Father Stu is a 2022 biographical drama film written and directed by Rosalind Ross, in her directorial debut. The film is based on the inspirational true story of Stuart Long.

After surviving a motorcycle accident, a former boxer and longtime agnostic starts to wonder if he can use his second chance to help others, leading to the surprising realization that he's meant to be a Catholic priest.

The cast includes Mark Wahlberg, Mel Gibson, Jacki Weaver, Teresa Ruiz, Malcolm McDowell, Aaron Moten, Cody Fern, and Winter Ave Zoli.

Father Stu made its debut in theaters on April 13th, courtesy of Sony Pictures Entertainment.

THE GOOD

Admittedly Father Stu snuck up on me somehow. As a native New Englander, I am a Mark Wahlberg aka Marky Mark guy through and through and will support any project he is involved with. I go back to some of his earlier more under-the-radar films like the 1998 action-comedy The Big Hit, or even the 1996 thriller Fear. Or a pivotal point in his career was when he played Bobby Mercer in the 2005 gritty crime thriller Four Brothers, which I felt was the first film where he was an absolute badass. Let’s get back on track though, so Father Stu somehow flies under the radar for me to the point where I forgot about the movie entirely until I’m on a walk with my kids, and I meet some new neighbors who mention the movie after my movie review website comes up in conversation. Naturally, I’m like what the heck am I doing and I make sure the film is on my radar going forward. I will say though, that I decided against reading up on the true story the film is based on, preferring to be surprised instead. So, did I regret my ignorance or was Father Stu a waste of 2-hours of my life? Keep reading to find out!

Okay, so I’m an idiot because this movie was really, really good. Father Stu tells an emotionally charged true story that will tug on your heartstrings throughout while serving as a perfect opportunity for star Mark Wahlberg to yet again prove that he is one of the best Hollywood has to offer. At this point in his career, Wahlberg has plenty of money. Whether he is acting, producing, or dabbling in some other kind of business venture, his success is undeniable. But, instead of packing it in and taking the easy road by cashing a big check for some direct-to-streaming deal (not a direct knock on Adam Sandler, butttt….), he is showing up in a real way and making movies that matter.

I really liked how the film somehow finds a way to make humor a constant throughout even the most emotionally charged scenes, which for me was a testament to the writing as well as a collective effort to take advantage of Wahlberg’s abilities as an actor. Stuart Long’s story will hit you like an emotional bag of bricks, that is a fact. But the lighthearted moments are sprinkled throughout to ensure that the audience has an opportunity to experience a wide range of emotions. Oh, and we are treated to a ton of great one-liners, and an abundance of bad language just for good measure. At one point, Wahlberg is banging on Gibson’s trailer door and he comes to the door telling him he is going to wake the entire neighborhood, to which he responds “this ain’t no damn neighborhood, it’s a trailer park!”. That is just an example, but it had me laughing pretty good. We get a great deal of great banter like this between Wahlberg and Gibson, which was a real treat if you ask me.

As you probably figured out from the beginning of this review, the acting was very much a sweet spot for me when it comes to the success of Father Stu, but I will talk about that more later in the review. Right now I wanted to touch on the other vital part of this film’s success, and that would be the screenplay. I might be getting ahead of myself a bit, so let me pump the brakes. As film critics, or just regular guys who enjoy talking about movies which is how Andrew and I would describe ourselves, oftentimes the best part of doing a movie review is the tidbits you discover while doing a bit of research while writing the review. Granted, that can lead you down quite a rabbit hole, but it is often worth it.

I am still wracking my brain on this, but not only is Father Stu the directorial debut for Rosalind Ross, but it is also her feature-film writing debut for the screenplay. Oh and one more fun fact, the 31-year-old writer/director has been dating the 66-year-old Mel Gibson, who also stars in the film as Stuart Long’s father, since 2014. She also birthed his 9th child who was born in 2017, and yes I said 9th as in right before the even number of 10. For those of you bad at math, myself included, Gibson was around 35-years-old when Ross entered the world. I know it sounds like I am being overly critical of Gibson or Ross for that matter for their life choices, but I promise you I am not. More power to the happy couple. Most of Hollywood may hate Gibson for this reason or that, but for my money, he is still one of the most talented individuals in the industry whether he is acting or directing, I mean his 2016 film Hacksaw Ridge (our full review here) was nothing short of fantastic. Plus, people may not realize this, but not only did he star in the epic film Braveheart back in 1995, but he also directed it as well. Yeah, Mel Gibson is Hollywood royalty and anyone who says otherwise can go pound sand.

