User reviews

Yes, Wahlberg deserves a nomination for this. I'm not a practicing Catholic but I was definitely moved. It's more than some "faith based" movie. A lot of good performances. Mel Gibson, Jacki Weaver were excellent. But it's not trendy to recommend a movie like this. That's why the critics really didn't give it fair shake. I think what I liked about Father Stu is that it addresses the nature of suffering. Why do we suffer? That's what makes it profound by the end.

I very much enjoyed this film and don't understand why it is rated as low as it is by critics. It is definitely Wahlberg's best performance of the films I've seen. The other performance I liked was Gibson. He plays his father and is a alcoholic due to the loss of his youngest son and drinks the trauma away. He plays the role so well and I really sympathised with him, cared deeply for his character and wanted him to rekindle his connection with his son Stu. His performance reminds me of Nick Nolte in Warrior who also plays a broken and drunken father. The overall plot was engaging and never felt dragged out, this was due to there being a decent amount of screen time of each major part of his life. This for me made the changes he goes through feel even more powerful because as soon as you understand more about this character a life changing event happens to Stu and he progresses as a character even further. The cinematography was pretty standard with some nice shots here and there but for the most part it was what you would expect for a Hollywood film.

I think everyone would enjoy this film especially since it's based on a true story which always hooks me in a whole lot more for a film of this theme.

Stuart Long was the kind of man you had to make a movie about and who better to play him than the great Mark Wahlberg. I'll be honest I was blown away with the weight gain Wahlberg went through for this movie as well as the raw emotions shown within it. Mel Gibson is also a great actor that needed the right redemption to truly remind us why we call these men actors, I was very intrigued within the story, I do like a good true story film and this one was remarkable. This movie did a great job highlighting the disease inclusion body myositis, a degenerative muscle disease that renders him disabled but that does not stop his awakening to his great spiritual journey.

I really enjoyed everything about this film, they did a phenomenal job at everything, the plot, the abilities, the awareness, the fact the man was a boxer turned priest is mindblowing but this indeed was a perfect film with a perfect cast and crew. Stuart Long would have loved seeing this film may he rest in peace, it really is a masterpiece, I'd highly recommend checking this one out!

This isn't exactly a bio-pic, it leaves lots of things out and fictionalizes a few things, but it is a mostly true account of Stuart Long who grew up as a crude, rough and tumble type of athlete and high-ranking boxer in Montana.

At some point he decides to go to Los Angeles and become an actor. With no real preparation and no plan he is a bust. Then after losing his drivers license and resorting to a motorcycle for transportation, he is in an accident that almost kills him. However through it all has a religious experience and decides to become a Catholic priest.

His road is never easy, and things go from pretty bad to a lot worse. Still through discernment and a stroke of good fortune he became a priest at the age of 34. He developed a novel way to connect with people.

My wife and I watched it at home on DVD from our public library. Good movie and the actors are all first-rate in their roles, especially Wahlberg and Gibson.

This movie is funnier than the ads will have you believe.

The story is of a amateur (to put it kindly) boxer who is scrappy in life. He's told often that he can't do something or that life gives him hardship and his stubborn streak kicks in. To a lot of people, his persistence is read as silly and frustrating. To a lot of people he should be beaten to death in an alley somewhere in some small rural town he hails from. Until a fateful night which puts a lot of his life in perspective. Unfortunately, I don't feel that moment is enough to generate the turn of the cheek. But, writer/director Rosalind Ross was smart enough to show how little Stuart actually changes. He instead uses his blue-collar nastiness for good rather than evil. Funny to me, to say the least. I wish they would've played more in that world. Where people expect him to be pious and uptight but ends up being a thug in a collar. There may have been extra chuckles to be mined there, ala Harrison Ford getting ice cream on his face in "Witness."

Well, the structure itself isn't anything new. And if you've seen a redemption story, you know what follows. But Mark Wahlberg does an exceptional job getting into the attitude of Stu. In a wild universe, he is Dirk Diggler grown up and trying to find salvation. Mirroring him is Mel Gibson, who plays his father who has his own moment of goodness. It's not much, but it is enough.

