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"Father Stu," based on the true story of an improbable journey from boxer to priest, was a passion project for Mark Wahlberg and Mel Gibson , both devout Catholics. And sometimes the problem with a passion project is that the part of the story they want to tell is not necessarily the message they want to deliver. 

The real Father Stu began life as Stu Long, the son of an abusive, mostly absent father (Mel Gibson as Bill) and a well-meaning but ineffectual mother ( Jacki Weaver as Kathleen). We glimpse Stu briefly as a child, trying to get his father's approval as he imitates Elvis Presley . And then we skip ahead to Stu, now played by Wahlberg, as a boxer whose career has resulted in more injuries than trophies and more trophies than money. Stu has a lot of determination, but when it is clear he cannot fight anymore, he redirects that single-minded dedication to an even unlikelier goal—he decides to go to Hollywood to become a movie star. There he sees a beautiful girl named Carmen ( Teresa Ruiz ) who is very involved with the Catholic Church. At first, he pretends to be interested to get close to her but eventually, following a very serious motorcycle accident, he realizes that he is called to the priesthood. 

There is a scene in the film where Stu, studying but not yet ordained, visits a prison as a part of his training, along with a fellow seminarian who is in the movie solely for contrast. While Stu is impetuous, confident, and blunt, but open-hearted, the other seminarian is studious, sober, and, when it comes to Stu, condescending. It is not a surprise that Stu is able to connect to the men in prison more easily than the student who is literally holier-than-thou. Unfortunately, this first scene that shows us how Father Stu connected to others in sharing his faith takes so long to arrive and is over quickly. His interactions with the crusty and skeptical Monsignor Kelly, the seminary’s rector ( Malcolm McDowell ) are also unsatisfying because we never see how their relationship changes after Stu convinces him to let him enroll.

How Father Stu is a priest is more important than how he got there. But the getting there is how the movie spends most of its time. And even Wahlberg's movie star charisma and irresistible smile cannot make that part of the film work. The challenge in telling a life story in a two-hour movie is to select those moments that are most consequential and eliminating those that distract from the theme. The real-life Stu faced many complications and challenges, but the script seems to be designed around what would be fun for Gibson and Wahlberg to act. There is also a pre-occupation with mortification of the flesh rather than what would move the story forward by illuminating Stu’s spiritual development. 

Other scenes clutter the story’s progress and are not as favorable a portrayal of Stu’s values as the movie thinks they are. He is never accountable for hurting Carmen after she thinks they are going to get married. Another seminarian confesses to Father Stu that he doesn't really feel called to the priesthood but the conversation is presented more as some sort of win for Stu than as a way for Stu to provide some guidance to the person asking him for help. We also get welcome glimpses of the real Stu over the credits and a less welcome extra scene with Wahlberg to remind us of Stu’s goofy adventures before getting the call.

St. Augustine famously said, "Grant me chastity and continence, but not yet." That seems to be the approach of Wahlberg (who financed the film himself when he could not interest a studio) and Gibson (whose romantic partner, Rosalind Ross , wrote and directed, probably the reason he was allowed to overact throughout). As we sometimes see with people committed to highly structured religious faiths, Gibson and Wahlberg are more interested in the "not yet" sinning parts of the story, which are acted with a heightened relish that is not balanced by its scenes of redemption. This undermines the very message they are trying to deliver. Father Stu understood how to connect to skeptics and non-believers. Instead of reaching a broader audience, Wahlberg and Gibson preach to the choir.

Now playing only in theaters.

Nell Minow is the Contributing Editor at RogerEbert.com.

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Film credits.

Father Stu (2022)

Rated R for language throughout.

124 minutes

Mark Wahlberg as Father Stuart 'Stu' Long

Mel Gibson as Bill Long

Jacki Weaver as Kathleen Long

Teresa Ruiz as Carmen

Malcolm McDowell

• Rosalind Ross

Cinematographer

• Jacques Jouffret
• Jeffrey M. Werner
• Dickon Hinchliffe

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‘Father Stu’ Review: Screwball Salvation

Mark Wahlberg throws himself into the real-life story of an oddball priest in Rosalind Ross’s debut feature.

• Share full article

By Nicolas Rapold

Mark Wahlberg dials himself up to 11 in “Father Stu,” a never-say-die story of religious redemption and all-American hustle. Wahlberg’s career is full of characters who totally believe in their own game, and here, he throws himself into the oddball role of Stuart Long — a Montana boxer turned beloved priest who developed a degenerative muscle disease and died at 50.

Three movies’ worth of underdog hooks fuel Wahlberg as the story winds him up and watches him go. Stu boxes until his jaw cries uncle; heads to Hollywood to be a star; converts to Catholicism to woo a devout woman (Teresa Ruiz as Carmen); nearly dies in a projectile motorcycle crash; and enters the seminary to become a priest. As if that wasn’t enough drama, Mel Gibson and Jacki Weaver play his trash-talking, separated parents.

Rosalind Ross, a writer directing her debut feature, and Wahlberg buck the expectations of the religious-salvation story by mostly keeping it light and barely taking a breath, with an extra nudge from a country-heavy soundtrack. (It’s no surprise that Wahlberg previously tried to develop Long’s story with David O. Russell, the director of the screwball existential comedy “I Heart Huckabees.”)

Stu’s travails feed into his salty homilies about getting closer to God, delivered with Wahlberg’s usual bluffness. That doesn’t automatically translate into a religious experience, and watching the movie can feel like a two-hour hearty handshake. But judging from the audience member at a preview screening who sang along with the credits song, it’s all part of the movie’s appeal.

Father Stu Rated R for salty irreverence throughout. Running time: 2 hour 4 minutes. In theaters.

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Mark wahlberg and mel gibson in ‘father stu’: film review.

Jacki Weaver co-stars in a true story about a former boxer and two-bit actor who became an unlikely priest.

By Stephen Farber

Stephen Farber

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“Faith-based” movies have an appeal to certain audiences, but they also carry a less savory whiff to nonbelievers or skeptics. Mark Wahlberg , the star and producer of Father Stu , and the film’s writer-director, Rosalind Ross, certainly were aware of the biases that might greet any addition to the genre. They have gone out of their way to avoid treacle, and in this they have succeeded, though perhaps too well. Their movie is not sanctimonious, but neither is it quite as compelling as they might have wanted. Despite some R-rated language, the whole enterprise seems bland and perfunctory.

It may have an audience because of Wahlberg’s following and the startling true-life story it recounts, but it seems unlikely to convert those who don’t already have a vested interest in stories of spiritual redemption.

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Release date: Wednesday, April 13 (Sony Pictures)

Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Mel Gibson, Jacki Weaver, Teresa Ruiz

Director-screenwriter:  Rosalind Ross

Stuart Long was a real person who took a long, circuitous journey to the priesthood. He started out as an amateur boxer, then an aspiring movie actor with a hot temper that landed him a criminal record. According to the movie, his religious conversion started with his love for a devout Hispanic woman (effectively played by Teresa Ruiz), who persuaded him to be baptized. But he took his new spiritual yearning more seriously than she expected when he suddenly announced that he had decided to become a priest.

If that sounds a bit rushed and unconvincing, it sums up the primary problem with the movie: Everything happens just a tad too quickly. Ross introduces us to Stu in the boxing ring in his home state of Montana, but an injury quickly takes him away from that passion toward a new life in Hollywood.

We are also rushed past his troubled family background. His parents (played by Mel Gibson and Jacki Weaver) are estranged, and Stu feels he can’t live up to their memories of his brother, who died years earlier. So he heads to Los Angeles, fails at acting, then falls in love and discovers religion.

Given his rather checkered past, it is not surprising that the monsignor in the parish he joins (the always reliable Malcolm McDowell) rejects him as a candidate for the priesthood. But Stu persists and wins the monsignor over to his cause with minimal of strain and effort. One can appreciate that Ross wanted events to unfold swiftly rather than laboriously, but the lickety-split storytelling works against intense emotional involvement.

Admittedly, religious devotion is a notoriously difficult subject to dramatize, but Fred Zinnemann managed it in his excellent 1959 drama, The Nun’s Story , which took the time to explore the minutiae of a religious calling as well as the ambivalence that an aspirant might feel. Father Stu is more like the lite version of a conversion drama. Other elements in the story are similarly slapdash: Stu’s rapprochement with his cold, unforgiving father seems too painlessly accomplished, for example, as does the reunion of the estranged parents.

Given the failings of the script, the performances are often surprisingly effective. Wahlberg captures Stu’s charm without overselling it. Ruiz is engaging, and although Australian actress Weaver isn’t always convincing as a Montana mom, she has a few forceful scenes. Gibson actually gives one of the strongest performances of his career. He doesn’t soften the character, and even when Bill begins to warm toward Stu, Gibson doesn’t overplay the sentiment.

There are, unfortunately, a couple of moments when the actors’ offscreen antics add an uncomfortable note to the proceedings. A scene in which Stu bashes a gay producer who comes on to him throws us out of the movie to remind us of Wahlberg’s violent past . (An early scene with the young Stu dancing in his underwear evokes another part of Wahlberg’s history.) And Gibson’s line that Stu’s decision to join the church is “like Hitler asking to join the ADL” also stirs disturbing memories of the co-star’s behavior .

Supporting performances by McDowell, Aaron Moten, Cody Fern and others add texture. Locations are strikingly captured by cinematographer Jacques Jouffret. The primarily country music score is a bit on the nose but works effectively enough. Although this true story (even if embellished a bit by the filmmakers) inevitably builds some emotion, it ends up feeling more banal than spiritually exalting.

Full credits

Production company: Municipal Pictures

Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Mel Gibson, Jacki Weaver, Teresa Ruiz, Malcolm McDowell, Aaron Moten, Cody Fern

Director-screenwriter: Rosalind Ross

Producers: Mark Wahlberg, Stephen Levinson, Jordon Foss

Executive producers: Miky Lee, Colleen Camp, Rosalind Ross, Patrick Peach, Tony Grazia

Director of photography: Jacques Jouffret

Production designer: David Meyer

Costume designer: Lisa Norcia

Editor: Jeffrey M. Werner

Music: Dickon Hinchliffe

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Common sense media reviewers.

