Once I Was a Beehive is a 2015 American comedy film written and directed by Maclain Nelson, about a girl who attends an LDS Young Women's camp. The film was shot in Utah, and Upstate New York. It received positive reviews from critics. (A "beehive" in the title is a now-retired name used by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to refer to 12- and 13-year-old girls.)
Lane Speer (Paris Warner) is a young girl who enjoys camping with her parents. A year after Lane's father dies of cancer, her mother remarries a Mormon. Before the wedding they inform Lane she will be staying with her new "step aunt" where she is encouraged to attend a week-long girls' Bible camp organized by the LDS Young Women. Lane decides to go on the trip so does her phobic stepcousin Phoebe (Mila Smith) will also go.
The girls' first task is to set up their tepees. Most of the girls rush the job to get to the lake, but Lane and Phoebe take their time. It rains the following night, flooding the other girls' tents, and they all crowd into Lane and Phoebe's. Phoebe has secretly brought her dog Roxy to camp, and she tells them to keep it a secret.
After the night in the tent, the girls take a hike to a glacier. On the way, they get lost, going around in circles. Lane takes the map from Bree and discovers she was holding it the wrong way, making Bree look stupid. When they get to the glacier, Bree makes a catty remark to Lane about her "trying to impress everyone" and tells her to just be herself, because people like her better that way. Lane "accidentally" gives Bree a bloody nose by throwing an ice ball at her. The girls make snowcones from the glacier.
After whittling at the fire, Lane tries to make amends with Bree by cooking dinner for her and they eventually make up after Bree throws a tantrum.
While the girls prepare for the "Trial of Faith" event, a bear raids the camp and Phoebe becomes convinced that it ate Roxy. They run into the bear and play dead to make it ignore them.
Together, they decide to go through with the "Trial of Faith" activity, described as a Sunday school lesson taught by Indiana Jones. Phoebe uses her knowledge to help the girls solve the various puzzles and they eventually find "Noah's Ark". The bishop arrives and reveals that Roxy is still alive. On the last night of camp, they have a testimony meeting and Phoebe, Lane, and Bree share their experiences. At the final camp talent show, Lane and Phoebe perform their new song "Together".
Cast
Paris Warner — Lane Speer
Lisa Clark — Carrie Carrington
Hailey Smith — Holly Valentine
Clare Niederpruem — Bree Carrington
Barta Heiner — Nedra
Amy Biedel — Audrey Speer
Adam Johnson — Robert Speer
Brett Merritt — Tristan Samuelson
Allie Jennings — Charlotte
Kaley McCormack — Mindy
Ariana Bagley — Myleka
Ashley Santos — Paige
Mila Smith — Phoebe Valentine
Audrey Nelson — Hannah
Zoe Wilde — Mykelle
Ken Craig — Bishop Rudd
Kiani Atkinson — Makenna
Jason Celaya — Ranger Craig
Tank the Bear - The Bear
Production and release
Once I Was a Beehive was filmed in Ithaca, New York, Payson, Utah and Provo Canyon. The scenes featuring a bear were shot on location with a trained Grizzly bear named Tank hailing from Heber City, Utah's Wasatch Rocky Mountain Wildlife.[2] The film's ark was made by a local woodcrafter and was temporarily lost during transport because it was not properly attached to the vehicle.[3]
Sneak-peek screenings aired in various towns in Utah in early August.[3] It was released in Utah on 18 August, and expanded to theaters in Idaho and Arizona in September.[4] It was released by Purdie Distribution and saw a wide release of 32 theaters and grossed a total of $732,655.[1]
Soundtrack
The film's soundtrack was released in December[5] and features the following songs:[6]
On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 75% based on reviews from 8 critics, with an average rating of 6.2/10.[7]
Eric D. Snider gave the film a B+ grade and praised it for being "funny, sweet, AND sincere."[8] Adam Forsgren (East Idaho News) included Once I Was a Beehive as one of his 10 favorite films of 2015, commending it for deriving its humor from the characters instead of LDS culture.[9] Kerry Legel gave the film a mixed review, praising the acting but criticizing some dialogue.[10] Kai Elijah Hamilton also praised the film in his review, "Director Maclain Nelson gets extreme praise for making this a film everyone can connect with. It is not a Mormon film. It is a film where the characters happen to be Mormon. Upfront it expects us to understand that these characters are real people with misunderstood beliefs—and in one fell swoop quietly wipes away any taboos. It is a charming film about faith, healing and coming of age. It is not preachy. It is touching. It is as sweet and rich as honey."[11]
A sequel, Once I Was Engaged, was released in 2021. It stars the character of Bree Carrington, who gets engaged while at BYU Hawaii and her loving but over-the-top mom goes all out to create the wedding of the century. But both mother and daughter must overcome the pressure of perfection when this happily ever after story doesn't go quite as expected.
