With all of its social hyperbole, occasional irreverence, and what appears sometimes to be an exaggeration of many elements of a Mormon lifestyle, The Singles Ward still captures very well many aspects of the LDS lifestyle.
The Singles Ward takes a look at the funny side of LDS single life.
Following the story of Jonathan Jordan as his life is met with a series of unexpected setbacks (especially a failed temple marriage realized when Jordan’s wife hits a spiritual wall, which then leads to his own fall from faith), triumphs (including a rebound of faith and romance that are tied together, and everything in between, LDS cultural stereotypes are emphasized throughout the movie. Among sub-cultures within the LDS faith, singles wards tend to have their own unique flavors. The Singles Ward picks on many of the
Although I generally cringe at the depiction of sacrament meetings (one of the more sacred meetings for Mormons) in a movie, I found myself chuckling about some of the difficulties portrayed in the movie of parents attempting to have a spiritual experience while monitoring energetic kids whose priorities obviously align more with their ages rather than their parents’ ideals for reverent behavior. As a father of three kids, the youngest of which (just under a year) loves to make attempts at rushing the stand, I’ve lived that scene many times. Many of the other depictions of conversations had in Mormon circles and among Mormon singles are somewhat close to being accurate, the main difference is that they’re portrayed by The Singles Ward with more humor than we tend to understand within our culture.
I liked this movie enough to watch it a few times. I’d not really recommend it as a replacement for family home evening or Sunday School, but its entertainment value outside of those settings is worth an hour and a half.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.