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.
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.