Un-inspirational biopic has swearing, intense crash.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

On the surface, the movie's themes are meant to be

Theoretically, Father Stu is a positive role model

Main character has a progressive muscle disorder c

Intense motorcycle crash: Character is thrown from

Woman climbs on top of man and kisses him; sex is

Extremely strong, frequent language includes "f--k

Pabst Blue Ribbon beer, Yellowstone whiskey cans a

A secondary character is said to have an alcohol d

Parents need to know that Father Stu is a biopic about Stuart "Stu" Long (Mark Wahlberg), a former boxer who decided to become a priest and was then diagnosed with a progressive muscle disorder called inclusion body myositis. While it's clearly meant to be inspirational, the movie is instead abrasive and…

Positive Messages

On the surface, the movie's themes are meant to be inspirational. A character turns his life around and devotes himself to helping others. But the movie is so abrasive that these themes don't always feel earned.

Positive Role Models

Theoretically, Father Stu is a positive role model, especially for the way he doesn't let his condition (a progressive muscle disorder called inclusion body myositis) stop him from achieving his dream and helping others. But the way that he bullies, argues, and pushes his way through every situation makes him difficult to like.

Diverse Representations

Main character has a progressive muscle disorder called inclusion body myositis; the condition doesn't prevent him from pursuing his dream and helping others, portrayed positively. But a key Latina character is portrayed exclusively as a romantic interest for him, succumbing to his relentless, stalker-ish pursuit of her. And when a casting director asks Stu for oral sex in exchange for a role, Stu reacts homophobically, with rage and violence. One positive Black character in seminary, but his role is limited, seems only to react and relate to Stu.

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

Violence & Scariness

Intense motorcycle crash: Character is thrown from vehicle and run over by car. Boxing sequences with bloody cuts and wounds, spitting blood. A bar fight involves punches and a kick to the head. Person punches a priest in fantasy sequence, resulting in a bloody face. Character punches stone statue, bloody knuckles shown. Person punches video camera. Police officer hits someone in the eye with a flashlight.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Woman climbs on top of man and kisses him; sex is suggested. Flirting. Brief sexual situation. Sex-related dialogue. Shirtless male. Kissing.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Extremely strong, frequent language includes "f--k," "s--t," "a--hole," the "N" word, "goddamn," "ass," "bitch," "son of a bitch," "damn," "hell," "pr--k," "d--k," "balls," "idiot," "inbred," "halfwit," "retard," and "crapper," plus exclamatory use of "God," "Jesus."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Pabst Blue Ribbon beer, Yellowstone whiskey cans and bottles shown. Brands seen in background during supermarket sequences include Grape-Nuts, SpaghettiOs, etc. Lucky Charms mentioned. Crisco shown.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

A secondary character is said to have an alcohol dependency; he regularly drinks whiskey. Stu drinks beer, gets drunk in bar. Drunk driving, alcohol-related motor vehicle accident. Cigarette smoking. Scene in an AA meeting.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Father Stu is a biopic about Stuart "Stu" Long ( Mark Wahlberg ), a former boxer who decided to become a priest and was then diagnosed with a progressive muscle disorder called inclusion body myositis. While it's clearly meant to be inspirational, the movie is instead abrasive and irritating, with a lot of mature content. Violence includes a graphic traffic accident: A man is thrown from a motorcycle and then run over by a car, sustaining bloody wounds. There are also violent boxing sequences with more blood, and Stu punches several people (and objects). Extremely strong language includes "f--k," "s--t," the "N" word, and more. Stu drinks beer, gets drunk, and drives, and a secondary character is said to have an alcohol dependency (there's a scene at an AA meeting). Characters smoke cigarettes, and there are sexual situations, sex-related dialogue, flirting, kissing, etc. Note: This review is for the original R-rated version; an alternate cut also known as Father Stu: Reborn is rated PG-13. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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Community Reviews

• Parents say (20)
• Kids say (10)

Based on 20 parent reviews

How Jesus transforms your pain, suffering and uses it for good!

Great message. a lot of cursing., what's the story.

In FATHER STU, Stuart Long ( Mark Wahlberg ) is a small-time boxer whose mother ( Jacki Weaver ) insists that he quit fighting -- although an angry Stuart still believes he has something to prove to his estranged, hard-drinking father ( Mel Gibson ). Stu takes a job at a supermarket butcher counter, where he spots Carmen ( Teresa Ruiz ) and starts pursuing her. He learns that she attends a Catholic church and finds her there. To win her heart, he begins attending regularly and even agrees to a baptism. After a drunken motorcycle accident nearly claims his life, Stu feels a calling to become a priest. He throws himself into his studies at seminary, but fate strikes again when he's diagnosed with a progressive muscle disorder called inclusion body myositis. Nevertheless, he continues to fight to achieve his calling.

Is It Any Good?

This ill-conceived, frequently irritating biopic trots out every stale genre chestnut while focusing on a relentlessly unlikable main character who comes across as a stubborn, argumentative bully. Covering sports, faith, and disease, Father Stu feels like it might have been chosen by a computer program in an attempt to get its lead actor an Oscar nomination. Wahlberg definitely gives it 110%. He packed on 30 pounds for the part, slipped into prosthetic makeup, and posed for many, many close-ups (so close the seams of his makeup are visible). There are even shots of women admiring his muscular boxer's physique. But his transformation from a pugilist to a man of the cloth is a flatline. Even when discussing faith, his method involves little more than arguing and badgering until his opponent backs down. That method is also used to "win" poor Carmen, even though she initially tells Stu no -- which makes him look like a stalker.

As for the film, writer-director Rosalind Ross (in her feature debut) makes other curious choices. The editing is disorienting, and we often have no idea when or where we are. Characters from Montana regularly drop in on characters from California, and vice versa, with no indication of how they got there or which location it is. We rarely have any idea what year it is, except when Stu's mug shot shows 1994. Plus, Father Stu is peppered with too many weepy songs, as well as a smattering of backward logic and (ugh) homophobia. If the real Stuart Long, who passed away in 2014, was an inspiration to many, this movie is the opposite.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about Father Stu 's violence . How did it make you feel? Was it exciting? Shocking? What did the movie show or not show to achieve this effect? Why is that important?

How is drinking depicted? Is it glamorized? Are there consequences? Why does that matter?

Do you consider Father Stu a role model ? Why, or why not?

How does the movie's end-credits footage of the real-life Stu compare with the fictional portrayal of him? What might have been changed for the movie? Did the movie inspire you to learn more?

How well does the movie express faith-based values?

Movie Details

• In theaters : April 15, 2022
• On DVD or streaming : May 31, 2022
• Cast : Mark Wahlberg , Jacki Weaver , Mel Gibson
• Director : Rosalind Ross
• Inclusion Information : Female directors, Female actors
• Studio : Sony Pictures Entertainment
• Genre : Drama
• Topics : Sports and Martial Arts
• Run time : 124 minutes
• MPAA rating : R
• MPAA explanation : language throughout
• Last updated : April 8, 2024

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Suggest an Update

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Father Stu Reviews

[A] fairly kind of bland Hollywood story.

Full Review | Jan 31, 2024

Within its conventional story (it is a classic biopic), Father Stu has several subversions to the genre that make it unique and appealing to a general audience. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 6/10 | Jan 10, 2024

Nonetheless, despite all the personal and familiar difficulties that the characters encounter, the film first and foremost transmits hope and true faith in God. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Sep 11, 2023

Might not be the film I loved but I did love the importance of the story & Mark Wahlberg’s performance!

Full Review | Jul 25, 2023

...a hopelessly generic and pervasively tedious drama that contains few, if any, elements designed to capture and sustain the viewer’s interest...

Full Review | Original Score: .5/4 | Dec 10, 2022

Father Stu should have been a truly inspiring tale based on an incredible true story. Instead, the end result is a generic, paint-by-numbers biopic that feels made up and that is a real sin.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Nov 13, 2022

An adult driven story about faith, adversity, and forgiveness. Just the movie needed for these most trying times.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Oct 11, 2022

Believers might be up for this collection of boilerplate emotions, but anyone hoping for the moral complexities of, oh, I dunno, reality will find little to chew on here.

Full Review | Sep 20, 2022

... A Christian movie with a bit more heft than the schmaltzy tales routinely served up for middle America’s churchgoers.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Aug 24, 2022

While not without its moments, it’s one really only for true Wahlberg believers.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Aug 10, 2022

A socially conservative, faith-based biographical drama, and an unconvincing, broadly played, sinner-redeemed story with shallow characterizations and the pick-up line: "I'd wait 40 years in the desert for you."

Full Review | Original Score: 1/4 | Jun 28, 2022

It's too bad that Rosalind Ross, making her feature writing and directing debuts, doesn't offer a smoother or deeper ride.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jun 26, 2022

The star’s wild-card charisma motors the story along, even if events sprawl beyond the control of first-time director Rosalind Ross when tragedy enters.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jun 10, 2022

he story of Father Stuart Long should inspire you to put more good into the world. Instead, this tainted version is more concerned with landing the joke.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/10 | Jun 3, 2022

Father Stu is a lot of things. Tragic, emotional, and humorous, it serves as a vehicle for two Hollywood stars with bigoted pasts to make a movie about second chances.

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10 | Jun 1, 2022

“(Wahlberg) feels out of place and, dare I say, a little bit ridiculous in the role… he gives a lot to it, but he doesn’t quite pull it off. The plot (also) feels quite heavy-handed in terms of its message."

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | May 20, 2022

Father Stu is so lifeless that saccharine would’ve been an improvement.

File this one under “better than expected”.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | May 19, 2022

Well-intentioned but ultimately mishandled, it commits the cardinal sin of indecisiveness, middling out in a purgatory of daddy issues and Sunday service pamphlets.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | May 19, 2022

Stu's redemptive journey is messy and engaging, and it has a lot to say about the need for forgiveness at various levels of society.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | May 18, 2022

‘Father Stu’ Review: As a Boxer-Turned-Priest, Mark Wahlberg Finds the Faith in a Sometimes Awkward True Story

It goes further into religious feeling than you expect, but you wish the drama were less sketchy.

By Owen Gleiberman

Owen Gleiberman

Chief Film Critic

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The ad campaign for “ Father Stu ” — before-and-after photos with Mark Wahlberg looking sleazy in a mug shot, then as a clean-cut clergyman glancing up at the heavens — makes you think it’s going to be a movie about the world’s toughest priest. It is, but not in the way you expect. “Father Stu” is based on the true story of Stuart Long, who started out as an amateur boxer, and Wahlberg plays him as an innocent ruffian in shaggy hair and a handlebar mustache who’s grinding away at being a fighter because he doesn’t know what else to do. By the time the film starts, in the ’90s, he is already over the hill: a former Montana Golden Gloves heavyweight champ who can’t find a sponsor, and who walks away from each bout with lingering infections. So he decides, on a whim, to go to L.A. to make it as an actor.