References
^ ab"Once I Was a Beehive (2015)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
^ abGallagher, Alisha (2 August 2015). "Buzz about girl's camp: Local actors and directors bring sweeter-than-honey movie to theaters". UtahValley360. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
^Jennifer, Johnson (20 August 2015). "'Once I Was a Beehive' is expanding camp". DeseretNews.com. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
^Peterson, Lottie (5 January 2016). "12-year-old singer Evie Clair featured on recently released 'Once I Was a Beehive' soundtrack". Deseret News. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
^"Once I Was a Beehive (Music from the Original Motion Picture)". iTunes. 17 November 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
^"Once I Was A Beehive". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
^Snider, Eric D. (14 August 2015). "Movie Review - Once I Was a Beehive". EricDSnider.com. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
^Forsgren, Adam (January 2016). "My 10 Favorite Flicks of 2015". East Idaho News. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
^Legel, Kerry (17 September 2015). "Review: 'Once I Was a Beehive' a Mormon camp comedy, Mormon, Utah". AZCentral.com. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
^"Once I Was A Beehive". Archived from the original on 29 February 2020.
once, beehive, 2015, american, comedy, film, written, directed, maclain, nelson, about, girl, attends, young, women, camp, film, shot, utah, upstate, york, received, positive, reviews, from, critics, beehive, title, retired, name, used, church, jesus, christ, . Once I Was a Beehive is a 2015 American comedy film written and directed by Maclain Nelson about a girl who attends an LDS Young Women s camp The film was shot in Utah and Upstate New York It received positive reviews from critics A beehive in the title is a now retired name used by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints to refer to 12 and 13 year old girls Once I Was a BeehiveDirected byMaclain NelsonScreenplay byMaclain NelsonProduced byMaclain NelsonJake Van WagonerStarringParis WarnerLisa ClarkHailey SmithRelease dateAugust 14 2015 2015 08 14 Running time119 minutesCountryUSABox office 732 655 1 Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production and release 4 Soundtrack 5 Reception 6 Sequel 7 References 8 External linksPlot EditLane Speer Paris Warner is a young girl who enjoys camping with her parents A year after Lane s father dies of cancer her mother remarries a Mormon Before the wedding they inform Lane she will be staying with her new step aunt where she is encouraged to attend a week long girls Bible camp organized by the LDS Young Women Lane decides to go on the trip so does her phobic stepcousin Phoebe Mila Smith will also go The girls first task is to set up their tepees Most of the girls rush the job to get to the lake but Lane and Phoebe take their time It rains the following night flooding the other girls tents and they all crowd into Lane and Phoebe s Phoebe has secretly brought her dog Roxy to camp and she tells them to keep it a secret After the night in the tent the girls take a hike to a glacier On the way they get lost going around in circles Lane takes the map from Bree and discovers she was holding it the wrong way making Bree look stupid When they get to the glacier Bree makes a catty remark to Lane about her trying to impress everyone and tells her to just be herself because people like her better that way Lane accidentally gives Bree a bloody nose by throwing an ice ball at her The girls make snowcones from the glacier After whittling at the fire Lane tries to make amends with Bree by cooking dinner for her and they eventually make up after Bree throws a tantrum While the girls prepare for the Trial of Faith event a bear raids the camp and Phoebe becomes convinced that it ate Roxy They run into the bear and play dead to make it ignore them Together they decide to go through with the Trial of Faith activity described as a Sunday school lesson taught by Indiana Jones Phoebe uses her knowledge to help the girls solve the various puzzles and they eventually find Noah s Ark The bishop arrives and reveals that Roxy is still alive On the last night of camp they have a testimony meeting and Phoebe Lane and Bree share their experiences At the final camp talent show Lane and Phoebe perform their new song Together Cast EditParis Warner Lane Speer Lisa Clark Carrie Carrington Hailey Smith Holly Valentine Clare Niederpruem