| The Singles Ward | |
|---|---|
 Official film series logo | |
| Based on | Characters created by John E. Moyer |
| Starring | |
| Distributed by | Halestorm Entertainment |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $500,000 (1 films) |
| Box office | $1,250,798 (1 films) |
The Singles Ward film series consists of two low-budgetMormoncomedies based on original characters, co-written by Kurt Hale andJohn Moyer. The overall premise centers around members ofthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church)who are not yet married and their religiouscongregations, known as wards. The story details the humorous experiences for attendees in these congregations.
| 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) | Kurt Hale & John E. Moyer | Dave Hunter, George Dayton and Bryce W. Fillmore | ||
| The Real Life Singles Ward | March 1, 2011 (2011-03-01) | John E. Moyer | John E. Moyer, Mario DeAngelis and Brad Olsen | ||
After faithfully serving a full-timemission, then getting married, Jonathan Jordan finds himself divorced and once again attending one of the church's single-adult wards. As he attends a congregation specifically for unmarried adults, where the ultimate goal iseternal 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 he begins to question whether he is going for the right reasons or if it is just to impress his new girlfriend.
Dalen Martin, a young professor atBrigham Young University, becomes engaged to his girlfriend Christine, who is an student attending the university and a recentconvert to the LDS Church. As the couple prepares for their upcoming wedding, Christine's divorced parents arrive with their new partners for the occasion. The couple explores their relationship and preparations while attending the church's congregation of single adults. Dalen tries to create a lasting relationship with Christine's separated parents, who are critical of the religion, and assists his friend Jonathan with developing a feature film based on hisexperiences 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 Sainttemple, although they must explain to her parents why they cannot attend their own daughter's marriage ceremony.
Filmed in adocumentary style, the movie follows the real-world experiences of a few Latter-day Saints attending their singles-ward activities. Over the course of the production, the project examines the positives and negatives of dating, while exploring the young men's journey in trying to find theireternal companion. This occurs through various aspects of the process including engagement for someone who isdivorced versus one who hasnever married. Each of the young men answer questions regarding their faith and their desires to grow closer toGod in their pursuits at church.[1]
This section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in more than two films in the series.
| Character | Title | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| The Singles Ward | The Singles 2nd Ward | The Real Life Singles Ward | |
| Principal cast | |||
| Jonathan Jordan | Will Swenson | ||
| Cammie Giles-Jordan | Connie Young | ||
| Dalen Martin | Kirby Heyborne | ||
| Christine McClintock-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 | ||
| Scott "Skippy" Jessop | himself | ||
| Nathan Smith Jones | himself | ||
| Micah Lisonbee | himself | ||
| Supporting cast | |||
| Mrs. Martin | Michelle Gould | Liz Winter | |
| Mr. Giles | Ron McBride | ||
| Brother Angel | Wally JoynerC | ||
| Emotional Ward Member | Jeremy HoopC | ||
| Sunbeam Teacher | Danny AingeC | ||
| Auto Mechanic | Shawn BradleyC | ||
| Brother Niner | Steve YoungC | ||
| Miniature Golfer | LaVell EdwardsC | ||
| Julie Stoffer | herselfPC | ||
| Thurl Bailey | himselfC | ||
| Gordon Jump | himselfC | ||
| Wes the Neighbor | Richard DutcherC | ||
| Mitch English | himselfC | ||
| Film | Crew/Detail | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Composer | Cinematographer(s) | Editor(s) | Production companies | Distributing company | Running time | ||
| The Singles Ward | Cody Hale | Ryan Little | Wynn Hougaard | Halestorm Entertainment | Halestorm Distribution | 1 hr 42 mins | |
| The Singles 2nd Ward | Brandon Christensen | John Lyde | 1 hr 27 mins | ||||
| The Real Life Singles Ward | — | Mario DeAngelis, Brad Olsen & Kyle Raney | Mario DeAngelis, Brad Olsen & Zachary B. Marsh | Halestorm Entertainment, 4Ever Films | 1 hr | ||
In the bookReligious 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."[2]
| Film | Box office gross | Box office ranking | Video sales gross | Worldwide total gross income | Budget | Worldwide total net income | Ref. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North America | Other territories | World-wide | All time worldwide | North America | ||||||
| The Singles Ward | $1,250,798 | — | $1,250,798 | #8,369 | #13,967 | Figures not publicly available | >$1,250,798 | $500,000 | >$750,798 | [3][4] |
| The Singles 2nd Ward | — | — | — | — | — | Figures not publicly available | >$0 | Figures not publicly available | >$0 | — |
| The Real Life Singles Ward | — | — | — | — | — | Figures not publicly available | >$0 | Figures not publicly available | >$0 | — |
| Totals | $1,250,798 | $0 | $1,250,798 | x̅ 2,790 | x̅ 4,656 | >$0 | >$1,250,798 | >$500,000 | ≤$750,798 | |
| Film | Rotten Tomatoes |
|---|---|
| The Singles Ward | 50% (8 reviews)[5] |
| The Singles 2nd Ward | [to be determined][6] |
| The Real Life Singles Ward | — |
The soundtrack is a collection of Latter-day Saint artists performing songs from the LDS Church'shymnbook and itsChildren's Songbook. The soundtrack album was released by Guapo Records.