I touched on it briefly already, but the acting was without question the icing on the cake for me with Father Stu. Mark Wahlberg was incredible in what is considered a passion project for him. Father Stu was not only an emotional commitment from him as an actor, but it took a significant toll on his physical well-being as well. As someone who trains like a madman, Wahlberg had to transform his body to make this role insanely believable, and he does that and then some. His physical transformation is absolutely mind-blowing. During one of the later scenes in the film when it is the most evident, the entire theater shared a collective “oh wowwwwww”. It honestly catches you off guard. Even though this is based on a true story, Wahlberg’s portrayal of Stuart Long felt so incredibly genuine, that I swear the two men became one and the same. For me, that is a testament to Wahlberg and his commitment to such an important role. As well as a special tribute to a special man.

The next best performance, even though it was a much smaller role comparatively, was delivered by Mel Gibson who played the role of Stuart Long’s father, Bill. I love me some Mel Gibson, a fact that I likely already made quite clear in this review, but he was stellar in this role. Even with his fairly limited screen time, Gibson’s character progression was very impressive, and I enjoyed watching his relationship with his son grow. It was clear from the outset that he was dealing with a great deal of unresolved trauma, but thanks to his performance we get to see quite a transformation. Where Stu and Bill end up compared to where they started is almost difficult to describe, but man was it amazing to experience. The other transformative performance was delivered by Jacki Weaver, who can someone go from playing Bradley Cooper’s sweet as pie mother Silver Lining’s Playbook to a massive BI**H in the hit television series Yellowstone. The bottom line, she has impressive range as an actress. I can’t say enough great things about her in the role of Stu’s mom Kathleen Long as she developed insane chemistry with Wahlberg and Gibson, ensuring that by the end of the film you won’t have a dry eye in the theater.

Father Stu also included some great supporting roles that contributed a ton to the film, including Teresa Ruiz as Stu’s love interest Carmen and Malcolm McDowell as Monsignor Kelly, both of which played their respective roles well, especially McDowell. Aaron Moten as Ham, a man who befriends Stu as he begins to work towards becoming a priest, and last but surely not least Cody Fern who played Jacob, a complicated man who becomes a big part of Stu’s journey.

THE BAD

If you have been paying attention during this review, my guess is you are ready to just skip over this section. If not, you may want to go back because the odds are you missed a few paragraphs. But in all seriousness, I am struggling to find anything truly negative to say about Father Stu. It may not be the most polished film from the technical side of things, but we are also dealing with a debut film from the directing and writing side of things. But, I’m honestly not sure if that even matters. The bread and butter of this film is the story, and how well it was executed. That’s it. I went in a bit blind as I said before in terms of what Stuart Long’s story entailed, and his story resonated with me on so many levels which is likely part of why I enjoyed the film so much. At the end of the day, criticizing this film as a whole is an attempt to take away from how hard Rosalind Ross and the entire cast worked to tell this incredible story, and that is no bueno if you ask me.

THE VERDICT

A heartfelt and powerful true story that will have you tearing up one second and laughing the next, Father Stu is an inspirational journey made possible by an incredibly talented cast. The entire cast shines, and it was clear and obvious from the start that this was a passion project for Mark Wahlberg, as he just seemed to be incredibly invested and sacrificed a lot. Even though certain parts of the film are more entertaining than others, it is never boring and I felt like the 2-hours really flew by. As the end credits began to roll we are shown some photos of the real Stuart Long, and I just sat there and took it all in. Father Stu is a movie that matters, and one I highly recommend seeing in theaters.