Yes, there are a few moments that get heavy handed. That's not to say, these things didn't occur in real life. Stu is brash, and edgy and punch-drunk dumb. He goes with the theory that he doesn't know until someone tells him it's wrong, then he doubles down. His logic is that if Christ wanted him alive, it must be that he wants him to double down for him.

I've no doubt that director Ross, whom is in a relationship with Mel Gibson, tapped the lighter side of the situation. In different hands, this plays as a broad parody. This was reigned in enough for it to hit where it needs to. Speaking of which...Jackie Weaver is such a blessing to watch. She embraces dialogue that would fall flat coming out of most actors' mouths and hits the right beats. Completely nails the humor beats without knowing she is funny. She is the quintessential White trash mom with a kind heart. She has a lot of darkness in her, but they do such a brilliant thing...and not make that the centralized burden to her life. She presses forward and referees two bulls. Though she is separated from her husband Mel, she harbors the right degree of resentment to a former relationship. The dynamics of their family are very clear.

Any way, this is a surprisingly funny flick. I found myself laughing many times at some of the absurdity that occurs. Special shout-out to Teresa Ruiz who plays the love interest. She is warm, kind and when things go wrong, does exhibit the proper reaction and emotions. She is fantastic in this!

Go check it out. I think you're going to be surprised.

Stick around for a hilarious scene during credits.

Father Stu

This was a good old fashion story of redemption. Mark Wahlberg played Stuart Long a washed up boxer who really hits rock bottom after a dreadful accident.

Stu sees his life being spared as a message and a call to the priesthood. There were some clunky moments but mostly these were the scripts writers fault and perhaps needing editing out.

We had some great acting and some brilliant cameos. Like a Tom Cruise or Liam Neeson movie Mark Wahlberg always delivers a strong and committed characterisation. I think he is long overdue for an Oscar winning role.

Overall I enjoyed this movie and it's a firm 6 outta 10 from me.

I like this movie. Make no mistake about that part. I like Mark Wahlberg as an actor. Include some other well played roles and an inspirational story and this movie should have been a slam dunk.

However, there were so many times that I could not hear or understand what the actors were saying! I watched this at home on Netflix. I had to replay a lot of scenes to try to figure out what the words were that were being spoken. I had the volume way high and the second there was other sounds in the movie they were ridiculously loud.

It was super distracting and I almost didn't even finish the movie.

Great story, good acting...but I still don't know half of what was said.

This film starts out well and kept my interest for the first hour or so but, as the story developed, the plot slowed to a crawl and almost lost me completely. I'm not a religious person so the Catholicism and the redemption via the Lord theme were too heavy handed for me. I chose to watch it hoping for a feel good story but, it didn't work for me.

The performances by Mark Wahlberg, Mel Gibson, and Jacki Weaver are good but, the screenplay is weak and definitely could have used some rewriting to tighten it up and improve the pacing. I wish there had been more development of Stu's back story, especially his childhood and relationship with his father. The potential for a gripping story was there but it just didn't deliver.

This was a movie I really wanted to like. Im a huge fan of redemption and comeback stories and I could tell how much effort Wahlberg put into his role. Despite the great performance he delivered he just didn't have the right feel for the part for me. However , I felt he worked well in the scenes with Mel Gibson.

The larger disappointment for me was simply in how the story was delivered. The script was decent , but the pacing felt choppy. Some parts felt like they needed to be explored further while other were drawn out and didn't advance the characters or plot.

The ending was well done and certainly evokes strong emotion, however, once again I feel like it would have had an even stronger impact with better casting of Father Stu.

Overall , I don't regret watching it, but I think they were making this with the hope that it would be Oscar- worthy. But it's not, at least in my opinion.

As a film based on a true story this takes you through a handful of emotions. Here we follow boxer-turned-priest Father Stuart Long (Mark Wahlberg) who's life goes from self-destruction tendencies to proving that everyone deserves a second chance and may redeem themselves. Through dedication, prayer, and believing in one's self, Father Stu inspired countless people. This film showed that no matter how hard life hits, Gods always got a plan for everyone. It may not always makes sense but the effects it can have on others around are what can make the difference. Overall I found this story very moving and inspirational to not let complications in life hold you back.

