The Singles Ward (film series)

The Singles Ward
File:SinglesWard.jpg
Directed by	Kurt Hale
Written by	Kurt Hale John E. Moyer
Produced by	Dave Hunter
Starring	Will Swenson Connie Young Daryn Tufts Kirby Heyborne Michael Birkeland Zak Aldridge Lincoln Hoppe Tarance Edwards Michelle Ainge Gretchen Whalley Sedra Santos
Music by	Cody Hale
Distributed by	Halestorm Entertainment
Release date	February 1, 2002 (2002-02-01)
Running time	102 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$500,000
Box office	$1,250,798

The Singles Ward film series consists of two low-budget Christian-comedies, based on original characters co-written by Kurt Hale and John Moyer. The overall premise centers around members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who are not yet married and their religious congregational groups known as wards. The story details the humorous experiences for attendees that go to church in these congregations.

Films

Film	U.S. release date	Director	Screenwriter(s)	Story by	Producer(s)
The Singles Ward	January 30, 2002 (2002-01-30)	Kurt Hale	John Moyer & Kurt Hale	John Moyer	Dave Hunter
The Singles 2nd Ward	December 11, 2007 (2007-12-11)		John Moyer & Kurt Hale	Kurt Hale & John E. Moyer		Dave Hunter, George Dayton and Bryce W. Fillmore

The Singles Ward (2002)

After faithfully serving a full-time mission as a Latter-day Saint and marrying, Jordan finds himself divorced and once again an attending member of one the church's single adult world. As he attends a congregation specifically for unmarried adults, where the ultimate goal is eternal marriage he quickly becomes disenchanted with the experience and stops going to church. As he copes with his experiences, he creates a standup routine lampooning the nature and lifestyle of being a member. His resistance to the church continues, until he falls for Cammie Giles who is an active member at a local singles ward. Suddenly, Jordan finds church attendance more appealing, but begins to question whether he is going for the right reasons or if it is just to impress his new girlfriend.

The Singles 2nd Ward (2007)

Dalen Martin, a young professor at Brigham Young University becomes engaged to his girlfriend Christine who is an attending student at the collect while also being a recent convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As the couple prepare for their upcoming wedding, Christine's divorced parents come for the occasion. The couple explore their relationship and preparations, all while attending the church's congregation of single adults. Dalen tries to create a lasting relationship with her separated parents who are critical of the religion, and assists his friend Jordan with developing a feature film based on his experiences in a Latter-day Saint singles ward. Together, Dalen and Christine build on their love and look forward to being married in a Latter-day Saint Temple, though must also explain to her parents why they cannot attend the marriage ceremony.

Main cast and characters

Character	Title
	The Singles Ward	The Singles 2nd Ward
Principal cast
Jonathan Jordan	Will Swenson
Cammie Giles-Jordan	Connie Young
Dalen Martin	Kirby Heyborne
Christine Martin		Erin Chambers
Eldon Coates	Daryn Tufts
Hyrum	Michael Birkeland
DeVerl	Lincoln Hoppe
Zak Aldridge	Robert Swenson
Jenny		Lisa Higbee
Willard		Brad Johnson
Laura		Katherine Purdie
Kate		Kelly Hennessey
Supporting cast
Mr. Giles	Ron McBride
Brother Angel	Wally Joyner
Emotional ward member	Jeremy Hoop
Sunbeam teacher	Danny Ainge
Auto mechanic	Shawn Bradley
Brother Niner	Steve Young
Miniature golfer	LaVell Edwards
Julie Stoffer	herself
Thurl Bailey	himself
Gordon Jump	himself
Wes	Richard Dutcher

Cameos

• Wally Joyner as Brother Angel

Cameo appearances

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

• Ron McBride, former University of Utah head football coach, as the father of Cammie Giles.
• Late actor Gordon Jump, who was still alive at the time of the filming, and 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".

Crew

• Kurt Hale - director
• Kurt Hale and John Moyer - writers
• Eric C. Player - script doctor

Soundtrack

The soundtrack is a collection 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
• "When Grandpa Comes" – Slender
• "God Be With You Till We Meet Again" – Jamen Brooks

The Singles 2nd Ward
Starring	Kirby Heyborne Erin Chambers Will Swenson Connie Young Daryn Tufts Michael Birkeland
Release date	2007

The Singles 2nd Ward is the sequel to The Singles Ward. The 2007 film follows Dalen (Kirby Heyborne), and his relationship with a convert named Christine (Erin Chambers).

Credits

Cast

Reception

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."

External links

• Complete film on YouTube
• The Singles Ward at IMDb
• Infants on Thrones podcast review of the movie