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52 reviews in total

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6 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
Great fun, cheesy though it may be, 29 January 2003
Author: drew_graham1 from Provo, UT

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.

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5 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
Not What You Expect, 30 March 2002
Author: tayster12-5 from SLC, Utah

Before I write this review out, let me start by saying, yes, I'm a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I served a two year mission in Santiago, Chile. I used to have season tickets to BYU football. I go to church every single Sunday.

You should also know that I never attended BYU, I don't listen to "Christian Rock" (except Stryper) and I am probably the only person in the state of Utah that hasn't seen "God's Army" or other "Mormon-based" movies.

When my sister-in-law told me to go see "Singles Ward", I blew it off because I really had no desire to watch a movie that would be just a lot of inside Mormon jokes. She persisted, even offered to watch the kids and pay for the movie, so my wife & I went to the movie. I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised.

Yes, most of the jokes are too inside for someone who does not attend our church, but I think even non-Mormon/non-Utahns will get a kick out of this movie. I mean, comedy is comedy. Even though I'm not Catholic, the song "The Vatican Rag" by Tom Lehrer is funny.

To be totally honest, the soundtrack was actually the coolest part of the movie. Finally, church songs the way they should have been written.

Like I said, I'm not a big fan of "Mormon" movies, but I really enjoyed this movie. It was funny, it was touching, and when you left you felt like your money (or your sister-in-law's money) wasn't wasted.

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3 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
Fun if you get the jokes, 27 December 2002

Author: drgibson from USA

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.

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2 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
Mormons can poke fun at themselves. LDS humor., 13 November 2002

Author: Ray Papa from Sacramento, CA

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!

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3 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
just the 'humble' opinions of a reactivated Mormon girl, 13 May 2003
Author: Lily-32 from Utah

I'm not a seventh generation Mormon (at least I don't think we go back that far, not on Grandpa's side anyway), I've not lived in Utah my whole life (first military then work, we skipped and jumped from state to state) but I still got all the jokes and found it very amusing. I liked it.

Yes, it's a little clicky with all the in-jokes, and yes, it may not appeal to non-members. But I go to movies all the time (and I've seen my fair share of movies) where in-jokes of a certain religion, local and society type are made that I just don't get. Does that mean the movie shouldn't have been made or was a waist of time to the rest of the world and myself? Not at all. I can still enjoy it and maybe someone can explain the joke to me so I can laugh as well.

Seems like a great opportunity to share our personal experiences and promote understanding in a society where you look at someone wrong and next week a building is blown up as a result.

And frankly, I'm just glad that I can expand my movie collection to include movies that don't have to be cartoons to be free from gratuitous sex, violence, nudity, profanity . . . the list goes on and on.

And as far as being offended goes, I'm probably the easiest offended person I know. My family certainly thinks so. I know so. And I'm trying to change that by learning to laugh at myself.

Someone once said, "A person who can learn to laugh at oneself will never cease to be amused." Better to laugh yourself into tears than let sorrow and emotional injuries force us into it.

And in my attempt to correct what I see as a shortcoming in myself I'm constantly reminding myself that if I'm offended, maybe I should be. Was what was done an attack on me (intentional or otherwise) or was it another persons way of expressing their own feelings about something?

Long story short, I loved the movie. Just because we don't understand it doesn't mean we can learn to and then like it. And if I ever decide I don't like it anymore, well, I don't have to watch it, do I?

Thank you.

*steps down off soap-box*

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4 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
Who would want to marry Cammie?, 29 April 2005

Author: baxdrum from United States

As a one time inactive LDS male, Cammie reminded me of the active LDS women who treated me as an untouchable piece of trash because I had not bought into the "doctrine," hook line and sinker. Why anyone would go to so much effort to marry such a pious, self righteous, mind game playing witch is beyond me. Imagine eternity with her? That would not be heaven. Any person of the LDS faith who watches this movie and can't laugh at themselves, is taking life too seriously. Granted some of the work is stale "Mormon" humor, but if you are a member of the LDS Church, many of the scenes are very familiar. Yes, I meet with the team to get these folks reactivated and this movie has exposed some of our tricks. Time to change tactics.

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1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
I finally saw "Singles Ward" ....., 6 December 2009

Author: Anibas from Miami, Florida

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I finally saw "The Singles Ward" and, being originally from Salt Lake City, none of the "insider" jokes went over my head.

First off, the star, Will Swenson, is simply adorable and I hope he does not waste his talent on so-called "Mormon Cinema." That would be a pity. That's one light that should not be hidden under a bushel.

Next, I was pleased to see that the Mormon filmmakers poked a great deal of fun at themselves and their religion in this movie. E.g., naive Mormons believing that every movie star/singer/athlete is a Mormon or is taking the discussions; the reiteration of the 3 Nephite urban legends by naive RM's; the obsession of naive unmarried Mormon women to latch onto a man as fast as possible; the Jello jokes; the boring meetings, etc. They touched on a great many Mormon clichés.

