Review: Once I Was a Beehive

Once I Was a Beehive (2015)

PG 

I just finished watching Once I Was a Beehive and that had to be the cutest thing ever! I really enjoyed this movie a lot! I think a great deal of my appreciation for the film comes from my own experiences at Girls Camp as a teenager. I wasn’t really serious about the church until I was a Laurel(16 and 17) and I started going to seminary for the last 3 years of high school. Before that, I was a bit goth with my head always in a fantasy novel, so, I wasn’t really interested in “camping” or being outdoors. It always seemed like my Young Womens leaders convinced me to go and for my first 3 years in Young Womens I attended Girls Camp each summer. However, like most of my church obligations at that time, something I dragged my feet about usually ended up being something really uplifting and fun by the time I was finished. And this is definitely true for Girls Camp.

So, I really empathize with Lane, the main character, and her experiences being persuaded to go camping with the Young Women but actually preferring to be somewhere else until the fun finally catches up to her. I just loved everything about this, although incredibly sappy, everyone felt real to me. There were some moments when we first meet certain characters that it feels a bit over-acted but then I remembered being a pretty rambunctious and obnoxious Young Woman myself. Young teenage girls can get pretty silly at times and I guess that those parts reminded me of my old interactions as well.

But one thing that really stood out to me was that it was a really great story with everyone growing and learning lessons by the end. Nobody started out perfect and even the Young Womens leaders clashed and butted heads at times. In that way, it really captured the essence of “Mormonism” that despite pop culture and media portrayals, we’re still just people trying our best, just like everybody else. We’re not perfect and we still go through the same temptations and trials that everyone else on this earth does. I just really appreciated the intimacy of that portrayal and it made the characters a lot easier to connect with.

Over all, a really great film, not overly preachy or harping on church doctrine. Like Lane, we get to experience an encounter with this church group of girls as outsiders, dipping our feet into this pool for a little bit. We get to know these teens, growing in fondness for them by the movie’s end, and we get to learn a bit about the Young Womens program and values through the activities they do. I recommend it if you haven’t seen it yet and you’re just looking for a coming of age story with some church leanings.