He’s as naïve about his prospects, and as sun-dazed in his misplaced belief in himself, as Joe Buck in the early scenes of “Midnight Cowboy.” Wahlberg invests Stuart with a comparable self-adoring gift of gab, and “Father Stu,” which tends to zigzag from one plot point to the next, rides along for a while on his cockeyed optimism. The writer-director, Rosalind Ross, never shows us the mechanics of how Stuart lands a job on a TV mop commercial, or of how he knows which vehicle in the parking lot belongs to his grizzled, angry, alcoholic-monster father, Bill ( Mel Gibson ), who abandoned Stuart and his mother, Kathleen ( Jacki Weaver ), long ago. Everything that happens feels a little rushed, though the movie does succeed in showcasing Stuart as an overgrown kid who has never taken responsibility for himself.

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When he’s working behind a supermarket meat counter and tries and fails to land a date with the earnest, heart-shape-faced Carmen (Teresa Ruiz), then hunts her down at the church that’s the center of her existence, then commits himself to getting baptized as a Catholic, all so that he can work his way into her good graces, he still strikes us as an on-the-whim romantic — the kind of compulsive flake who will put himself through a religious conversion just to prove something. Carmen won’t sleep with a man outside of marriage, so Stuart’s conversion comes off as his elaborate way of saying, “I love you.”

Part of what makes it seem like a lark is that Stuart only pretends to stop drinking. He plays the pious suitor in front of Carmen’s conservative Latino father, but at the bar he’s still doing shots. Then one night, after having a conversation at the bar with an oddly philosophical derelict who looks a lot like Jesus (coincidence?), he gets on his motorcycle, speeding into the night, and winds up in a nearly fatal accident. The doctors are ready to give up on him, but he pulls through, with a new lease on life. When he gets together with Carmen at a diner, and she thinks he’s about to propose, he blurts out a very different proposition: He now plans to become a priest.

In the movie that movies have bred us to expect, Stuart would become that priest, and a certain drama and comedy would arise out of the kind of holy man he became: quirkier, more badass, not so by-the-good-book, one who stays true to the spirit of God by breaking the rules. But “Father Stu” is mostly about a man climbing the ladder of faith, rising above his demons in a devoutly arduous and feel-good way. And part of the patchiness of Ross’s storytelling is that it’s a conversion we have to take on faith.

Wahlberg gives a fine performance, especially when he goes to a place you weren’t expecting. Stuart (who, incidentally, is never called Stu) has to fight his way into seminary school, because his background as a dissolute pugilist doesn’t strike the church authorities as the raw material of Catholic solemnity. His showdowns with the monsignor of the local parish, played as a puckish scold by Malcolm McDowell, are some of the best in the film. Stuart may strike his fellow priests-in-training as an odd man out, but it’s hard to resist how he uses his gift for good-ol’-boy one-liners to express thoughts like “We’re not human beings with a spiritual side, we’re spiritual beings with a human side.”

Then comes the moment that tests his faith and deepens it. On the basketball court, Stuart is knocked down — and can’t get up. He is diagnosed with a rare degenerative muscle disease. This is where Wahlberg’s performance enters the shape-shifting zone of awards bait, but it’s also where his acting persona takes wing in a new way. For Stuart doesn’t just rise above his suffering; he embraces it. He undergoes a philosophical conversion, finding ecstasy on the other side of agony.

“Father Stu” is not your everyday Hollywood religious odyssey — it’s closer to “Diary of a Country Cutup.” It’s a surprisingly sincere movie about religious feeling, but it is also, too often, a dramatically undernourished one. The characters who surround Stuart are thinly drawn and pop in and out of the story. Mel Gibson has what should be a showpiece role, and God knows he rages away with gnarled conviction, but the father-son dynamics exist mostly in the abstract; it never feels like a lived-in relationship. Wahlberg, through prosthetics and 30 pounds of weight gain, winds up playing Stuart as a man of stout religious wisdom who transcends his own body. But the wisdom comes into him — and flows out of him — with a little too much facile punch. “Father Stu” often feels like a drama made for what is awkwardly called the faith-based market, with the film’s worshipful sentiments all in a line, its uplift never in doubt.

Reviewed at AMC Lincoln Square, April 11, 2022. MPAA Rating: R. Running time: 124 MIN.

• Production: A Sony Pictures release of a Columbia Pictures, Municipal Pictures, CJ Entertainment, Palm Drive Productions production. Producers: Mark Wahlberg, Jordan Foss, Stephen Levinson. Executive producers: Colleen Camp, Tony Grazia, Miky Lee, Patrick Peach.
• Crew: Director, screenplay: Rosalind Ross. Camera: Jacques Jouffret. Editor: Jeffrey M. Werner. Music: Dickon Hinchliffe.
• With: Mark Wahlberg, Mel Gibson, Jacki Weaver, Teresa Ruiz, Niko Nicotera, Faith Jeffries, Cody Fern, Chiquita Fuller, Ned Bellamy.

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• Cast & crew
• User reviews

Follows the life of Father Stuart Long, a boxer-turned-priest who inspired countless people during his journey from self-destruction to redemption. Follows the life of Father Stuart Long, a boxer-turned-priest who inspired countless people during his journey from self-destruction to redemption. Follows the life of Father Stuart Long, a boxer-turned-priest who inspired countless people during his journey from self-destruction to redemption.

• Rosalind Ross
• Mark Wahlberg
• Jacki Weaver
• 327 User reviews
• 87 Critic reviews
• 40 Metascore
• 2 wins & 2 nominations

• Stuart Long

• Kathleen Long

• Monsignor Kelly

• Father Garcia

• Young Stuart

• Coach Beech

• Bill's Foreman

• Motel Receptionist

• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Did you know

• Trivia Mark Wahlberg ended up funding the project himself after being turned down by several studios.
• Goofs When they say the Confiteor/Confession of Faith (Penitential Rite) during the Mass, they are saying the New Translation, that was updated in 2011. However, this movie is set in 1994. The wording they said was "through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault" which wasn't part of the Confiteor in 1994.

Father Stuart (archive footage) : It's a profound experience, suffering. And the struggles of this disease helped me, and help others, to learn the way that we should have been living all along. It's taught me a little humility. It's taught me dignity, respect for others. And sometimes people like me-- there's an extreme example-- we need things like this to be able to make those changes, and decisions in our life that are gonna help us become better people, become the people that God has created us to be when he sent us to this planet.

• Crazy credits There are photos of the real Stu and his family shown, alternating with the first ending credits.
• Connections Edited into Father Stu: Deleted Scenes (2022)
• Soundtracks Too Much Monkey Business Written and Performed by Chuck Berry Courtesy of Geffen Records Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User reviews 327

• BrnzReviews
• Jun 1, 2022
• How long is Father Stu? Powered by Alexa
• April 15, 2022 (United States)
• United States
• South Korea
• Sony Pictures
• Father Stu: Reborn
• Butte, Montana, USA
• CJ Entertainment
• Municipal Pictures
• Palm Drive Productions
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• $4,000,000 (estimated)
• $21,090,677
• Apr 17, 2022
• $21,798,260

Technical specs

• Runtime 2 hours 4 minutes

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• Entertainment

‘Father Stu’ review: In this Mark Wahlberg movie, the message is its salvation

Movie review.

“Father Stu”? He’s not a regular priest, he’s a cool priest. A tough priest. A priest who swears (a lot), a priest with a history of boozing and boxing. That’s the story told, at least by the film’s poster, which features a diptych of star Mark Wahlberg, looking rough and rueful in a mug shot, and then beatific in Catholic clergy apparel. The journey between the two photos is the dominion of “Father Stu,” the directorial debut of Rosalind Ross, who also wrote the screenplay, though there’s more to the story of Catholic priest Stuart Long.

It’s fascinating to watch the evolution of what the industry has called the “faith-based film” over the past decade or so, especially with “Father Stu” as an example of how far they’ve come, progressing from low-budget projects aimed at niche audiences to major studio star vehicles, hoping to scoop up a mainstream audience showing up for the latest Wahlberg movie.

For Wahlberg, a devout Catholic, Long’s life story as a former boxer and actor turned priest is an ideal one to try his hand at a faith-based film. Released in time for Easter, this R-rated biopic isn’t your typical Catholic programming, but the message to be found in Long’s life and his personal salvation through faith may resonate for a religious audience interested in edgier content.

“Father Stu” is based on a stranger-than-fiction true story, and involves a near-death experience in which Stuart experiences a spiritual visit. Envisioning himself cradled by the Virgin Mary after a harrowing motorcycle accident, Stuart pledges himself to his newfound Catholic faith and ultimately pursues the priesthood despite his original, more prurient motivation for showing up to church, which was, of course, for a woman (Teresa Ruiz).

The twist is that despite a long life of suffering, including an alcoholic father (Mel Gibson), the childhood death of his brother, a failed amateur boxing career and struggles with drinking, God has even more suffering in mind for Stuart. During his time at the seminary, he is diagnosed with inclusion body myositis, a degenerative muscle disease that renders him disabled, but ultimately leads to his greatest spiritual awakening.

It’s a remarkable story, but “Father Stu” is a broad, somewhat brutish film. Ross’ screenplay lightly pummels the audience with the basic beats and beatdowns of Long’s life without ever letting us in on the emotional experience. The characters talk at each other (and at the audience) in vague platitudes, folksy aphorisms, Biblical quotes and street-smart retorts. Wahlberg is in the familiar rapid-fire, rat-a-tat style he has developed over the years, tussling and bantering with everyone around him. It can be entertaining, but it’s rarely truly engaging, and the tell-not-show approach to the screenwriting renders the characters two-dimensional and hollow. We barely know who anyone really is, aside from Stuart, and large parts of his spiritual progression are all-too-easily glossed over.

There is a profound grace to be found in “Father Stu,” when everyone gets out of the way to let the message of suffering as spirituality just breathe. But one can’t help but feel like that comes too little and too late to have any significant impact.

With Mark Wahlberg, Teresa Ruiz, Mel Gibson, Jacki Weaver. Written and directed by Rosalind Ross. 124 minutes. Rated R for language throughout. Multiple theaters.

