not be understood by those not familiar with LDS (Mormon) beliefs. Even for a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, some stuff was just not very funny. Jumping from serious to humorous was sometimes a big leap. DON'T MISS THE BLOOPERS AT THE END!

This is certainly not a great film, but it's a lot of fun if you are LDS, like myself, have been in a singles ward, and get the many LDS culture jokes. Also, playing Spot-the-LDS-Celebrity adds to the film's appeal. But Singles Ward will just confuse and perhaps irritate non-members. So far only Richard Dutcher (who has a funny cameo in this film) has managed to go beyond the Mormon genre and appeal to non-members and audiences outside Utah/Idaho/Nevada,... with God's Army and especially Brigham City.

First of all, let me say that if you're one of those who find themselves offended because films show certain things or because they make fun of aspects of LDS people, you should realize that this film actually seriously makes fun of people who are offended by that kind of thing (God's Army specifically), and when they show those characters and you laugh, you're laughing at yourself. Having said this, I think Singles Ward was funny and cute, not on the same level as God's Army or Brigham City, but much better than The Other Side of Heaven. It's light-hearted and you have to watch it with a sense of humor or it probably will bother you. I AM a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and I know, we are pretty unusual in a great many ways, but this film shows some of these in a light-hearted manner, but remains entertaining. Maybe it was made for Mormons primarily, but anyone with a sense of humour can enjoy it. To those LDS who are offended by this film, I say LIGHTEN UP! We should find the good in all things.

I must say. This movie was pretty funny. I, too am a member of the LDS church.

It pokes fun at Mormon's and I see no reason to take offence to it. I also do not think that they portray non-Mormons as drunken idiots. Sure some were drinking but most of the non-Mormons WERE in a club after all, right?

I especially thought when the main character was going bad was the funniest scenes of all. I would give this movie to any Mormon, as long as they can take a joke. To all non-Mormon's who watch it, you'll find some particularly funny parts, i believe, and it's all just a joke. It's not meant to be offensive or anything of the sort.

I enjoyed certain parts of the "The Singles Ward", but one thing that really bothered me was how the non-Mormon archetypes were portrayed.

I can think of only two: The male non-Mormon, who was covered with tattoos and body piercings (very scary-looking), who liked to "car bungee" and the Female non-Mormon who worked in the comedy club and was, for lack of a better term, a bitch. "Thankfully", at least the male non-Mormon, due to the good influence of his LDS roommates, went on to serve a church mission and adopted a more "clean cut" image. Sadly, I don't know what happened to the vicious tank-top-wearing bitch. I see these types of things way too much in LDS movies, which I think is unfortunate because it comes across as ignorant and bigoted, even if it is unintentional. I definitely think it says something about how non-Mormons are sometimes perceived by Mormons (especially in Utah).

Also, I thought that Cammie's character was a little intense. I thought that the jokes Jonathan made about BYU were mild and amusing, but they made Cammie cry because they were just so "anti". At times during the movie, I wondered if God himself would fully meet her approval.

Every time one of these movies comes out, I wonder if "this one" will be "the one" that appeals to both LDS and Non-LDS alike. I'm still waiting.