An absolute home run in terms of character study and storytelling. This is hard-nosed faith based done right. It's an amazing amalgam of old school grit and honest reflection. It will forever hold the record for cussing and f-bombs for this subject matter. And, that's a good thing. The entire first act is set up and not what was expected at all. Back when awards actually mattered, Mark Wahlberg would have been a serious Oscar contender for his performance in this film. He, honest to God, (literally) delivers a masterpiece performance. His weight gain alone showed his commitment to doing justice to this work. Fr. Stu was an amazing individual whose growth and gifts through suffering will forever inspire those who watch this movie with an open heart and mind. A forever immortal that I personally will never forget thanks to this film.

An incredible directing /editing job by Rosalind Rossi's as her first directorial debut. Mark Wahlberg as Father Stuart "Stu" Long, Jacki Weaver as Kathleen Long, Mel Gibson as Bill Long, and especially Teresa Ruiz as Carmen with Malcolm McDowell adding great weight to the production. I was especially impressed by the editing sequence during the injury to Mark Wahlberg. I was not enjoying the rude and foul behavior by his character at the beginning but by the conclusion of the film I was extremely impressed and glad that I sat through the entire movie without stop.

I think people need to pump the tires a bit with saying this is Oscar worthy. It's no doubt a great story and the fact that it's based on a true story makes it even better. But don't let that cloud your judgment and make you think this is an exceptional movie. The acting is decent although you get the same exact Wahlberg performance you always do. The directing and quality of production were also decent. But it was extremely boring at times and hard to stay engaged on. I liked it overall and recommend it to people but just don't go in thinking this is an Oscar caliber movie because it is not at all.

When one creates a film that is based on the real life exploits of a person, the Writer/Director of the film will be sorely tempted to include that character in every scene. Which is fine if that character is written in an interesting enough way to keep our attention. When it is NOT written well, then the film is poorer because of it.

Such is the case with Writer/Director Rosalind Ross' (BARBARIAN) FATHER STU starring Mark Wahlberg in the titular role. Ms. Ross focuses on really one-trait of this character, never really diving deeper into the soul of the scoundrel who would turn his life around to serve others and, unfortunately, that is how Wahlberg plays this character as well - with the one note of "con-man and schemer" trying to have his charm and charisma carry the day. While this one note is not deep or particularly interesting, Wahlberg commits to this choice and plays Stu in that manner throughout the first part of the film.

And...that would be fine if the Stuart Long character has some sort of change of heart in the middle of the film when he decides to head to the Seminary, but Wahlberg plays this character (and Ross' Directs this film) with the same one note. Consequently, those around him - and the audience - question his sincerity. I just plain didn't buy or believe the character in the 2nd half of the movie and that sinks the ending of this film.

Fortunately, this film is populated with some wonderful, nuanced, performances from the Supporting Characters. Jacki Weaver (ANIMAL KINGDOM) is, once again, playing an abandoned wife constantly scrambling and scraping to get by. She has played this sort of roles many, many times before and she is always VERY good. This film is no exception. Malcolm McDowell does more than should be expected with the small part of the Head of the Seminary that Stuart attends. It would be very easy for McDowell to "mail it in", but he doesn't. He invests in his character - and his scenes with Wahlberg are much more interesting because of that. Teresa Ruiz (NARCOS) is sincere and believable as Stu's one-time girlfriend while Cody Fern (AMERICAN HORROR STORY) brings plenty of layers as the character that could be/should be the one-note villain of this piece but is something a bit more.

And then there is Mel Gibson as Stu's estranged father. He brings his star power - and considerable acting chops - to this pivotal role in the film and it is HIS change that I believed and drove the end of the film. I, actually, wanted to see more of his character.

Ultimately, this movie falls short because of the lack of depth of the performance by Wahlberg - and that's too bad for the rest of the film is quite good.

