312: Father Stu

[00:00:00] Chapter 23, Random Film Get to Father Stu from 2022. This one is written and directed by Rosalind Ross, who at least at the time was Mel Gibson's girlfriend. Interestingly, her one and only feature. It stars Mark Wahlberg, Mel Gibson, Jackie Weaver, Teresa Ruiz, Malcolm McDowell. And

[00:00:57] the synopsis is, follows the life of Father Stuart Long, a boxer turned priest who inspired countless people during his journey from self-destruction to redemption. So I don't know if you would necessarily call this one a faith-friendly movie, but it sort of

[00:01:14] has that element to it which I didn't fully know going in. And for anyone who listens to the show, I'm not a religious person. I was raised Christian, but I consider myself to be agnostic

[00:01:26] at this point and have been for a while. But nevertheless, I, for whatever reason, am very interested in religious stories, like the history, the cultural impact, the kind of grounded, restrained styles of storytelling when it comes to film. I

[00:01:42] always want to give those movies a chance, even if I don't partake in that particular religion. I'm always interested in those stories no matter what. And I like Mark Wahlberg to a degree. I

[00:01:52] think he's one of those actors who, when he cares, he can be fantastic. Talking about his work with Peter Berg, Lone Survivor, Deepwater Horizon. There's a new one coming out that I'm pretty

[00:02:05] curious about. There's a recent one called Joe Bell, which I think he's excellent in. But then, whether it's bad agent, he just doesn't care. He wants the paycheck. He has a huge share of duds, especially recently. The stuff he's been doing for Netflix are almost all pretty terrible,

[00:02:24] in my opinion. So he is a little frustrating in that way. Sometimes I can feel his paycheck eyes winking at the camera when he doesn't care. And then when he's really invested,

[00:02:37] I feel that for sure, the genuine passion for that project. So this one I was curious about, didn't know anything about, didn't have a huge interest, but it's like, eh, it's different for him. I'll check it out. And I wanted to like the movie more. I think

[00:02:52] he is excellent in the movie. He has that sort of doofy charm to him. And it is a true story about this guy who was a boxer who just wasn't very good, was getting beat up and lost most of

[00:03:06] the time. He wanted to go out to California to become an actor or at least involved in Hollywood in one way or the other. That didn't really work out. And then he ended up getting in a car wreck

[00:03:18] or motorcycle wreck, almost died and sort of had a, I don't know the full story in terms of what was changed for the movie, but sort of had a religious epiphany or awakening and became a

[00:03:29] priest. And that's a very interesting story. I think I didn't know anything about it. And I thought that was a pretty compelling character piece, but the movie, that overall journey is interesting.

[00:03:43] But at the same time, I don't necessarily know who this movie is for because there is a point where there is that wreck where if you don't partake in that faith, which, hey,

[00:03:55] if you do or if you don't, that's fine. It doesn't bother me in any way. But I feel like just as Father Stu apparently did, you know, talking to people who were already of faith

[00:04:06] and then people who weren't, this movie to me feels like it is only preaching to people of that faith, of religious faith. And that's all right. But for a movie like this and compared to

[00:04:19] other movies in that same vein, I think there could have been a way for them to tell this story that would have kept it slightly more open and would have allowed non-believers, so to speak, to fully understand that character's journey and beliefs without having it be,

[00:04:37] for lack of a better word, preachy in a way and kind of preaching to the choir as well. So in summation, there's a point where it kind of lost me. And I know it would probably make

[00:04:51] some viewers get invested even more, but for me, it lost me because of my own background. And it is what it is. I'm not mad about it, but I was wanting to like the movie more than I did.

[00:05:04] And I still think it's entertaining. It's got some good heartfelt moments. Mel Gibson, I don't love him in general, but I think he and Mark Wahlberg are good together. And Mel Gibson plays this pretty crappy father. And Mark Wahlberg is really trying to prove himself

[00:05:20] to his father, but also to himself. And so it's an interesting idea. It's an interesting story for sure. And if you like Mark Wahlberg, if you want to see a good performance by him,

[00:05:32] do check it out. May not win you over, but nevertheless, still refreshing for an actor like him to do a fairly small project like this. And what I did learn is that he financed this

[00:05:45] project himself because he couldn't get a studio to fully finance it. So it is his baby of sorts, which I appreciate that. I respect that. So yeah, not as great as I wish it was,

[00:05:58] as I think it could be. There's a way, I think, don't ask me how, but I think there is a way through creative ideas to make this sort of story open to all audiences from all walks of life and

[00:06:11] not have it necessarily be a bad taste to people who are religious and vice versa. But that's not what it is. I hate to say it. Oh, and one quick thing, way over usage of soundtrack in this

[00:06:28] movie, I felt like every single cut or transition to a new scene, there had to be a song of whatever kind. And it got really tiresome. It felt like this was, okay, this is a first time director.

[00:06:40] Like we need to find something to keep the momentum going. Let's put in a song. And it got really repetitive. So that is another small little issue with the movie. That one is a two and a half out of five.