Softwing Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

LouHomey From my favorite movies..

Claire Dunne One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Portia Hilton Blistering performances.

Anibas 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.

amybjorge 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.

Joe_in_Seattle When I heard about this movie, I assumed it would suck. A romantic comedy about a mormon singles ward? Ugh. However, I was pleasantly surprised. It was pretty funny if you understand mormon culture. The main character, Jonathan, decides not to attend church anymore. No big deal, right? Wrong! We're talking about Utah here where can leave the mormon church, but the church won't leave you alone. Jonathan is repeatedly harassed by the local church members who bring him desserts, and invite him to barbecues, etc. with the typical insincere, used car salesman smile. Having been an active member of the church himself, Jonathan is aware of these cult-like tactics, and they have no effect on him other than forcing him to move from Provo to Salt Lake City. Once in Salt Lake, Jonathan hangs with a group of Peter Priesthood guys who accept his inactivity. His three buddies are perfect examples of single mormon guys in their early 20s. Jonathan is the only one who appears to have developed emotionally and intellectually. His active buddies appear to be socially and intellectually stunted in that 12-15 year old range. These guys are hilarious. I really liked the mormon Urban Legends, AKA Faith Promoting Rumors. I love the kid who told these stories as if he was providing new information, and his chubby buddy who believed every word with wide eyed amazement, when in fact these silly stories have been around for decades. They even made reference to the Three Nephites who are roam the Earth and never die. Non-mormons will not get many of these inside jokes and I was surprised to see a controversial piece of Mormons doctrine like the Three Nephites, brought up in a mainstream movie. Jonathan lives his own life, makes his own decisions, and appears to be successful and happy until he meets Cammy. Cammy is a hottie but when she gets p***ed, her eyes could burn a hole in your face. I never really liked cammy. She seemed to only be interested in reactivating Jonathan. Even when they were getting along and dating, Cammy kept bringing up the church and trying to get Joanathan active again. I get the impression that the church will always be number one in her life and Jonathan will never be higher than number two. Jonathan isn't nearly as serious about the church as Cammy. Cammy will always be number one in his life. I can picture him skipping Priesthood meeting and spontaneously driving to the flower shop to buy her a bouquet, just to show her how much he loved her. Most women would find this romantic. I get the impression Cammy would throw the bouquet back in his face because he skipped priesthood meeting. This conflict made the romantic comedy part of the movie work, but I don't think they worked out their differences enough for a marriage to last. Overall I though this was a humorous look at the bizarre mormon culture, which I am a part of. The missionaries won't want to use this as a tracting tool. Non-mormons who see this movie will probably notice a lot of cult-like behavior and it will reinforce sterotypes. It's great that mormons are finally laughing at themselves. I was a serious active mormon for 30 years before finally stepping back and looking at the religion and the culture objectively and there is a lot to laugh about. We really shouldn't take our beliefs so seriously.

halenray I think that this movie is not for anyone who does not belong to the church, but that is not to say that they wouldn't choose to watch it anyways. I say this because there are issues that a non-member wouldn't understand, nor would they understand the humor, and they certainly wouldn't understand the underlying mockery. I am the "Jack" mormon that some have referred to in comments, and I saw alot of mockery in the film, and I'm not saying that it was intentional, the LDS film makers would not intend to do such a thing. This movie was okay, it is not one that I will be looking forward to seeing in the future, but if it happens to come on television, I might watch it for lack of anything else on tv. However, I may be intriged to watch future LDS movies, only because I am a member and I do understand the issues, and the humor. I only stress the mockery because it will only give those who nit pick at the morman religion more fuel for their fire. Thank you.