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Father Stu
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Wikipedia article
'Father Stu' is a 2022 biographical drama film written and directed by Rosalind Ross in her directorial debut. The film stars Mark Wahlberg, who also produces, as Stuart Long (19632014), a boxer-turned-Catholic priest suffering from inclusion body myositis.
'Father Stu' was released in the United States on April 13, 2022, during Holy Week. The film received mixed reviews from critics, and has grossed $21.6 million.
Plot
Stuart Long, a foul-mouthed amateur boxer from Helena, Montana has a troubled relationship with his mother and alcoholic father. His brother Stephen died at age six, leading to a rift in the family and causing his parents to be hostile towards religion. He moves to Southern California to try to make it as an actor, and gets a job in a grocery store, hoping to get connected in the entertainment industry. He is arrested for a DUI and attempts to steal his father's truck to make it to an audition.
While working in the store he meets a woman named Carmen, whom he tracks to a local Catholic parish, where she is a volunteer Sunday school teacher. Carmen resists his advances, telling him she would not even consider dating him unless he gets baptized. Stu agrees and begins RCIA at the parish, where he befriends fellow parishioners Ham and Jacob, but is looked down upon by the latter. Both Ham and Jacob are headed for the seminary. After Stu is baptized in the parish, he and Carmen begin dating and he later meets her parents.
After Stu lands an acting role on an infomercial, he faces discouragement and returns to the bar one night where a mysterious man gives him some advice and tells him not to drive home. Stu ignores the advice and drives drunk on a motorcycle, crashing into a car and being thrown off the motorcycle and run over by another car. Severely injured, he drifts in and out of consciousness and has a vision of the Blessed Mother who tells him that he cannot die in vain. After Stu is transported to the hospital by EMTs, Stu makes a miraculous recovery despite the doctor's grim prognosis. His father visits and re-establishes contact, though their relationship is still very strained.
Carmen visits Stu as he is recovering at home and the two have sex, which she had previously said she would not do before marriage, leading to intense regret for both of them. Stu confesses the sin and begins to transform himself to be the man that Mary asked him to be. He felt called to the priesthood, and after prayer and discernment decides to pursue the seminary. When Stu tells Carmen of his plan, she tries to convince him not to do it, as do his mother and father, to no avail. Stu applies to the seminary and is rejected at first, but visits in person to appeal to the rector and is accepted. By this point, Ham and Jacob are also in the seminary. Ham is a reliable friend, but Jacob is something of a rival.
One day while playing basketball with fellow seminarians, Stu falls and is unable to get up on his own. He is diagnosed with inclusion body myositis, a rare muscular disease similar to Lou Gehrig's disease which has no cure and typically does not strike young people like him and the prognosis is grim. Stu is angry with God but comes to understand his suffering as a gift from God which draws him closer to Christ's suffering, and with much difficulty continues in the seminary. Carmen, now engaged to another man, visits him at the seminary and supports his vocation. After some time passes, he begins losing use of his hands. The rector tells Stu that he cannot be ordained, citing his inability to celebrate the Sacraments of the Catholic Church. Stu moves back to Montana with his parents, who care for him as his muscles continue to decay, his weight increases, and he loses the ability to live independently. His father, meanwhile, attends Alcoholics Anonymous, where he admits in group therapy that he feels partly responsible for his son's condition by his neglect and absence.
The parishioners from Stu and Carmen's church in California petition the Diocese of Helena to ordain Stu, to which the bishop agrees, and Stu is ordained in Montana with Carmen, Ham, and his parents in attendance. Father Stu begins ministry and quickly develops relationships with people in Montana. He is later confined to a skilled nursing facility, where he continues his ministry and people flock to see him every day. Jacob visits him there during confession and admits that he never felt capable of becoming a priest and only pursued it to please his father. Father Stu assures him that there are other ways to serve God and he does not need to feel pressured to do something he isn't called to do. Afterwards, Jacob thanks Father Stu and wishes him goodbye, sensing it will be the last time. Father Stu dies at the age of 50. The closing credits show real images of Stu from his childhood and turbulent young adulthood to his time in the seminary and as a priest.
Cast
* Mark Wahlberg as Father Stuart "Stu" Long
* Jacki Weaver as Kathleen Long, Stu's mother
* Mel Gibson as William "Bill" Long, Stu's estranged father.
