“We’re not human beings with a spiritual side, we’re spiritual beings with a human side.” Father Stuart (Mark Wahlberg)
Inspirational--Yeah, Boy! I found a redemption story with little saccharine, a success tale that shows the power of faith in the face of suffering and sinning. Father Stu, based on a true story, is about Stuart Long (Wahlberg in fine form), in the 90’s a pugilist turned priest, an atheist turned apologist, and a convert turning to Christ in a cliched way that turns out to be a way to serve. Along the way, Stuart never seems to grow up while he keeps his charming patter to extricate himself from compromising situations he mostly has caused.
Stuart’s father, Bill (Mel Gibson), abusive and alcoholic, himself takes a turn to Christ as he finds Stu offers him a chance to be redeemed when Stu needs his help. Because both actors come from places where they were redeemed themselves, their performances seem authentic, evidenced in their relatively understated deliveries.
Along the way, Stu is inspired by his love of Carmen (Teresa Ruiz) to be baptized and eventually become a priest. Although he must fight for his ordination because of the Church’s reluctance given his dicey life and then rejecting a rare degenerative disease as something it can’t afford, he shows to his death the determination he evidenced in his boxing days. He becomes ordained.
It is in those last years, when he is wheel-chair bound, that he is most successful for counseling about the advantages of suffering, of which he had multiple examples from his own life. Wahlberg, possibly stuffing himself with his own burgers and an impressive 30 pounds along with prosthetics, transforms into a dough boy, but one with more psychic strength than your usual preacher. Christian Bale and Robert De Niro would approve.
It's not a great movie, nor is it wholly faith-based, but it is an inspirational one to encourage our own passions and give ourselves to love at the least in a caring, selfless way. Wahlberg honors Father Stuart with a sympathetic biopic, worth seeing if you accept underdrawn supporting characters and sometimes questionable motivations. But, hey, it’s time to put your cinematic faith in overdrive.
Father Stu
Director: Rosalind Ross
Screenplay: Ross
Cast: Mark Wahlberg (The Fighter), Mel Gibson (Fatman)
Run Time: 2h 4m
Rating: R
John DeSando, a Los Angeles Press Club first-place winner for National Entertainment Journalism, hosts NPR’s It’s Movie Time and co-hosts Cinema Classics as well as podcasts Back Talk and Double Take on WCBE 90.5 FM. Contact him at JohnDeSando62@gmail.com
