The Jesus Rolls

This is a strange one. Many are saying that if you go in with expectations you'll be disappointed, the fact 'The Jesus' has been placed in this strange brew encourages and stokes those expectations and it is naive to think it wouldn't.

A remake with an existing character thrown in (from a beloved cult movie no less) and the only reference to the characters origins are to unpick a troublesome character detail and send him out on the road.

Passable, modestly funny in places but grindingly and conspicuously zany most of the time.

Couple this with Turturro's 'Fading Gigolo' and a pattern might be emerging about the director's desire to place himself in roles where he can direct Vanessa Paradise, Sharon Stone and now Audrey Tautou to find him irresistible.

At best a mildly diverting film you'll likely dismiss at worst an unnecessary annex to the Lebowski myth that could easily have been made with no connection to it. Moribund.

The Jesus Rolls is a crime comedy remake of the French film Going Places and spin-off of The Big Lebowski. The film follows Jesus Quintana (portrayed by John Turturro) as he is released from prison and links up with Petey (portrayed by Bobby Cannavale) and Marie (portrayed by Audrey Tautou). The group then engage in numerous crimes among other activities.

I really did not enjoy the movie. Although it's listed as a comedy I didn't really find much humor in it. I wasn't impressed by the acting performances by those in the film despite having a great cast. And I never really understood the plot of the film. It just jumps from the group engaging in numerous crimes without properly flowing through the scenes. I consistently found myself confused and/or bored with the film.

For these reasons I would rate this a 2/10. I would not recommend it and would watch other performances from those included instead of wasting time on this.

This is enjoyable to watch even if it is pointless. Jesus Quintana is a character with multi-dimensional creepiness, deserving of a film like this to achieve the fullest expression.

This is a weird movie that, in a way, reminds me a lot of Joker.

We get solid performances throughout. Turturro and Cannavale are rock solid and just about always are in my opinion. Tautou is an extra manic pixie dream girl here and it really works. We also get a strong cast of cameos and auxiliary characters with some serious star power all delivering great characters. I actually like the character Turturro is playing as well, he's got this zen hippie criminal thing going that I find oddly compelling from him.

Problem is, this isn't "Jesus" and has nothing to do with The Big Lebowski. This movie is desperately missing the Coen Brothers. It's quirky and weird and surreal, like one of their films but it lacks that spark, that little something extra to really make it pop. When you throw that in with this forced, unnecessary sequel/spin-off and it just never feels right. Turturro's character is enjoyable, but it's not at all how I remember Jesus.

Hence the Joker comparison. I think the Joker is a better movie if it's not about THE Joker and I think this is vastly improved if it's got nothing to do with Lebowski. But, we have to live with what we have and not what I wish we had so this is what we get. A movie with a solid core but an absolute wreck of a premise. There wasn't a scene where it wasn't distracting or frustrating and I just constantly wished I could forget this movie's connections, but I can't. All that said, it's solid background fodder I think, it's just not good for anything more than that.

(Flash Review)

The viewer is brought into a snippet of time from when The Jesus is released from prison on a sketchy charge, referenced in The Big Lebowski, as he and his buddy bum around hanging out with a couple older prostitutes, 'using them' and committing petty theft. I can't say there was much of a plot, more of flushing out the character and his world. There are of course a couple bowling scenes and his famous bowling ball lick; not something you'd be doing during COVID19. This severely lacked the level of laughs or witty dialog that The Big Lebowski had not to mention a core story point. I am wondering if the producers will flush out the back stories of Maude, Knox Harrington or the Carpet Pisser. ;-) This was not written by Coen Brothers and it shows even though it tried.