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• DVD & Streaming

Father Stu/Father Stu: Reborn

• Biography/History , Comedy , Drama

Content Caution

In Theaters

• December 9, 2022
• Mark Wahlberg as Father Stuart "Stu" Long; Jacki Weaver as Kathleen Long; Mel Gibson as Bill Long; Teresa Ruiz as Carmen

Home Release Date

• March 28, 2023
• Rosalind Ross

Distributor

• Sony Pictures

Movie Review

[ Editor’s Note: This review is for both the original R-rated Father Stu and for its PG-13 re-release, Father Stu: Reborn . Both movies are largely the same, with the exception of the amount of crude and profane language. Additional content information in that section is italicized. ]

Stuart Long didn’t go to the City of Angels to find God. He was looking for salvation of another kind: the kind you fold up and put in your wallet, the kind you see on movie marquees. Fortune and glory, friend. Fortune and glory.

God? Yeah, God was for losers. And Stu, he wasn’t no loser.

Stu had a pretty good run as an amateur boxer, winning more than he lost. And even when he  did  lose, the guy in the other corner sure knew Stu packed a wallop. But the Montana fighter was getting older now. And after every bout lately, he’d come down with these weird infections. “It seems like your body’s telling you not to fight,” his doctor said.

Stu needed a new career. Why not acting? Why not use that pretty face of his for something more than a punching bag?

‘Course, no actor makes it big without some struggles. So Stu took a job at a supermarket meat counter to pay the bills ’til someone saw his raw talent.

He didn’t see God there as he stood behind the counter: just a pretty woman. But Stu was smitten with her from the very first, as if Bathsheba herself walked into the grocery store.

“I’d wait 40 years in the desert for you,” he soon tells the woman, Carmen.

“Start with an hour in church,” Carmen says. See, she’s Catholic—deeply so. And she’s not about to go out with some roustabout who doesn’t love God just as much as she does.

So, Stu starts going to church. Then Stu gets himself baptized, too. A little holy water can’t hurt, right?

And then one night, after drinking a little too much, he runs into God.

Well, actually, he runs into a car. His motorcycle smashes straight into one, and Stu goes flying, rolling, bleeding. The police find him lying on the asphalt—body crushed, barely breathing. Most everyone thinks he’s going to die.

But he lives.

And Stu remembers, before he climbed aboard that bike, he met someone. He mistook the guy as just a wandering barfly, but one who talked with a level of sincerity unusual for the time and place.

“Life’s gonna give you a gut full of reasons to be angry,” the guy told him. “You only need one to be grateful.”

Stu’s grateful he’s alive. He’s grateful for this second chance. Maybe God  is  for losers. Stu’s ready to admit that he’s a loser, too.

And he’ll lose a lot more before it’s done.

Positive Elements

Father Stu illustrates how change often manifests in our lives: It begins with sometimes the smallest beginnings—a pebble chucked in a pool of water. But the ripples can radiate in ways we’d never expect.

The Stu who comes to L.A. is shallow and selfish and very, very lost. His turn toward religion is, initially, selfish and shallow, too. But with Carmen’s patience and guidance, something takes root, even though Stu himself is barely aware of it. So when the big catalyst comes, Stu’s ready to swing in an entirely new, and wildly positive, direction.

Stu’s parents are equally lost. His mom, Kathleen, and dad, Bill, split up long ago. Bill and Stu barely speak to each other, and when they do, their conversations are full of rage and bitterness. When Stu moves toward religion, both Kathleen and Bill are, honestly, kind of horrified.

But as Stu’s story moves forward, his mom and dad begin to see its beauty and, more importantly, changes in their boy. Kathleen and Bill draw closer to Stu and, apparently, closer to each other, too. Stu’s turn to God becomes a catalyst for healing. And while we don’t know if Kathleen and Bill eventually come to embrace Christianity as much as Stu does, we can see Christ’s “living water” lap at the edges of what had been a dusty, dry shore.

Spiritual Elements

If a Christian movie can have scads of profanity in it, well, Father Stu would be, unquestionably, a Christian movie. Christ’s grace lies at the center of this story, and the narrative follows the template of the jaw-dropping testimonies that so many of us have heard in church. I can’t delve into every instance of religion and spirituality we see here, but I’ll try to give you the movie’s Christian, Catholic flavor.

The Stu we first meet isn’t just indifferent to Christianity. He’s hostile toward it, so much so that he drunkenly slugs a statue of Jesus in the face. (Blood stains the statue in a nice symbolic shot.)

But Carmen pulls him into the orbit of her Catholic parish. Soon he’s helping her teach Sunday school. Then he’s getting baptized, which opens the door to meeting Carmen’s family. (During dinner, Carmen’s father talks about how his family would crawl for miles on their hands and knees to the foot of the cross, and that he expects “no less devotion to my daughter.” “Well, it’s a good thing I’ve got a carpet,” Stu quips.)

We can see even then Stu puzzling through some of the mysteries of faith, trying to weigh how real it is. But it all comes to a point when he finds himself sitting next to a bearded man that Stu later believes might’ve been Jesus. This “Jesus” clearly suffered much (and swears on occasion). But He speaks with authority and knowledge, and the conversation sticks in Stu’s mind after the accident. When Stu crashes, he believes that the Virgin Mary kneeled beside him, too, as he lay bleeding and nearly dead on the asphalt. In the hospital, Carmen puts a Bible underneath his arm. Carmen gives Stu a St. Joseph medal, too.

As Stu recovers, his conviction in Christ grows, and he decides (much to Carmen’s chagrin) to become a priest. His mother and father are both incredulous: Bill compares it to “Hitler joining the [Jewish-centric Anti-Defamation League].” But he’s not swayed. Stu enters the seminary, determined to be a priest “who’s gonna fight for God,” and while some of his fellow acolytes are put off by his language and rough-hewn attitude, he persists.

Throughout Stu’s time in the seminary, he thinks and sometimes speaks on themes of grace and forgiveness. But while he’s still studying, Stu is stricken with inclusion body myositis—a disease that progressively and inexorably robs the body of the ability to move as it should (and is often compared to Lou Gehrig’s Disease).

The Catholic Church is at first unwilling to let Stu continue his priestly education, worried that an impaired priest won’t be able to perform the required functions. (An example might be spilling the holy communion wine during Mass.) We see Stu struggle mightily with his new affliction, too—tearfully praying before the cross as he wonders why God would do this to him. But his faith doesn’t waver even then.

Advocates for Stu’s ordination eventually break down the objections, and Stu is officially ordained. Back in Montana by that time, he moves into the Big Sky Care Center and ministers to people there.

We see Stu and others confess their sins in confessional booths. Bill sees a cross on Stu’s wall and snidely dismisses his new décor. Bible verses are quoted often. Stu asks questions as part of a confirmation class and debates with fellow acolytes as they study to become priests. Stu learns that one of his fellow students never wanted to be a priest but was pushed into the profession by his family.

Sexual Content

Shortly after Stu and Carmen meet, Carmen tells him that he’s heading down the wrong road in terms of their relationship: She’s Catholic, and she won’t sleep with someone outside of marriage. “Isn’t that what confession’s for?” he asks.

Carmen later breaks that vow after Stu is nearly killed in his motorcycle accident. She begins to kiss him and climbs into his hospital bed, even as Stu protests. But while the camera cuts away, we learn that Stu gives in. Later, he admits in confession, “All I could think about is disappointing God.” (The priest tells him that’s progress; that being convicted by sin is the first step toward forgiveness and sanctity.) When Stu decides to become a priest, Carmen is quite upset, given its accompanying vow of celibacy.

Much earlier in the story, Stu auditions for a role. The producer asks Stu how much he wants the role, pushing his chair away from his desk and gesturing to his groin. Stu punches the man in the face, knocks down the audition camera and storms out.

We see Stu shirtless frequently, most often in the boxing ring. In one scene, he shadow boxes in nothing but his protective boxing undergarments. A flashback shows Stu at about age 11, dancing to Elvis in a just a shirt and underwear. In a bar, sitting next with “Jesus,” Stu makes a quip about the size of his anatomy. “Jesus” tells Stu that he already knows how large it is. When Stu’s diagnosed with inclusion body myositis, he’s told the last thing to go will be his body’s erectile functions—of little use to someone training to be a priest, Stu bitterly quips. A Sunday school student says that his dad gave up porn for Lent. Someone asks Stu if he’s going to a “porno.”

Violent Content

Stu’s motorcycle accident is jarring. His bike hits a car and Stu goes flying—only to be hit by another oncoming vehicle. His face and body are covered in blood, and he only looks a tiny bit better in the hospital.

Stu begins the movie as a boxer, and we see him in several fights. He punches people viciously. He has cuts patched mid-fight, and he spits blood-filled water into a bucket.

Stu finds his dad passed out on the floor of his trailer, holding a gun. It’s not known why Bill was holding the gun, though there is some talk of suicide. Stu fantasizes about punching one of his fellow presbyters.

We learn that Stu’s brother died as a child, which (the movie suggests) is one reason why the family is so fractured and hostile toward religion.

Crude or Profane Language

When Stu first begins to consider Catholicism more seriously, a priest suggests that he might want to start thinking curbing his tongue. And boy, could he and his family use a little tongue-curbing.

More than 40 f-words are uttered during the film, along with at least 45 s-words. We also hear plenty of other profanities, including “a–,” “b–ch,” “d–n,” “h—,” “pr–k,” “d–k,” “n–ger” and “p-ss.” God’s name is used with the word “d–n” five times (once during a tearful prayer in front of an altar), and Jesus’ name is abused twice.

In Father Stu: Reborn , the level of profane language has been edited down significantly. No f-words remain, and there’s just one solitary use of the s-word. We still hear some scattered profanities (“a–,” “b—ch,” “b—tard,” “crap,” “d—n,” “h—,” “p-ss” and four misuses of God’s and Jesus’s name), but not nearly in the numbers as in the original.

Drug and Alcohol Content

Stu drinks heavily before his turn toward the priesthood. He guzzles beer as he remembers his little brother at a church cemetery, and then throws bottles at (and punches) a statue of Jesus. (He’s arrested for drunk and disorderly conduct and mugs for the mugshot camera.) He’s inebriated when he crashes, too.

Bill also drinks heavily, and we see him passed out in his trailer more than once, with liquor bottles and glasses strewn about. Some characters smoke as well.

