A Moving Picture At The Movie Theater

Last week a woman I know from church sent an email to several people, asking if we would be interested in attending a preview of Father Stu.  (The invitation came thanks to her brother, who works in the movie promotion business.)  The movie had a couple of big names in it. Mark Wahlberg stars as Father Stu, and Mel Gibson co-stars as his father. Neither Hubby Tony or I had been to a movie preview. I quickly responded and said we would be there.

Then I did some research. I found out that the movie is based on the true story of Stuart Long, who was an amateur boxer before becoming a priest. After an injury ended his boxing career he moved to Hollywood, worked in a grocery store, and had a few on-screen bit performances. He became infatuated with a Catholic woman, began going to church to impress her, and was ultimately baptized. After a horrible motorcycle accident he realized that he wanted to be a priest. Church officials were skeptical, but Stu ultimately entered the seminary. He was diagnosed with an incurable muscle disorder, and died in 2014 four years after he was ordained.

All day long I looked forward to the night's entertainment. In the end there were eleven people in our group. We gathered in the theater lobby a half hour before the film started. We told the ticket taker what we were there for. She directed us around the corner, where we stood in a line of people waiting to enter the theater. A woman came down the line, saying that for anti-piracy reasons we needed to completely power down our phones. When our group reached the head of the line our event organizer gave our names to the usher and he waved all of us through. By the time the movie started the theater was completely full. I put up the foot rest of the comfortable reclining seat and got ready to be entertained. 

I've seen quite a few movies with religious themes, but nothing quite like this one. To start with, it had an R rating (mainly for language-the expletives flowed, but the boxing and accident scenes were also a little intense). The plot was fast moving and uplifting. Stu's conversation story felt real, but in a couple of places the story felt preachy. The movie ended on an upbeat, feel good mode.

Father Stu is being released next weekend. On the way out there was a table where you could stop, scan a QR code, and leave a review, but I passed. It was late, and I was tired. However, I suspect the topic of the movie will come up in conversation as I interact with people and I will be able to speak well about it.

Five years ago: Cyberspace Blunders and Gaffes