In the film A Courtship, director Amy Kohn tells of the phenomenon called "courtship" through Kelly’s story. Kelly (33) had her heart broken in college and vowed never to go through such pain again. This is when she found out about courtship, a practice that exists in some conservative Christian communities. It bears some resemblance to arranged marriage in that a suitor must seek the permission of the woman’s father, but in courtship’s case, the couple has the final decision; they meet and get to know each other first, and are never forced into marrying against their wills.

The practice idolizes purity. It is the number-one, most desirable trait that a person, male or female, can possess if they want to attract the best quality mate through courtship. While sexual activity is obviously condemned, so is kissing. Saving one’s first kiss for the altar is a courtship must, and the ultimate sign that one is committed to god.

Telling Kelly's story, Kohn involves an entire cast of characters from her life, all of whom are involved in the church and courtship. When Kelly decided she wanted to use courtship to find a mate she put the task of finding her husband in the hands of her spiritual parents, Ron and Dawn Wright. Ron is very active in the film, it is through him that we learn that courtship views women’s place squarely in the home taking a traditional role, doing the cooking and cleaning, and not going to college. Also courtship places the outcome of the courting process squarely in the hands of god. The process is totally deterministic, and so the Wrights believe the problem of finding Kelly a husband will by solved by god alone.

Some might find the film offensive for the way in which courtship degrades women, while some might view it as a display of a wholesome practice. In this way, aside from a few funny sequences that are edited in order to make Ron look foolish, and a jokey score that could be lifted from a nineties family movie, the filmmakers seem to have taken a neutral stance and not judged the courtship process. They leave the judging up to viewers.