Other Negative Elements

After Stu is diagnosed with his illness, we hear discussions about how he’ll perform certain bathroom-oriented bodily functions. After the disease progresses, we see him on the toilet. Afterward, he hikes up his underwear and tries to get off the toilet, but he falls. Bill has to break in and pick him up.

Father Stu  is based on the true story of Stuart Long, a former boxer and actor who became a priest in 2007—and died in 2014 at the age of 50. For Mark Wahlberg, who stars and produced the film, the project was his most personal.

You can understand why. Like Stu, Wahlberg was a wild child: His past is filled with a record of assaults (some race related). Like Stu, he wanted to be a star, fronting the hip-hop group Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch. Back then, he was about as far away from being a religious role model as you could be. But as the musician-turned-actor grows older, Wahlberg seems to embrace the Catholicism he grew up in more and more.

“This is me kind of transitioning to doing more meaningful work that serves a purpose in my faith,” Wahlberg told the  Deseret News  of  Father Stu . “Also, I’m getting older. I’ve been very blessed and fortunate, and so to do things, to utilize the talents and gifts that God has given me in this way is definitely what I’m supposed to be doing.”

Father Stu  features a very imperfect Christian playing a very imperfect Christian. No surprise, perhaps, that the movie itself is both inspiring and imperfect, too.

Listen, faith—and how that faith manifests in us fallen sinners—is messy.  We’re  messy. Record just a single day with most of us, and the censors would slap it with a big ol’ R rating—if not boot it from the theaters completely.

But there’s a reason why bedrooms and bathrooms tend to have doors. And there’s perhaps a reason why we don’t invite movie cameras into those messy moments in our lives, either.

The PG-13 rerelease, Father Stu: Reborn , cleanses away some of the movie’s problems, particularly in the language department. Talking with Fox News, Wahlberg says that they cut out “200 and some-odd swears … and the film is just as powerful.” That may help draw in faith-minded viewers that had steered clear of the original because of its R-rating.

But while Reborn may be cleaner, it’s certainly not pristine. Stu’s motorcycle accident is still just as wince-worthy. His relationship with Carmen remains unchanged. The film still feels rough and earthy. And I get it. The movie’s based on a very flawed man who turned his life around. It’d not be as impactful if you didn’t see at least some of those flaws.

During the film, a fellow student hoping to become a priest tells Stu that’s he’s too rough-hewn to be an effective conduit of God’s message and mercy.

“No one wants to hear the Gospel from the mouth of a gangster,” he says.

“Maybe that’s  exactly  what they need,” Stu says.

But I think there’s truth in both of those statements.

For some, to hear the Gospel from a character like  Father Stu —a man who’s obviously been around the block a few times and made a few wrong turns—can be  beautiful . It can remind us that God came to save not the saints, but the sinners. That God knows the gritty, messy realities of life far better than we often do ourselves.

But our faith also reminds us that we’re not just creatures of fallen flesh. We’ve been imbued with God’s Spirit, too. And while we can’t hope to be completely pure in this life, we  can  aspire to be a little purer, a little better, every day. And that means being mindful of what we say, how we act and, yes, what we watch.

I found a lot to like in  Father Stu . It’s funny and faithful and, ultimately, deeply moving. But it’s also very messy. And not everyone wants, or needs, to be subjected to such messes, even with this story’s holy purpose.

Paul Asay has been part of the Plugged In staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including Time, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @AsayPaul.

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Father Stu Review

13 May 2022

Father Stuart Long was a real-life boxer who became a Catholic priest after a motorcycle crash triggered a religious experience, only for him to then develop a debilitating muscular disease. It’s a true story seemingly tailor-made for the cinematic treatment, especially filmmakers such as Mark Wahlberg — also a producer here, who reportedly funnelled millions from his own wallet into the project — looking for explicitly faith-based narratives.

As the titular Stu, Wahlberg puts in a committed performance, and compared to the studied indifference of his recent blockbuster efforts, he at least seems to be trying here. Stu is exactly the kind of salt-of-the-earth hothead that Wahlberg is provably strongest at, even if his accent — which seems to be Texas by way of Boston, although the real Stu was from Montana — is a little all over the map. This is evidently a passion project for the actor-producer and his physical transformation on screen, as Stu’s physical deterioration accelerates in the film’s latter half, is stark. (Wahlberg apparently gained 30 lb for the role, claiming to have drunk a cup of olive oil every morning.)

The film seems confused by its priorities: is it a biopic, or religious propaganda?

But the film seems confused by its priorities: is it a biopic, or religious propaganda? The opening act wants us to consider it a character study of working-class Americans struggling to find their way through life; an Americana jukebox of a soundtrack — Johnny Cash and ‘Rhinestone Cowboy’ among the tracks on it — confirms the folksy approach. Some of the material about macho men wrestling impotently with their emotions — Wahlberg punches a statue of Jesus at one point — works well enough, even if it’s occasionally patronising. But Mel Gibson , cast here as an unpleasant alcoholic who barks slurs from his pick-up truck, is a wild misfire, and feels uncomfortably close to the tabloid headlines of reality. (The reunion of Gibson and Wahlberg playing a father and son will at least give cheer to any remaining fans of Daddy’s Home 2 .)

By the end, first-time writer-director Rosalind Ross seems to opt for just empty proselytising, veering into Lifetime-levels of cheese. When Stu finally finds God, it comes after a vision of the Virgin Mary and some soft-focus rosary-bead stroking, shot like a megachurch commercial. His is a story that could offer up an exploration of faith and how it intersects with sacrifice and adversity, but after an intriguing opening act, the filmmakers go for the less interesting route. As far as faith-based films go this year, watch Benedetta instead.

Review: Platitudes block the path to salvation for Mark Wahlberg’s ‘Father Stu’

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Father Stu? He’s not a regular priest, he’s a cool priest. A tough priest. A priest who swears (a lot), a priest with a history of boozing and boxing. That’s the story told by the film’s poster, which features a diptych of star Mark Wahlberg, looking rough and rueful in a mug shot and then beatific in Catholic clergy apparel. The journey between the two photos is the dominion of “Father Stu,” the directorial debut of Rosalind Ross, who also wrote the screenplay, though there’s more to the story of Catholic priest Stuart Long.

It’s fascinating to watch the evolution over the past decade of what the industry calls “faith-based films,” especially with “Father Stu” as an example of how far they’ve come, progressing from low-budget projects aimed at niche audiences to major studio star vehicles. For Wahlberg , a devout Catholic, Long’s life story as a former boxer and actor turned priest is an ideal one to try his hand at a faith-based film. Released in time for Easter, this R-rated biopic isn’t your typical Catholic programming, but the message to be found in Long’s personal salvation through faith may resonate for a religious audience interested in edgier content.

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Though the abundance of f-bombs is an anomaly in a faith-based film, “Father Stu” does adhere to some conventions of the genre: It’s based on a stranger-than-fiction true story and involves a near-death experience in which Stuart experiences a spiritual visit. Envisioning himself cradled by the Virgin Mary after a harrowing motorcycle accident, Stuart pledges himself to his newfound Catholic faith and ultimately pursues the priesthood despite his original, more prurient motivation for showing up to church, which was, of course, for a woman, Carmen (“Narcos” star Teresa Ruiz ).

The twist is that despite Stu’s long life of suffering, including an alcoholic father, Bill ( Mel Gibson ), the childhood death of his brother, a failed amateur boxing career and struggles with drinking, God has even more suffering in mind for him. During his time at the seminary, he is diagnosed with inclusion body myositis, a degenerative muscle disease that renders him physically disabled but ultimately leads to his greatest spiritual awakening.

It’s a remarkable story, but “Father Stu” is a broad, somewhat brutish film. Ross’ screenplay lightly pummels the audience with the basic beats and beatdowns of Long’s life without ever letting us in on the emotional experience. The characters talk at each other (and at the audience) in vague platitudes, folksy aphorisms, biblical quotes and street-smart retorts. Wahlberg is in the familiar rapid-fire, rat-a-tat style he has developed over the years, tussling and bantering with everyone around him, and not even his encroaching disability can slow his motor-mouth. It can be entertaining but it’s rarely truly engaging, and the tell-not-show approach to the screenwriting renders the characters two-dimensional and hollow. We barely know who anyone really is, aside from Stuart, and large parts of his spiritual progression are glossed over.

Cinematographer Jacques Jouffret brings a naturalistic handheld camera, a desaturated color palette and lots of slow-motion to elevate the look and feel of the film, and the soundtrack is loaded with classic country and blues. It all lends a “prestigious” sheen, though the story itself is often frustratingly shallow. It’s not until very late in Stuart’s spiritual journey that he takes a breath and simply delivers the message of what he’s learned, and the resonance of what we’re to take away comes through.

There is a profound grace to be found in “Father Stu,” when everyone gets out of the way to let the message of suffering as spirituality just breathe. But one can’t help but feel it comes too late to have any significant impact.

Katie Walsh is a Tribune News service film critic.

‘Father Stu’

Running time: 2 hours, 4 minutes Rated: R for language throughout Playing: Starts April 13 in general release

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Father Stu Review: A Powerful Journey of Faith & Reconciliation

A boxer (Mark Wahlberg) aspires to be a priest and reconnects with his father (Mel Gibson) in Father Stu.

A washed-up boxer finds purpose through religion as his life takes a tragic turn. Father Stu is a powerful journey of faith and devotion against insurmountable odds. Mark Wahlberg shines as a man who stood tall in spirit when his body could not. Our time on Earth is fleeting. For some, it is cruel and unfair. The story of Stuart Long reminds us that the courage of conviction can illuminate the hearts of the downtrodden.

We first meet Stuart Long (Tenz McCall) as a spirited child in Helena, Montana. His father, Bill Long (Mel Gibson), drinks to dull the loss of Stuart's brother. Decades later, Stu (Mark Wahlberg) tries to make it as a boxer. His weary mother, Kathleen (Jackie Weaver), begs him to stop fighting. Most men had long given up at Stu's age.

Stu decides to try his luck as an actor in Hollywood. He packs up for Tinseltown with dreams of stardom . Bill Long had left for California years earlier after abandoning his family. Stu gets a job behind the meat counter at a supermarket. He's entranced by the beautiful Carmen (Teresa Ruiz). She's a strict Catholic who doesn't take kindly to Stu's advances. He visits her church in an awkward attempt to win her favor. Stu discovers the word of God. The experience begins a transformation of his soul. Stu's newfound faith exhilarates. But is soon tested in unexpected ways.

