'Father Stu’ filled with emotion, inspiration

In the inspirational film, ‘Father Stu,’ an injury ends the amateur boxing career of Stuart Long, who then moves to Los Angeles to find money and fame. While scraping by as a supermarket clerk, he meets Carmen, a Sunday school teacher, who seems immune to his bad-boy charm.

Determined to win her over, the long-time agnostic starts going to church to impress her.

However, a motorcycle accident leaves him wondering if he can use his second chance to help others, leading to the surprising realization that he’s meant to be a Catholic priest.

‘Father Stu’ is an uplifting and often inspirational drama that is not to be missed. This incredible drama delivers amazing performances and quite emotional moments. Mark Wahlberg gives an outstanding performance as the title character and it may be one of the best performances of his career. The same goes for actor Mel Gibson, who portrays his father Bill Long. A few moments have Gibson’s performance getting a little emotional.

Unlike most (well probably all) faith-based films, this film does have a tad bit of language. Okay, maybe more than a tad. But, the film’s story is extremely powerful and there are some moments where the film will make you tear up — especially towards the end.

So, definitely give ‘Father Stu’ a look while it’s showing in town. The film delivers amazing performances, a great story, a couple little laughs and a beautiful message about how we have the ability to create our own path no matter what stage of life we are in.

The cast: Wahlberg (Uncharted) as Stuart Long; Gibson (Hulu’s Boss Level) as Bill Long; Jacki Weaver (The Grudge; Poms) as Kathleen Long; Teresa Ruiz (The Marksman) as Carmen; Cody Fern (FXs American Horror Story) as Jacob; Winter Ave Zoll as Allison; Niko Nicotera (Richard Jewell) as Barfly; Carlos Leal as Father Garcia; Ned Bellamy as Dr. Novack and Malcolm McDowell (Netflix’s The Christmas Chronicles 2) as Monsignor Kelly.

‘Father Stu’ is written and directed by Rosalind Ross, making her feature film debut.

The drama was first publicly announced in 2016, when Wahlberg revealed that he was working on a Stuart Long biopic with screenwriter David O. Russell. Sometime after this initial announcement, Russell stepped away from the project. The actor also helped finance this passion project of his. The film was shot in Los Angeles in just thirty days in May 2021. In late September 2021, some scenes were shot in and around Helena, Montana, as well as other locations throughout the state. Wahlberg and Gibson also played father and son a few years back in the comedy sequel ‘Daddy’s Home 2.’

‘Father Stu’ is rated R for language throughout and has a running time of 124 minutes.