Singles Second Ward (2007)

2 stars out of 5

I am up here in Virginia living by myself. Sheralie and the kids will join me on Saturday. So last Saturday I volunteered to watch my friends' kids while they went out on the town. They happened to have "Singles Second Ward" so I popped it in and watched it. That's my alibi and I'm sticking to it.

It was terrible. The first installment (in 2002) was very good. It was subtle, humorous and engaging. The second was none of these things. A good chunk of the second movie spends its time making fun of the first movie. I almost felt like they just added in these jokes to lengthen the movie because they didn't have enough material. There are so many bad jokes in here it is hard to appreciate the good ones (but there are some). The only engaging aspect was the lead character, a newcomer to this line of films. She was a likable character and almost saves the movie. However, the plot is too thin and the characters too shallow for any real impression to be made.

Speaking of Mormon cinema, these are my favorites:

1. Charly

2. Singles Ward

3. The Best Two Years

4. God's Army (and the sequel isn't bad either)

5. New York Doll (more of a documentary)

6. Work and Glory series (kind of trails off toward the end, but the first one is strong)

And the tomatoes (ones I wish I had not seen):

1. Baptists at the Barbeque (turned it off midway)

2. The Hometeachers

3. The RM

4. Singles Second Ward