An Absorbing Character Study

Father Stu is an absorbing character study. Stuart initially drips with arrogance and machismo. He's a chiseled tough guy used to pummeling his way forward. Stu's failed efforts to succeed as an actor gives him a modicum of humility. But his pursuit of Carmen opens a door that takes everyone around him by surprise. No one believes his religious awakening. Stu has to earn their trust by adhering to Catholic principles. His rough edges ruffle a few feathers. These scenes are quite funny.

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The film's second act significantly amps up the drama. Stu faces a challenge that forces reconciliation with his father. Bill Long is the biggest skeptic of Stu's Catholic conversion. He can't fathom that Stu has found something that gives him peace. Bill's alcoholism has served as a shield to prevent him from confronting pain. He's unnerved by Stu's grace and forgiveness; the true tenets of Christian teachings. Bill must become a caring father and bury his past failures. Mark Wahlberg and Mel Gibson anchor the film with this pivotal relationship. The lesson is that wounds heal. Sins can be absolved. A man's trust in scripture liberates his father from guilt.

Catholicism Drives the Narrative

Father Stu can be defined as a faith-based film. Catholicism drives the narrative. Stu aspires to be a priest. But the film doesn't beat you with religion like a strict nun. Bill and Stu Long are foul-mouthed drunkards who change their stripes. Director/writer Rosalind Ross, fantastic in her feature debut, preaches salvation in gospel without condemnation or judgment of nonbelievers. I can watch Father Stu as an atheist, appreciate its wholesome themes, and feel empathy for the characters.

Father Stu is a production of Columbia Pictures, Municipal Pictures, and CJ Entertainment. It will have an April 13th theatrical release from Sony Pictures.

‘Father Stu’ Film Review: Mark Wahlberg’s Tough Guy Finds Redemption as a Catholic Priest

Wahlberg and Mel Gibson both seem to be chasing on-screen rehabilitation for off-screen misdeeds in an above-average faith-based melodrama

In between tentpole movies, actor Mark Wahlberg has consistently found the time to venture into dramatic territory, specifically hyper-masculine narratives that allow him to play tough guys. (“The Departed” and “The Fighter” represent the best of these efforts.)

While his ideological leanings have never been a secret, Wahlberg’s latest serious role in “Father Stu,” from first-time writer-director Rosalind Ross, may be his most explicitly conservative escapade yet.

Wahlberg takes on the role of Stuart Long, a real-life amateur boxer who became a Catholic priest against all odds. Directionless since childhood, when the death of his younger brother devastated his family, Stuart leaves pugilism behind for the sudden dream of becoming an actor in Los Angeles. It’s there that a love interest, a Mexican woman named Carmen (a memorable Teresa Ruiz, “The Marksman”), leads him to a long-winded transformation via the Church. 

Veteran actor and perennially controversial celebrity Mel Gibson (Ross’ romantic partner since 2014) plays Stuart’s estranged father Bill, who, like the actor himself, doesn’t bite his tongue when it comes to uttering offensive opinions. Not surprisingly, based on the demographic the film both depicts and aims to appeal to, there are outdated lines and scenes that border on homophobia, or that at least make it very clear Stu is nothing if not a straight-as-an-arrow man’s-man.

Through all his pipe dreams and career deviations, Stuart’s mother cautiously encourages him. She is brought to life by the great Jacki Weaver, an actress whose body of work features similar parental figures to unruly individuals. As Stuart gains determination to enter the priesthood after an accident that nearly takes his life, his parents make clear they can’t believe in a deity that took their innocent child. Their distrust is reinforced when Stuart, already on his way to achieve his holy mission, is diagnosed with an incurable muscle disorder.

It’s in acknowledging the anger that the couple feel towards the almighty entity in the sky, as well as the fact that such despair has blinded them to Stuart’s search for validation, that Ross finds the tale’s most compelling thematic kernel. It certainly helps that her novice directorial abilities can handle tonal shifts and an imposing cast.

Stylistically, Ross and cinematographer Jacques Jouffret, a recurrent collaborator in productions starring Wahlberg, do enough to ensure the shots register as above-average through their composition and lighting choices; whether it’s the intense and tightly framed close-ups or a gorgeous twilight as Stuart remembers his late sibling, they give “Father Stu” a distinct look without calling too much attention to the visuals, apart from some uses of slow-motion for dramatic effect.

Illustrating the worst of Ross’ artistic instincts are the trite score (by Dickon Hinchcliffe, “The Lost Daughter”) and the insertion of a couple of touches of magical realism — the Virgin Mary and a vagabond that could presumably be Jesus reveal themselves to Stuart right before or immediately after the accident, prompting him to leave his sinful lifestyle behind.

And if it weren’t clear enough “Father Stu” reflects a warped mentality that equates patriotism with the whitest of Americana, Ross includes songs by Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash, as well a poster of “El Dorado” in Stuart’s room as one of a few nods to John Wayne. Even if these elements all come directly from the real priest’s interests, on screen they come off as on-the-nose.

Wahlberg, undoubtedly a charismatic performer, moves in comfortable territory as the crass and overly confident lead; unfortunately, he’s saddled with a pair of poignant scenes that fail to inspire the intended emotional impact. In latter half of the film, Stu’s endearing insolence turns tiresome. Gibson, meanwhile, similarly draws within the lines of a character that doesn’t appear to be a stretch for him, apart from playing against his own real-life, well-documented militant brand of religious faith.

Whatever humor occurs in “Father Stu” — and on occasion, it works — derives from how out of place Stuart seems amid the solemn rituals and attitude of the Catholic Church. This is a priest who curses and speaks his mind plainly for the average Joe, a populist incarnation of a spiritual leader who’s not as unapproachable or concerned with respectability. In other words, “he tells it like it is” in a way that makes him a character worth exploring beyond his struggles.

Down-to-earth engagement with the gospel and the straight-shooting versions of the lesson the Bible preaches allows Father Stu to speak to those who feel disenfranchised by the institution of the Church, from a group of hardened inmates to his own father. In that sense “Father Stu” the film mirrors exactly what the story claims the real person was able to do: to reach those that don’t respond to the ceremonial but who may find in this foul-mouthed man of God a more relatable iteration of faith.

That Wahlberg and Gibson, who have each racked up multiple public offenses, star together as father and son in a religious flick about second chances almost functions as a self-referential exercise. Wahlberg’s own history with violent altercations — most notably one in 1992 when the actor brutally attacked a neighbor, and repeated episodes where he used slurs — suggest that some of his recent career choices may hope to rebrand his persona. ( 2020’s “Joe Bell,” for example, featured Wahlberg as a father not only accepting of his gay teenage son but also traveling the country speaking against homophobia on his behalf.)

But perhaps the film’s most ill-conceived moment belongs to Gibson, working from a screenplay written by someone who presumably has his best interest in mind, when his character makes a joke comparing troubled, violent Stuart becoming a priest with Hitler joining the Anti-Defamation League. Aside from being in awfully poor taste coming from someone who’s made headlines for anti-Semitic remarks, it’s difficult to distinguish whether this is a bizarre attempt at rehabilitating Gibson’s image by acknowledging his wrongdoing or if he wishes to further antagonize his detractors.

Ultimately, the results are an entertaining enough product, with some cheeky story beats, solid visuals, and recognizable faces, all combined with the goal of sending out a message beyond those already subscribed to the dogma. In that regard, “Father Stu” has a stronger shot at success than other based-on-a-true-story, faith-based fare to hit theaters in recent years. Films like “I Still Believe” or “Unbroken” represent specifically evangelical denominations, don’t feature casts with household names (or, in some cases, even competent actors) and care little for overall cinematic quality.

Anyone who’s sat through enough of those Christian films and watched them with a critical eye (and not for the mere indoctrination) can easily tell that the basic craftsmanship of “Father Stu” is on a different level. That doesn’t necessarily make this an admirable production, but at least it’s a proficient one.

Given the often-embattled people involved and the utterly traditional values it stands for — as understood by conservative America, anyway — this is the type of project that the loudest complainers about “cancel culture” would claim Hollywood no longer greenlights. When some pundit bemoans that movies like this can’t be made today, one can point out that “Father Stu” was indeed produced and released in 2022 with A-list stars and a major studio behind it.

“Father Stu” opens in US theaters April 13.

Father Stu Review: Mark Wahlberg Gives Exceptional Performance

By Jonathan Sim

Hollywood brings together the fictitious father-son duo Mark Wahlberg and Mel Gibson for the first time since Daddy’s Home 2 in a biographical drama written and directed by Rosalind Ross. Based on the true story of Stuart Long, Father Stu stars Wahlberg as the eponymous boxer-turned-priest in a faith-based film he co-produced as well. Movies based around Christianity have a reputation for sacrificing quality for heavy-handed preaching. While there are elements of that here, this is a surprisingly well-crafted film that succeeds in telling an inspirational yet tragic story about a man who turns his life around.

The movie follows Stu, a young boxer who faces an injury that ends his career. The rest of the film surrounds Stu’s journey to find his purpose, going down paths where he wants to discover himself. He has a short-lived acting career that ends when his life goes awry, and he decides to become a priest. The setup for Stu’s decision is intriguing, as he’s put through the wringer at every possible turn, and this continues near the end of the second act. Stu’s perseverance through everything makes him a compelling protagonist as he handles his demons – including a strained relationship with his father.

Marky Mark has a distinct acting style. Recently he’s appeared in movies where he portrays his own recognizable persona, such as Spenser Confidential , Infinite , and this year’s Uncharted . However, you can always tell when Wahlberg puts effort into his performance, such as in Boogie Nights and The Departed . With his portrayal of Stu, Wahlberg may be trying his hardest to get the Oscar for a movie coming out many months before award season. This is a story where you can feel how genuinely invested Wahlberg is, and how much he wants to bring the true-life story to the eyes of more people.

Wahlberg gives his best performance in a decade as Stu, a role he fully dedicates himself to. During the first half, he does an excellent job of displaying both charm and turmoil. This is an unexpectedly humorous film, as Stu’s attitude leads to well-written comedic exchanges. But as a movie dealing with a man finding his second chance through a religious outlet, there are a lot of tragic scenes where we see Stu’s pain. Combined with the weight that Wahlberg gained for the role, this is the type of character that has everything an actor would dream of.