Letter Grade: B-

6 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)

Mark Wahlberg and Mel Gibson star in this unbelievable true story that will have you sobbing in tears when the lights turn on. From the opening scene to the end of the credits it's like your in the room watching them film this.

Father Stu is not your ordinary faith base movie it is rated R for language throughout and to be honest this movie probably needed it. This in my opinion was probably one of Mark's better movies in years and same with Mel one of his best in years. They are great actors on their own, but every movie that they do together is a masterpiece.

Like I said this is rated R so don't go in to this thinking it's a family film and I guess it is in the fact that it's a faith film, but just with tons of language. I highly recommend seeing Father Stu.

Father Stu is a solid underdog movie that's faith based preoccupations are front and centre. With so much story to cover in 2 hours it ends up feeling long winded and it's not even remotely subtle in what it's doing. However, it gets better as it goes along and peaks at the end where the pacing really picks up at the same time the drama gains some emotional heft.

It's nice to see Mark Wahlberg giving close to his all in a role again after coasting through a lot of his recent work. He's definitely miscast and that's only confirmed by the archive footage at the end but he is likeable and empathetic in a way that holds his performance together even when the other things start to work against it, especially the shoddy makeup.

Rosalind Ross does a pretty good job for a first time director, even with all the flaws. The attempts to work around the low budget don't always work, quite a few scenes are massively overlit and there's way too many songs overall which is counterbalanced by the earnest commitment to the melodrama of it all where the biggest dramatic beats land exactly how they should.

5.8/10

The story itself was pretty inspirational with the whole fighting for what you believe in and going for something that you set your heart to, but the depiction falls short. Further, the religious aspect isn't overly pushy and works well as intended, but I can tell this film won't be everyone's cup of tea, like Stu's father in the movie.

Mark Wahlberg is only convincing to a certain extent, but he didn't seem to fit the role all too well. Certain aspects came out stronger than others such as when he reaches a point of desperation, but he fails to capture the cockiness that he's shown in previous films.

The cinematography is pretty good and captures the visuals essence quite well. The score was enjoyable too and made some points throughout more emotional. However, it took too long to get to the emotional points and caused me to lose interest very quickly.

Overall, the film won't be to everyone's taste. It's a great story with a great moral, but the film depiction falls short to capture that essence. Marky Mark doesn't fit the role all to well, but he does have his moments.

Thank you for taking the time to read my review. I hope it helps you make a decision on the film. Until next time.... Enjoy the show!

Mark Wahlberg put his heart and soul into Father Stu, even providing the financing of the project and the result is an inspiring, old fashioned story of faith and redemption. As a cradle Catholic, I was moved to tears by the Oscar worthy performances of both Wahlberg and Mel Gibson as Stu's father. From beginning to end, not a minute is wasted in the transition from angry young man to man of the cloth. I cannot praise this film highly enough. Please see this journey of salvation.

I'm Catholic and I love that Marky Mark made this, and did such a quality job. I don't think it really enriched my faith or anything, and nor do I believe it will get through the force-fields of many non-believers. But it's relateable, engaging, pretty funny, and moving at times; and at least it's given us a film where, as in real life, Christians are normal people, not zealots or Nazis - it's just that they're people who see the meaning of their lives coming from faith.

I once said on IMDB that Hollywood couldn't do religious films - pietistic ones yes, but not films with authentic spiritual content. This one has proved me wrong, and it's because it is real and doesn't try to hit you over the head with its holiness. If I was looking to be critical, it would be better if it were a little shorter; and it's true that there a few moments, not just one, where it is not quite an accurate reflection of Catholic practice - eg, apart from the incorrect liturgy, we don't usually hold hands to say grace or say 'alleluia!' when we agree with something. Either the writer / director is not herself a Catholic, or she wanted to reassure the audience by making the whole thing look a little more like mainstream American Bible-Christianity.

The soundtrack of country, blues and Gospel is pretty good, too. A strong 7, edging up towards 8.

Mark Wahlberg is a better actor than many claim and towards the end he shows what he could have done with a smarter and more nuanced script. There's an inspiring story here, but this is a film that fails to fit the pieces together. In the end, this is little more than just strong religious propaganda.