I hadn’t seen a trailer for this and I went in with some discordant ideas. I knew it was a faith-based film that stars Mark Wahlberg. And this does not compute. It co-star Mel Gibson which does compute a bit more. But still… what is this? A center for ants?!? I mean, a faith-based film with a major Hollywood star?!

The film is about a rough-and-tumble boxer with a criminal record who decides he’s going to be a Hollywood star one day. This doesn’t work out so well but then he has a come-to-Jesus moment and decides he’s going to be a Catholic priest instead. This doesn’t impress his girlfriend or his atheist parents but he sticks it through… and sticks it in the eye of all those self-righteous holy rollers.

This film opens up with a shit, a crap, and two F bombs almost back to back. And it never stops with the four letter words. This is a movie about a man who finds faith, but isn’t really a faith-based film. At least not in the traditional, smug, self-congratulatory way that makes the rest of us roll our eyes. No, this focuses on one man’s journey – a tough guy who finds Jesus, faces obstacles, and not much else. It’s not trying to convert people and it’s not preaching to the choir.

One reason this movie works at all is that it’s actually a good old fashioned slobs vs. snobs underdog story. The priests and other seminary students don’t believe his conversion isn’t a con. But he does and has to prove it (without beating the tar out of anyone). And that underdog vs. adversity theme worked for me.

Wahlberg puts in a pretty good almost ego-less performance that finds him sobbing on the ground while wearing a very convincing and unflattering fat suit. I respect the hustle. And I respect that he manages this without relying on that high-pitched, overly-earnest, gee-willikers overacting I figured he’d do in a faith-based films.

Unfortunately, this is a 2+ hour film that has a pacing problem. I kept checking my watch wondering how they were going to fill the time and getting impatient. It’s a well-intentioned film that exists in a realistic world with good acting, but it struggled to keep my attention the whole time. It’s a pretty good little film but needed some edits.

Score: 78