The Singles Ward

The Singles Ward is a 2002 LDS cinema romantic comedy film directed by Kurt Hale written by himself and John E. Moyer, based on his own life as a standup comedian and single member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Like The R.M., and other films which followed it, The Singles Ward's target audience is members of the LDS Church and citizens of Utah. The film follows Jonathan Jordan, a recently divorced Mormon stand-up comedian who has not practiced his faith in several years, when he meets an actively Mormon woman who changes his perspective.

The Singles Ward
Directed byKurt Hale
Produced byDave Hunter
Written byKurt Hale
John E. Moyer
StarringWill Swenson
Connie Young
Daryn Tufts
Kirby Heyborne
Michael Birkeland
Zak Aldridge
Lincoln Hoppe
Tarance Edwards
Michelle Ainge
Gretchen Whalley
Sedra Santos
Music byCody Hale
Distributed byHalestorm Entertainment
Release date
  • February 1, 2002 (2002-02-01)
[1]
Running time
102 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$500,000
Box office$1,250,798

The Singles Ward was followed in 2007 by The Singles 2nd Ward.

Plot

After faithfully serving a full-time mission for the LDS Church and marrying, Jonathan Jordan finds himself divorced and once again a member of the LDS single adult world. He attends a "singles ward", a congregation specifically for unmarried adults where the ultimate goal is Eternal Marriage. Disenchanted, Jordan stops going to church. He even creates a standup routine lampooning the Mormon lifestyle. His resistance to the church continues until he falls for Cammie Giles, a member of the local singles ward. Suddenly, Jordan finds going to church more appealing. But is he attending church again just to impress her?

During the course of the movie, Jonathan frequently breaks the fourth wall to narrate events to the audience.

Selected credits

Cast

Crew

Cameos

A number of celebrity members of the LDS Church make appearances throughout the movie:

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was a compilation of Latter Day Saint artists performing songs from the Hymns of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Children's Songbook. The soundtrack is on Guapo Records.

  • "The Church of Jesus Christ" – Magstatic
  • "Come, Come Ye Saints" – Slender
  • "There is Sunshine in My Soul Today" – Ponchillo
  • "Do What is Right" – Mismash
  • "Popcorn Popping" – Rooster
  • "Book of Mormon Stories" – Pipe Dream
  • "In Our Lovely Deseret" – Mr. Fusion
  • "Keep the Commandments" – Mighty Mahogany
  • "I Feel My Savior's Love" – Mismash
  • "We Are All Enlisted" – Magstatic
  • "Battle Hymn of the Republic" —Slender
  • "Let Us All Press On" – Mr. Fusion[2]
  • "When Grandpa Comes" – Slender
  • "God Be With You Till We Meet Again" – Jamen Brooks

The Singles 2nd Ward

The Singles 2nd Ward was a sequel created in 2007 also directed by Kurt Hale and written by himself and John E. Moyer.[3] Like the first film, is targeted at members of the LDS Church and Utahns. The film follows Dalen Martin (Kirby Heyborne) and his relationship with a convert named Christine (Erin Chambers).[4] Dalen Martin (Kirby Heyborne), a young professor at Brigham Young University gets engaged to a student and convert named Christine (Erin Chambers). When Christine's divorced parents come to town for their nuptials, Dalen and Christine must maintain the peace between them while Jonathan (Will Swenson) is working on a film about his experiences in the first film. In the book Religious Humor in Evangelical Christian and Mormon Culture Elisha McIntyre highlighted the proposal scene between Dalen and Christine, stating that it was "a delicate balance of the serious and humorous mode."[5]

References
  1. "The Singles Ward (2002)". IMDb. Retrieved 2015-06-08.
  2. The Singles Ward soundtrack from the Internet Movie Database
  3. Handbook of New Religions and Cultural Production. BRILL. 2012-03-28. pp. 73–80. ISBN 978-90-04-22648-7.
  4. Hale, Kurt (2007-12-11), The Singles 2nd Ward (Comedy, Romance), Erin Chambers, Kaitlin Gallagher, Kirby Heyborne, Will Swenson, Halestorm Entertainment, retrieved 2021-01-25
  5. McIntyre, Elisha (2018-01-25). Religious Humor in Evangelical Christian and Mormon Culture. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 78. ISBN 978-1-350-00550-1.
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