Gibson gives a superb supporting performance as Stu’s father, portraying an unlikeable character who begins to redeem himself as the film progresses. Jacki Weaver is also terrific as Stu’s mother, and the movie is well-paced. However, the film’s issues lie in the storytelling, which can feel bland and one-note. Ross’ feature directorial debut has moments of beauty, but his visual style and command of the dialogue are not strong enough to make the film reach its full potential.

Father Stu is a lot of things. Tragic, emotional, and humorous, it serves as a vehicle for two Hollywood stars with bigoted pasts to make a movie about second chances. This film is about faith and perseverance and what makes it stand out is Wahlberg, who gives an exceptional performance. By the end of the film, Wahlberg is portraying a different character than he was at the beginning, which is high praise for an actor who has not given a performance as remarkable as this in a long time. There is a solid father-son story at the heart of the film, and while the movie has a few too many storylines and takes a bit too long to find an ending, Ross ultimately succeeds in telling the story he wants to.

Mark Wahlberg’s latest is a movie you may want to catch in the theater. But if you’re pressed for time, you can always watch the trailer that gives away every single emotional beat of the story.

SCORE : 7/10

As ComingSoon’s  review policy  explains, a score of 7 equates to “Good.” A successful piece of entertainment that is worth checking out, but it may not appeal to everyone.

Jonathan Sim is a film critic and filmmaker born and raised in New York City. He has met/interviewed some of the leading figures in Hollywood, including Christopher Nolan, Zendaya, Liam Neeson, and Denis Villeneueve. He also works as a screenwriter, director, and producer on independent short films.

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Father Stu: the Catholic drama aiming to redeem Mel Gibson and Mark Wahlberg

The controversial stars have teamed up for a film made by Gibson’s girlfriend Rosalind Ross about the power of redemption

L ike it or not, Mel Gibson’s professional rehabilitation is gaining momentum. Ever since his career exploded in a mess of drunkenness, antisemitism, domestic abuse and a string of genuinely horrifying voicemails, Gib has slowly set about clawing himself out from the hole he dug for himself. It started small, with bit parts in sequels like Machete 2, The Expendables 3 and Daddy’s Home 2. It picked up speed with his Oscar-nominated film Hacksaw Ridge, and then hit a pothole with Fatman , where he played a grizzled and embittered Santa Claus. And now it seems unstoppable.

Gibson’s upcoming projects include a CIA thriller in which he stars alongside Jason Isaacs, a John Wick spin-off series and a Lethal Weapon sequel that he also plans to direct. But before all that comes Father Stu. And Father Stu will require some explaining.

Based on a true story, Father Stu stars Mark Wahlberg as a cocky, womanising boxer who gets into a car accident, contracts a terminal illness and then becomes a priest. It seems like the sort of role that Wahlberg is seeking out these days to try to prove to the world that he’s a good person. He still gets to play a boxer and dress like it’s the 1970s (even though the film is set in the 1990s) but, like last year’s Joe Bell, it seems heavily weighted to counteract his negative public image. Joe Bell was about a father grieving his gay son; Wahlberg once angrily defended the homophobic remarks of Shabba Ranks and was “creeped” out by Brokeback Mountain. Meanwhile, this film is proof that people are able to change their ways for the better. And if the priest in this film can do it then maybe so can Wahlberg, a man whose history includes chasing black children while throwing stones and shouting racist epithets, and being charged with attempted murder after attacking a middle-aged Vietnamese American man.

If this had been a one-man redemption bid, there’s a sliver of a chance that it might have worked. But it won’t, because it co-stars Mel Gibson . Gibson – at least judging by the trailer – plays a grizzled mechanic who hates God but, and this is only a wild stab in the dark, will probably eventually come to see the light. He too can do good things, just so long as you can ignore all the unquestionable bad he’s done.

Now, Gibson isn’t playing the main role here. This is a supporting character, and one that initially doesn’t seem to add much to the story. And with the Oscars still smarting from all the accusations of racism it intermittently has to fend off, the last thing it will want to do is embrace a film starring a man who once told a police officer that “the Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world”.

So, if the film has awards ambitions and the role could be played by anybody, why take the risk of hiring Mel Gibson at all? This one, at least, is easy to answer. It’s because the film was written and directed by Rosalind Ross. And Rosalind Ross is Mel Gibson’s girlfriend.

This isn’t to do down Ross’s achievements at all. Although this is the first film she has directed, she was previously a writer on Matador, a show that aired in the states on the El Rey network that was about a soccer player who was also a spy. According to her IMDb page, she also has a Boudicca film in the works. By all accounts, she is an up-and-comer. And it’s hard to see how she could be riding Mel Gibson’s coattails, since he has spent the last 15 years as a toxic pariah. True, she might not have the best handle on Gibson’s career – he was 35 when she was born, and had already made three Mad Max films, three Lethal Weapon films and a Braveheart before she had even started school – but wouldn’t you cast the man you love in your film?

Perhaps I’m slightly biased towards Father Stu as a film. It has long been my belief that any character named Stu or Stuart in a movie is bound to be an irredeemable dick. Pierce Brosnan’s horrible character in Mrs Doubtfire is called Stu. The guy who runs the Overlook hotel in The Shining is called Stuart. Matthew Lillard’s character in Scream was called Stu. There is a Minion called Stuart, for crying out loud. There is nowhere to hide.

But Father Stu softens the blow a little. Its titular Stu seems like a truly inspirational figure, a man committed to helping people even in the face of an agonising death. He seems like he might be the One Good Stu. And, sure, the film he stars in looks terrible, like the sort of thing that will make the bulk of its revenue by playing in churches. And, sure, the director might be an untested 31-year-old. And, sure, it stars someone who has done so many bad things that it’s honestly hard to look at him. But, hey, Stus need to take what they can get.

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Father stu review: wahlberg leads interesting but insincere faith-based film.

The film is not the best out there, nor is it the most touching, well-paced, deep or thoughtfully executed story, but it does have its moments.

Written and directed by Rosalind Ross, Father Stu sees an agnostic become a priest. The faith-based film comes just in time for Easter, but unlike many other films in the genre, Father Stu has put some effort into crafting its story. The film — produced by and starring Mark Wahlberg in the title role — is not the best out there, nor is it the most touching, well-paced, deep or thoughtfully executed story, but it does have its moments.

Father Stu is based on the true story of Stuart Long (Wahlberg), a boxer who is forced to quit after suffering injuries his body could no longer tolerate. Stu’s got a lot of anger issues and struggles with being emotionally vulnerable, mostly due to the death of his brother at a young age and the divorce of his now-estranged parents (Mel Gibson and Jacki Weaver), both of whom didn’t raise him to be religious. Lost, Stu moves to Los Angeles in an attempt to become an actor. He becomes infatuated with Carmen (Teresa Ruiz), a Catholic school teacher, and begins attending church. At first, it’s only to please her because it’s an important part of her life. But after a near-fatal motorcycle accident, Stu decides he wants to become a priest, to the shock of everyone.

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To be sure, Father Stu is an above average faith-based story. It has all the elements that would make it engaging and uplifting — a seemingly lost man who is rough around the edges looking inward and to God to find himself and his purpose. He faces quite a few obstacles along the way, things that are meant to make him stronger and to solidify his beliefs. To a certain extent, the film succeeds in its efforts because it puts in the work. Father Stu is a well-made film, though not necessarily a good one. However, it sets out what it accomplishes to do while understanding exactly what kind of film it is, which feels like a miracle unto itself.

It’s not overly preachy or heartless, but what it does lack is genuine sincerity. The film also meanders, failing to properly build any real tension. Everything that happens to Father Stu happens far too quickly. By the time he becomes a changed man of God, shedding his old habits and attitudes (though not completely), it doesn’t feel entirely earned. There could have been more time spent on that aspect so as to more fully understand his actions; a vision of the Virgin Mary after his accident isn't going to cut it. That is a result of the pacing, with the film often lingering on aspects that aren’t pertinent to the story while glossing over the things that are. It’s also that Mark Wahlberg’s performance — as he transitions from playing the hot-tempered Stu to a kind-hearted priest — isn’t effective in conveying this change. He's good at playing the former, but not so much the latter.

The role requires a delicate balance, but the actor’s earnestness, present only on occasion, simply isn’t there. Jacki Weaver, as Father Stu’s always-worried mother, and Teresa Ruiz as his supportive, kind-hearted ex-fiancée are the true standouts here. They exude warmth and strength despite being pushed to the side so constantly. What’s perhaps most interesting about Father Stu is that it seemingly serves as an ill-conceived redemption story for Wahlberg, and Mel Gibson, who have both had their fair share of controversy over the years, and it doesn’t work in that respect. The film is all about second chances and, while it tries increasingly hard to be genuine about it, the overall story comes up short.

Father Stu is infused with some comedy, jokes that are occasionally funny, and one or two heartfelt scenes that work in its favor. But such scenes of humor and warmth are typically undercut by other moments that are likely meant to inspire, but are either underwhelming or awkward. All that said, there are things to enjoy about Father Stu . It isn’t sincere or as inspiring as it believes itself to be, but it also understands what its aims are, and that self-awareness is worth noting.

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Father Stu released to theaters on April 13, 2022. The film is 124 minutes long and is rated R for language throughout.

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‘Father Stu’ Review: Mark Wahlberg and Mel Gibson Form an Unholy Alliance in Sloppy Religious Biopic

David ehrlich.

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A faith-based drama co-starring Mark Wahlberg and Mel Gibson that was written and directed by Gibson’s 31-year-old girlfriend, Rosalind Ross (whose only previous credits are a short film that she co-wrote in 2014 and a guest appearance on one of Laura Ingraham’s demonic talk shows), “ Father Stu ” doesn’t sound like a movie so much as it does a biblical exercise in faith and forgiveness. Alas, watching this messy-as-hell biopic about a foul-mouthed boxer priest requires a Christ-like amount of both, and inspires precious little of either in return.

Of course, as an agnostic Jew who wouldn’t go within 10 feet of Gibson unless I was wearing one of those padded bomb suits from “The Hurt Locker,” I’m not exactly the target audience for a movie that aspires to feel like a “Passion of the Christ” remake directed by David O. Russell (Wahlberg’s initial creative partner on the project, and a guy whose fingerprints are smudged all over the final product). But as a critic who’s professionally obligated to reckon with the latest trends in Christian cinema, I have to admit that Wahlberg’s R-rated conception of godly entertainment seems almost divine when compared to the culture war militance of “God’s Not Dead” or the Sunday school hokeyness of “I Still Believe.”