Bree Carrington Barta Heiner Nedra Amy Biedel Audrey Speer Adam Johnson Robert Speer Brett Merritt Tristan Samuelson Allie Jennings Charlotte Kaley McCormack Mindy Ariana Bagley Myleka Ashley Santos Paige Mila Smith Phoebe Valentine Audrey Nelson Hannah Zoe Wilde Mykelle Ken Craig Bishop Rudd Kiani Atkinson Makenna Jason Celaya Ranger Craig Tank the Bear The BearProduction and release EditOnce I Was a Beehive was filmed in Ithaca New York Payson Utah and Provo Canyon The scenes featuring a bear were shot on location with a trained Grizzly bear named Tank hailing from Heber City Utah s Wasatch Rocky Mountain Wildlife 2 The film s ark was made by a local woodcrafter and was temporarily lost during transport because it was not properly attached to the vehicle 3 Sneak peek screenings aired in various towns in Utah in early August 3 It was released in Utah on 18 August and expanded to theaters in Idaho and Arizona in September 4 It was released by Purdie Distribution and saw a wide release of 32 theaters and grossed a total of 732 655 1 Soundtrack EditThe film s soundtrack was released in December 5 and features the following songs 6 Title Performer s Length1 To the Sky Natasha Watts 3 112 Great Unknown Kenz Hall 3 203 Believe Sam Means 2 384 Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing Jessica Frech 3 045 I Got Your Back Kayliann 2 346 Together Film Version Paris Warner 1 537 Love and Pain Sam Means 2 438 The Spirit of God Like a Fire Is Burning The Sabre Rattlers 3 409 River Belle Jewel 3 2710 Together Contest Version Evie Clair 1 5411 For You Evie Clair 3 3212 Together Performance Track Beehive Sing Along 1 52Reception EditOn Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 75 based on reviews from 8 critics with an average rating of 6 2 10 7 Eric D Snider gave the film a B grade and praised it for being funny sweet AND sincere 8 Adam Forsgren East Idaho News included Once I Was a Beehive as one of his 10 favorite films of 2015 commending it for deriving its humor from the characters instead of LDS culture 9 Kerry Legel gave the film a mixed review praising the acting but criticizing some dialogue 10 Kai Elijah Hamilton also praised the film in his review Director Maclain Nelson gets extreme praise for making this a film everyone can connect with It is not a Mormon film It is a film where the characters happen to be Mormon Upfront it expects us to understand that these characters are real people with misunderstood beliefs and in one fell swoop quietly wipes away any taboos It is a charming film about faith healing and coming of age It is not preachy It is touching It is as sweet and rich as honey 11 The film was a finalist in the best film category of the 2015 AML Awards but ultimately lost to Peace Officer 12 Sequel EditA sequel Once I Was Engaged was released in 2021 It stars the character of Bree Carrington who gets engaged while at BYU Hawaii and her loving but over the top mom goes all out to create the wedding of the century But both mother and daughter must overcome the pressure of perfection when this happily ever after story doesn t go quite as expected References Edit a b Once I Was a Beehive 2015 Box Office Mojo Retrieved 1 August 2016 Tank the Bear a b Gallagher Alisha 2 August 2015 Buzz about girl s camp Local actors and directors bring sweeter than honey movie to theaters UtahValley360 Retrieved 13 February 2016 Jennifer Johnson 20 August 2015 Once I Was a Beehive is expanding camp DeseretNews com Retrieved 13 February 2016 Peterson Lottie 5 January 2016 12 year old singer Evie Clair featured on recently released Once I Was a Beehive soundtrack Deseret News Retrieved 13 February 2016 Once I Was a Beehive Music from the Original Motion Picture iTunes 17 November 2015 Retrieved 15 May 2016 Once I Was A Beehive Rotten Tomatoes Retrieved 29 February 2020 Snider Eric D 14 August 2015 Movie Review Once I Was a Beehive EricDSnider com Retrieved 15 May 2016 Forsgren Adam January 2016 My 10 Favorite Flicks of 2015 East Idaho News Retrieved 13 February 2016 Legel Kerry 17 September 2015 Review Once I Was a Beehive a Mormon camp comedy Mormon Utah AZCentral com Retrieved 13 February 2016 Once I Was A Beehive Archived from the original on 29 February 2020 Hall Andrew 4 March 2016 2015 AML Award Winners Association for Mormon Letters Retrieved 24 March 2016 External links EditOfficial website Once I Was a Beehive at IMDb Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Once I Was a Beehive amp oldid 1169259605, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