* Teresa Ruiz as Carmen
* Aaron Moten as Ham
* Cody Fern as Jacob
* Carlos Leal as Father Garcia
* Malcolm McDowell as Monsignor Kelly
* Jack Kehler as Curtis
* Niko Nicotera as Barfly
* Annet Mahendru as Virgin Mary
Production
The film was first publicly announced in 2016, when Wahlberg revealed that he was working on a biopic about Long with screenwriter David O. Russell. Wahlberg first heard about Long's story while out to dinner with two priests. Wahlberg put "millions and millions of dollars" of his own money into the project, mostly due to the shoot going over schedule and the rights to music. Ross wrote the script then signed on as director in her directorial debut. Long's parents, Bill and Kathleen, were involved with the production, as were numerous bishops, priests, and laymen who knew Father Stu. Members of the Long family said the portrayal of Stu's father was overly dramatized, as he always provided for the family and was a loving father. Bill Long still supported the film, saying, "I dont think it matters how I was portrayed, the film is about Fr. Stu. He wants people to come away from the movie with the message to: 'Have faith, hang in there, endure.'"[https://aleteia.org/2022/04/14/14-fascinating-facts-about-the-real-life-fr-stu-long-that-you-need-to-know/ 14 Fascinating facts about the real-life Fr. Stu Long that you need to know]
The film was shot in Los Angeles, California in just 30 days in May 2021. In late September 2021, some scenes were shot in and around Helena, Montana, as well as Anaconda, Montana, Butte, Montana & Phillipsburg, Montana. Wahlberg intentionally gained in six weeks to portray Long, consuming up to 7,000 calories a day.
The film contains unusually strong language for a faith-based film, and Wahlberg said he was initially prevented from shooting a scene in a church because it contained vulgar language. However, Wahlberg defended the use of language as a way of emphasizing the contrast between his pre- and post-conversion lifestyles, and the film was commended by many Catholic leaders,[https://aleteia.org/2022/04/18/the-surprise-behind-of-fr-stus-swearing/ The surprise behind Fr. Stus swearing] including Bishop George Leo Thomas, who ordained Father Stu, Bishop Austin Vetter, the contemporary bishop of Helena,[https://diocesehelena.org/2022/02/father-stu-feature-film/ Sony Pictures to Release Biopic on Father Stuart Long] and Bishop Robert Barron.[https://www.wordonfire.org/articles/barron/providence-and-vocation-in-father-stu/ Providence and Vocation in Father Stu]
Release
Wahlberg attended an advance screening of the film at Carroll College in Helena, from which Father Stu graduated and where he later served as a campus minister.[https://helenair.com/news/local/mark-wahlberg-visits-helena-for-screening-of-father-stu/article_fcf8baf5-c766-5abd-8ded-091244ef481c.html#tracking-source=home-top-story Mark Wahlberg visits Helena for screening of 'Father Stu'] The film had its world premiere at the Cinemark Theaters in Helena, Montana, on April 5, 2022.
The film was released in theaters on Wednesday, April 13, 2022, the week before Easter Sunday. It was originally set to be released on Friday, April 15, 2022.
The film was added to Netflix in the United States on September 16, 2022 as part of Sony's Pay-1 window exclusivity deal.
Reception
Box office
In the United States and Canada, 'Father Stu' was projected to gross around $7 million from 2,705 theaters over its five-day opening weekend. The film made $2.3 million in its first two days, and went on to debut to $5.4 million in its opening weekend and $7.7 million over the five days, finishing fifth at the box office. In its second weekend, 'Father Stu' declined 38% to eighth place and grossed $3.3 million. It made $2.2 million in its third weekend, and $875,091 in its fourth, before dropping out of the box office top ten in its fifth weekend with $422,143.Critical response
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 42% based on 118 reviews, with an average rating of 5.3/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Mark Wahlberg is hard-working but miscast in 'Father Stu', an issue compounded by the way the movie fumbles its fact-based story." Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 40 out of 100 based on 27 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it a 91% positive score, with 76% saying they would definitely recommend it.
Writing for the 'Chicago Sun-Times', Richard Roeper gave the film three stars out of four, saying: "'Father Stu' breaks no new ground in the biopic game, but it's a solid and worthy tribute to the real-life Father Stu, who continued to do the Lord's work until his death in 2014 at the age of 50." Owen Gleiberman of 'Variety' wrote: "'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."
References
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