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:

  • Wally Joyner, a former player for five Major League Baseball teams, most notably the California Angels, as Brother Angel.
  • Jeremy Hoop, starring actor in the movies Charly and The Testaments, as an emotional reader of the book, Charly.
  • Danny Ainge, former NBA player and current Boston Celtics General Manager, plays a Sunbeam Teacher.
  • Shawn Bradley, another former NBA player, as an auto mechanic.
  • Pro Football Hall of Famer Steve Young as Brother Niner. The character name is a reference to Young's career as a quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers.
  • LaVell Edwards, former BYU head football coach and one of the most successful college football coaches of all time, as a very serious putt-putt player.
  • Julie Stoffer as herself, pictured in Rolling Stone Magazine.
  • Thurl Bailey, another former NBA player.
  • Ron McBride, former University of Utah head football coach, as the father of Cammie Giles.
  • Late actor Gordon Jump, who played Arthur Carlson in WKRP in Cincinnati and also played a dryer repairman in numerous Maytag commercials.
  • Writer, producer, director, and actor Richard Dutcher as neighbor Wes, who knocks on the door while they are watching Dutcher's movie God's Army and declines an invitation to watch it because he was offended by the "toilet scenes".

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

References
  1. "The Singles Ward (2002)". IMDb. Retrieved 2015-06-08.
  2. The Singles Ward soundtrack from the Internet Movie Database
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