Review by Brad Balfour
\u201cFather Stu\u201d
Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Jacki Weaver, Mel Gibson, Teresa Ruiz, Malcolm McDowell
At 50-years-old, actor Mark Wahlberg has built a solid career as a macho male warrior, such as playing an embattled soldier in Peter Berg\u2019s \u201cLone Survivor\u201d or a tough guy in \u201cFour Brothers.” In his latest film, \u201cFather Stu\u201d, his character turns from being a belligerent, bashing boxer into a spiritually oriented man determined to be a priest despite dying of a debilitating disease.
The Boston-born actor, producer, businessman and former rapper started his public career as the leader of Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch, with whom he released “Music for the People” (1991) and “You Gotta Believe” (1992). Wahlberg transitioned from music to acting, with his 1994 screen debut in “Renaissance Man” and a 1996 first starring role in “Fear.” He received critical praise for his performance as porn actor Dirk Diggler in Boogie Nights (1997).
In the early 2000s, he ventured into big-budget, action movies, and was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar playing a police officer in the Martin-Scorcese-directed 2006 crime drama “The Departed.” He was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for 2010’s sports drama biopic “The Fighter.” With that he became the world’s highest-paid actor in 2017. Wahlberg also served as executive producer of five HBO series: the comedy-drama “Entourage” (2004\u20132011), the period crime drama “Boardwalk Empir”e (2010\u20132014), the comedy-dramas How to Make It in America (2010\u20132011), “Ballers” (2015\u20132019) and the documentary “McMillions” (2020). He is co-owner of the Wahlburgers restaurant chain and co-starred in a reality TV series about it. And he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2010.
Based on all this experience, he not only stars in but finances his latest feature \u2014 which is quite a career move. This unflinchingly honest, funny and ultimately uplifting drama tells of a lost soul who finds his purpose in a most unexpected place and way.
When an injury ends his amateur boxing career, the Montana-based Stu Long (Wahlberg) abruptly moves to L.A. over burdened with dreams of stardom as an actor despite lacking training or experience. So he ends up in Los Angeles, scraping by as a supermarket clerk. There he meets Carmen (Teresa Ruiz), a Catholic Sunday school teacher who seems immune to his bad-boy charm. A devout follower, she\u2019s more concerned with groceries than with Stu. Determined to win her over, the longtime agnostic starts going to church to impress her and her family. Though he eventually wins her over, her faith starts to win him over as well. He gets baptized, fully embracing her Roman Catholic faith.
Nonetheless, Stu maintains his errant ways but manages to survive a devastating motorcycle accident. The gift of a second chance at life leaves him wondering if he can help others find their way \u2014 which leads to the surprising realization that, instead of marrying his love, he\u2019s meant to be a Catholic priest.
But then a new calamity occurs when he collapses. He\u2019s diagnosed with a disease similar to ALS which ultimately is fatal. This devastating health crisis and the skepticism of Church officials make him even more determined to become a priest. Even after the monsignor (played by the great Malcolm McDowell) says the church will not back him, he\u2019s even more dedicated to his cause.
His mother (Jacki Weaver) tries to offer support despite their estrangement. His self-destructive, crusty and generally unlikeable father (Mel Gibson) \u2014 who has abandoned the family long ago \u2014 finally joins forces with them. As they offer their meager encouragement, Stu fights on.
Pursuing his vocation with courage and compassion, he moves back to his home state and performs as a priest until his sad demise. Finally he is inspiring not only to those closest to him but to countless others along the way.
Based on the life story of Father Stuart Long (1963\u20132014), this tale of the boxer-turned-priest, suffering from an ultimately fatal disease, does its best to veer away from the treacle that\u2019s too often found in many faith-based films. Though this movie is clearly faith-based and does thoroughly embraces a particularly Catholic viewpoint, it neither preaches nor makes an audience feel like an uneducated outsider unless already familiar with Catholicism.
And since Wahlberg and first-time director Rosalind Ross (Mel Gibson\u2019s longtime significant other) didn\u2019t want to shy away from the realities of the story, it retains the foul language and brutal behavior that was part of who Stu was. So the film is the first faith-based feature to be awarded an R-rating.
Though the movie doesn\u2019t preach, it shakily manages a balance between narrative, character development and talking points. It was first publicly announced in 2016, when Wahlberg revealed that he was working on a biopic about Long with veteran screenwriter David O. Russell \u2014 who might have made a more sure-handed production. But since Ross wrote the script, she was signed on as director. The film was shot in Los Angeles in just 30 days in May 2021. Wahlberg intentionally gained 30 pounds (14 kg) in six weeks to portray Long, consuming up to 7,000 calories a day.
Despite its weaknesses, \u201cFather Stu\u201d seems to be the perfect film to be released in the United States during Holy Week.
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