FATHER STU

Montana amateur boxer Stuart Long (Mark Wahlberg) has his career cut unexpectedly short due to jaw surgery. Needing to find a new way to support himself, he decides to move to LA in an attempt to break into Hollywood. However, like so many others, he goes relatively undiscovered with the exception of a few TV commercials but has to make ends meet working in the deli of a local supermarket. One day, he spots a beautiful woman by the name of Carmen (Teresa Ruiz) and attempts to ask her out while risking his job. When put to an ultimatum by his boss to get back to work, he gives up his pursuit until one day he asks a fellow coworker about the young woman he saw and the coworker points him in the direction of a flyer she asked to be posted in the supermarket about the Catholic church she attends. An atheist, Stuart attends mass in order to again speak to and ask out Carmen. Being raised in a traditional and conservative household, Carmen advises him her parents would forbid her from dating anyone who denies Christ. In order to gain her parents approval rather than a religious awakening, Stuart decides to get baptized as a Catholic. Once they've begun dating, Stuart gets into a near-death accident while riding his motorcycle. After waking up from his coma and having been visiting by the blessed Virgin Mary, Stuart decides to dedicate his life to God. While not being taken seriously by anyone, Stuart uses the tenacity that made him a great boxer to fight for his right and passion to be a priest. We're being indoctrinated today to believe that "representation is important." And while I believe a lot of it is nothing more than gas lighting, it is refreshing to see the pendulum swing the other way as conservative and Christian voices have been silenced for far too long in the pop culture sphere. And yes, while I am proud and practicing Catholic and I'm happy to see my religion represented onscreen, the film as a whole doesn't work for me until the final tear jerking third act. The film at times moves at a rapid pace and it's somewhat hard to buy into Stuart as he's a foul-mouthed, womanizer. Which I fully understand is what the crew was going for to make his transition to the priesthood all the more powerful, but again, it took me longer than I would have liked to be invested in this character and story. Wahlberg does a great job with his portrayal, again, especially in the closing scenes that really pull at the audiences heartstrings. Mel Gibson and Jacki Weaver support him as his parent Bill and Kathleen respectively who have very little redeeming qualities until the end. Bill, an alcoholic who blames Stuart for the death of their other child, who passed when he was 6 and Kathleen who doesn't support her son at all and tries to talk him out of his dream on multiple occasions. While this film overall missed the mark for me, I hope these types of stories will continue to be told as their is an audience for them. Don't believe me? Look no further than THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST. 5.5/10