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Some folks get more spiritual nourishment from a good movie than they do from the Good Book, and “Father Stu” — sloppy and unconvincing as it is — makes a decent case that Wahlberg’s brand of un -PureFlix could eventually produce something raw enough to resonate with people of all religious backgrounds.

“Father Stu” ain’t it. On the contrary, this is one of those “inspiring” biopics so awkward and forced that it leaves you feeling more skeptical about the verifiably true story on which it’s based. Was there an angry but manically charming amateur boxer named Stuart Ignatius who moved from Montana to Los Angeles in a spur-of-the-moment bid to become a movie star? Wikipedia says yes. Did he only get baptized in the hopes that it might score him some points with his devoutly Roman Catholic crush? More or less. Was Ignatius so moved by the spirit of God in the wake of a near-deadly motorcycle accident that he ditched sex for the seminary, spending his last (and most arduous) years on this mortal coil in service to a more eternal kind of love? It’s just implausible enough to believe.

And yet, “Father Stu” feels as logically consistent as the Gospels, and four times longer than all of the combined. The pugilistic spirit of Ross’ debut beats a little more sense out of her script with every passing scene, Stu’s relationship (Wahlberg) with his burnout father (Gibson) becomes even sketchier than his relationship with Jesus Christ, and the character’s vaguely traced evolution from pie-eyed to piety would seem completely weightless if not for the fact that Wahlberg gained 30 pounds of pure body fat to portray the final stages of Stu’s fatal illness.

The formative stages of his life are even less well-defined. We know that Stu first became furious with God over the inexplicable death of his five-year-old brother, and we know that he’s been something of a fighter ever since; that he became a boxer (and remained one longer after it was clear he’d never be paid for it) because punching other people was the closest he could get to punching the creator who made them. And unmade them.

We know that his beer-guzzling pops has been angry for a long time, as well, though it’s unclear if that surliness was born from tragedy, or if Bill Long was always the kind of dad who drinks flat-topped cans of Budweiser and slurs at his kid in between the old talk show episodes he watches on his black-and-white TV (tendencies he continues throughout a movie that bafflingly seems to take place in the 1970s and the early 2000s at the same time). And we know that Stu’s indelicate mother — a goblin-mode Jacki Weaver in her usual role as a morally jaundiced parent who pops up every 20 minutes or so to wail at the heavens or call her son “God’s bitch” — has been far more present in his life.

What we don’t know is how Stu relates to either of these people now that he’s an adult. More to the point, we can’t tell if he managed to escape such a difficult childhood with his mind still intact, or if he’s completely unhinged from the moment this movie starts. Ross seems to believe that “Father Stu” is a heartwarming tale about a quirky and quixotic survivor who takes life’s hits on the chin and moves to L.A. in search of another impossible dream the day after he boxes his last match, but her shapeless direction and tin-eared banter aren’t able to contain an irrepressible Wahlberg performance that doesn’t tilt at windmills so much as it plows straight into them. By the time Stu stalks his Dulcinea (Teresa Ruiz in the role of Carmen) from his supermarket to her church, the guy seems less like a whimsical scamp than he does a wacky sociopath.

“Father Stu” calls him out on this stuff, and understandably leaves any higher judgment up to Jesus, but it’s hard to buy Stu’s transition from wayward son to cool father if we never believe that anyone would become a willing member of his flock (all but one of the parishioners at Carmen’s Mexican-American church are thoroughly charmed by the manic white guy who makes himself the center of their congregation). I mean, this movie is such a mess that it can be hard to follow Stu’s transition from one shot to the next. It’s bad enough that the scene where Stu tries and fails to borrow his dad’s car leaves us without any understanding of their current relationship, wasting the film’s best chance of building an emotional foundation for the medical crisis that will bond them together in the third act; it’s worse that the very next scene inexplicably begins with Stu on a random motorcycle.

Later, after receiving some unsolicited advice from a Christ-like bar rat at his local watering hole, Stu will get “Meet Joe Black”-ed by two different cars after drunkenly crashing that same motorcycle, only to be saved by a life-altering vision of the Virgin Mary. It will not be the last misfortune that Stu will suffer with grace, nor the last crucible that he will embrace as an opportunity to feel closer to God’s love. His dignity in the face of death is almost objectively beautiful — regardless of the theological rationale behind it — and a better movie would have made it easier to appreciate how Wahlberg’s natural tenacity is so well-suited to the role. It also would’ve been easier without the incomprehensibly jabber-jawed accent he brings to the table as part of a performance that forever redefines the meaning of “South Boston.”

It would be cruelly overstating the case to suggest that “Father Stu” might be improved by the fact that half of its dialogue is unintelligible, but Ross’ fast-paced banter isn’t sharp enough to compensate for her underlit film’s shallow characterizations or abject lack of narrative flow. Malcolm McDowell is completely stranded by his stunted scenes as a skeptical monsignor, and Mel Gibson (terrible food, and in such small portions) is never given a chance to earn his bad dad stereotype a measure of redemption.

Faith can only get you so far without structure, and the sincerity of this movie’s pivot from punishment to salvation doesn’t stop it from stalling out in purgatory along the way. You don’t feel the healing between a man and his son. You don’t feel that son becoming a different kind of father. And when Stu finally hears the message that God has been trying to send him through his body — that it’s OK to give up the fight — you don’t feel like “Father Stu” has any idea how to share it with the world.

A Sony release, “Father Stu” will be released in theaters on Friday, April 15.

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Fallout: Why Maximus Looks So Familiar

O ne of the most intriguing aspects of the Fallout video games is the various factions within the post-apocalyptic landscape. Those groups get represented incredibly well in Prime Video's new series based on the franchise. Lucy (Ella Purnell) is a Vault Dweller venturing into the unknown for the first time. Walton Goggins plays the Ghoul , someone from the before-time who's now an irradiated creature with dubious morals. Lastly, there's Maximus, portrayed by Aaron Moten, who's in league with the militaristic Brotherhood of Steel.

These three characters represent different ideologies one can have in the Wasteland. In an exclusive interview with Looper, Moten even discussed the inspiration of Cassius from William Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" to bring the character to life. "He describes Cassius, the character, as a hungry dog," the actor explained. "I think elements of that really dug into Maximus for me. That is the Wasteland if you ask me, and that is all the people that survive on the surface. I think there's an element of hungry dog in everyone, and it built off of that."

Moten has made substantial strides in his acting career over the past few years, so there may be a few things he's been in that audiences have seen before. Hopefully, he'll get a big boost after starring in something as high-profile as "Fallout."

Read more: Dumb Reasons These TV Shows Were Cancelled

The Night Of (2016)

Like many actors trying to get their start in the industry, much of Aaron Moten's early work involves short films and one-off appearances on TV shows. He has a more notable role on the 2016 HBO miniseries "The Night Of." The show revolves around Naz (Riz Ahmed), a young Pakistani man falsely accused of murder. "The Night Of" tackles elements of the American criminal justice system, illustrating how racial inequity is inseparable from it. The series features a performance from a young Moten, playing Petey.

Petey winds up at Riker's along with Naz, both of whom end up in the orbit of a more seasoned prisoner, Freddy, played by the late, great Michael K. Williams . Freddy uses Petey's mother as a drug mule for his operations, and sadly, Petey only lasts a few episodes before meeting a tragic end. Suffice it to say, the character likely wouldn't be back if "The Night Of" turned into anything more than a miniseries. 

John Turturro, who plays lawyer John Stone on the show, teased the possibility of more episodes in 2020. He told Deadline , "We have a couple of ideas but we have to sit down and discuss them, so we're at that stage so that's good." There hasn't been much word since then of "The Night Of" Season 2, so it's safe to say it'll remain a limited series. 

Disjointed (2017 - 2018)

After a part on a serious show like "The Night Of," it's understandable if Aaron Moten could've used a few laughs. He snagged a part on the Netflix sitcom, "Disjointed," playing Travis, the straight-laced son of the hippie-esque Ruth (Kathy Bates). He has an MBA and wants to grow (no pun intended) his mother's weed dispensary to new heights. While the customers and budtenders tend to dip into their own stashes, Travis largely functions as a straight man, genuinely trying to run a business because he wants the shop to become the "Walmart of cannabis." 

Despite a solid comedic line-up, "Disjointed" didn't leave a remarkable impression on critics. Melanie McFarland of Salon took the sitcom to task: "'Disjointed' is a stoner comedy for people who don't get stoned, written by people who I suspect either haven't been high for a very long time, have never gotten high, or thought that they were smoking weed that one time but were actually inhaling burnt oregano laced with bath salts." Most other reviews weren't much better, and Netflix canceled the show after its initial run of 20 episodes.

Father Stu (2022)

2022's "Father Stu" was a passion project for star Mark Wahlberg, who plays the titular character based on a real person. Wahlberg told Business Insider he believed in the story so much that he spent "millions and millions" of his own money to see it come to fruition. The film follows a former boxer seeking to become a priest while contending with a muscular disease. Many people he meets throughout his journey influence him, including Ham (Aaron Moten), who also has aspirations to join the church, and becomes something of a friend to Stu. 

"Father Stu" garnered a fairly mixed response from critics; it has a 43% rating on Rotten Tomatoes . However, some reviewers did call attention to some of the standout performances, including Moten's. Leslie Felperin of The Guardian  mentioned Moten specifically, saying that he and other supporting players "deserve canonization for offering very strong performances as unexpectedly well-defined characters."

Emancipation (2022)

"Emancipation" had the unfortunate distinction of coming out later the same year as the now infamous Oscar moment when Will Smith slapped Chris Rock on stage. The fallout was swift, and the incident immediately impacted Smith's career . This included question marks over what kind of work he'd be able to get, and while "Bad Boys: Ride or Die" will likely help the actor return to the public's good graces, "Emancipation" wasn't granted the same kindness. 

Smith stars as Peter, a runaway slave in the United States circa 1863, who experiences much cruelty throughout his journey, which involves a run-in with a former slave known as Knowls (Aaron Moten). Knowls works alongside the oppressors to catch anyone who runs away. The movie eventually landed on Apple TV+, where it failed to resonate. Aside from Smith's slap incident, it likely didn't help matters the film only scored a 45% rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes . 

Through these projects and many others, Moten has proven himself adept at playing a variety of characters within numerous genres. "Fallout" is a mix of action, drama, comedy, and science fiction, so the actor's well-suited for this world, seeing how Maximus will undoubtedly become another highlight on his resume. 

Read the original article on Looper