Mormons take themselves way too seriously and this was again addressed in the movie when the male teacher is exhorting his Sunday school class like they were a football team ... only to have the camera pan over to let us see his class is comprised of very small children... a Primary class.

Quite frankly, Mormonism is pretty goofy to the rest of the world. I mean no offense by that comment but think about it: Whenever there is a reference to Mormonism in popular literature, or a TV show or a movie, it is *always* making fun of the religion. That simply is how the world perceives Mormonism, as something inherently funny.

Also, the crushing conformity demanded by Mormonism was perfectly expressed at the end when our handsome, vivacious, leading man, Jonathan, gives up his dreams, his personality, his love of comedy, etc., to woo the uptight, Miss-Molly-Mormon, Cammie. The only thing Cammie would be good for is to put out fires; she's such a wet blanket.

I wanted to shout at the movie, "Run, Jonathan, run! Get out of Utah!!" But, alas, young Jonathan's hormones were already stirred.

The end of the movie is rather chilling when we see Jonathan in his Mormon suit uniform, vapid smile plastered on his face, sitting in church next to his brittle wife, Cammie, while he pretends that he's the happiest man alive when he really just a beat-down "Mormon Stepford Husband." All in all, I enjoyed the movie. I realize it's geared towards a narrow Mormons audience but I am sure there are other god-botherers who would enjoy this film, as well.

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1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
"The Singles Ward" is a funny picture with something for everyone, 19 July 2007

Author: Angus T. Cat from England

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I stumbled across "The Singles Ward" while I was channel hopping. It was being shown on a movies channel that shows mostly made for US TV flicks (I'm based in the UK). I thought, oh my, a movie about church goers! I've got to stick with this! I'm glad I did. I enjoyed "The Singles Ward" tremendously and found it very funny. People who know me might find this a bit strange since I'm Jewish, married, in my 40s, and I've never been to Utah. The film brought back memories of my college days. I minored in religion and spent a lot of time socialising along a street near our university that held churches of various dominations and the Hillel center. I went to dozens of pot luck suppers and sundae socials, getting to know the different congregations. I was also embarrassed by wanna be Travoltas giving me their best moves during interfaith dances. A lot of the film rang true for me. Many of the girls in the singles ward were exactly like my friends: sweet girls who lived together and hosted Bible studies. I knew plenty of guys like Jonathan's roommates. I loved the roommate with the piercings and the liking for car bungee jumping and the scene with the balloons. They reminded me of several of my friends who lived in the dorms and experimented with melting records by using lit cans of deodorant for a blow torch. Jonathan's soul searching after he left the girl's apartment evoked my spiritual feelings. I could identify with the pressure on Jonathan and his friends to get married and start raising families- I had a lot of pressure on me at the time to find a boy from a "nice" family (one religious but not too religious), join a synagogue, start popping out babies and get them involved in temple classes and activities straight away. Did Brigham Young really say: "If you're 25 years old and unmarried, you're a menace to society"? It sounds exactly like my mother's comments when I was in my 20s. It's good to see a movie that's positive about the search for spirituality and meaning, has a sense of humor, and doesn't shove The Right Way down the viewer's throat. I smiled when the roommates said of Jonathan's self examination, "Who are you talking to?" and "You sound like a seminary film". "The Singles Ward" isn't just for Mormon audiences. People of different backgrounds can enjoy it too. I wish it didn't end with snapshots of all the characters getting paired up- I wish it offered them more choices than the officially recommended marriage and the baby carriage. On the other hand, numerous Hollywood movies have the same kind of ending: pictures of partners for everyone (even the most obnoxious) thanks to the magic of romance and dating services.

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1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
8/10, 27 October 2006

Author: guamfiji11 from United States

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.

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1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
Pretty Good, 23 March 2006

Author: abrafocus from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

When I first saw the beginning, and Jonathan (Will Swenson) talked to the camera, I thought, Oh good grief, here comes another Ferris Bueller.

But it wasn't anything like Ferris. After his wife dumps him, Jon is back in the Single's Ward. He meets Cammie Giles, the Ward Activies chairperson, and at first, they don't like each other. But as they get to know each other, they spend more time going places, like meetings, activities, and the like.

Danny Ainge even makes an appearance as a teacher. His words are really funny. He talks to his students, as if they were basketball players, and the audience doesn't know who he's talking to. Then we see: a bunch of 4 year-old's, staring at him, apparently not understanding a word he said.

Several other well-known LDS people make appearances, like Steve Young and Shawn Bradley.

This is one of the best LDS movies ever. Even if you're not Mormon, you'll enjoy it.

My Score: 7/10.

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