Thursday, May 19, 2022

Film Review: Father Stu

Movie Number 20 of 2022

Movie: Father Stu

Cinema: Hoyts Victoria Gardens

Stars: 3.75

I love a good biopic, and this one is no different. Mark Wahlberg's, it tells the story of Father Stuart Long, on his road from self-destruction to redemption. 

Coming into this, I had no expectations and no real knowledge of the story, other than I've seen Wahlberg play battlers before and succeed. (Think of him in The Fighter - he was excellent). Thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised with this. 

Wahlberg plays Stu, a down on his luck fighter from a blue collar family with little to offer the world. He has a loving but difficult relationship with his mother (Jacki Weaver) and an acrimonious relationship with his father (Mel Gibson). Add to this the guilt of a dead brother who passed in childhood and you have a far from functional fellow.  From his amateur boxing career, Stu then heads to Hollywood, trying to find fame and glory on any screen available.  

But Stu has a lot of chutzpah and a good heart, even if some of his decisions are a little on the nose. He also chases the tail of Carmen (Teresa Ruiz) which is where he ends up in a Catholic Church, getting baptised to be with the girl. A large, horrible accident leads him to find God, and his true path at the semenary. Malcolm McDowell plays his rather forthright Monsignor. 

As a film you see on a Wednesday afternoon while recovering from surgery, this is a great diversion. The performances are solid, particulary those of Wahlberg, Weaver and Gibson. The script is robust enough to keep you wondering where things are going. Most importantly, you don't see the twists in the tale at the end of the story. Tissues were needed. 

This won't be everybody's must see film, but I enjoyed it all the same. I love a good underdog story with a good heart. This fills the brief. 

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