"The Singles Ward" is the first feature film from HaleStorm Entertainment, and one of the first straight comedies in the new genre of "Mormon Cinema".   I say 'straight comedy' because the majority of the film is designed as a framework to throw out as many Mormon jokes as possible, although the film does touch on some deeper, more serious issues such as the isolation single members may feel in a family-oriented Church, and the purpose and use of free agency.

Critical analysis of a comedy pretty much comes down to one issue: was it funny?   The answer for "Singles Ward" is yes, albeit somewhat sporadically.  The filmmakers appear to be working from the theory that if you pack in as many jokes as humanly possible into the film, even if half of them don't work, the audience will still be laughing most of the time.  Yes, probably half of the jokes don't really work, but the volume is high enough that the movie avoids having a lot of 'dead time' (you know, where you see/hear something that isn't funny, but you could tell was supposed to be funny except no one's laughing and there's that uncomfortable silence for a second) simply by going on to the next joke very quickly (not unlike the technique used by stand-up comedians, one of which is the main character of the movie).

The issue of guest-stars is a little more problematic. The filmmakers throw in famous faces from Utah and LDS culture often without a specific joke in mind--apparently just so audience members can point to the screen and say, "Hey...it's LAVELL EDWARDS!"

And while the 'serious' parts of the film are effective, the film doesn't quite reconcile the 'serious' and 'funny' parts together.  (At one point we're supposed to laugh at how some members overreact to jokes at church member's expense in "God's Army" and other films, but then later we're supposed to sympathize with Cammie when she's offended by someone else telling the same kind of jokes.)

In the end, "The Singles Ward"'s biggest problem isn't content or execution, but one of editing and focus. A good rewrite or two--taking out many of the lamer jokes or pointless cameos by famous Mormons, and tightening up the flow of the movie would have made it more effective.   Still, the movie has some good laughs and an important and effective message (which puts it ahead of "The Other Side of Heaven" right there) and is still worth seeing.