“Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul.” Review
Regina Hall and Sterling K. Brown star as megachurch leaders trying to shake off controversy in the satirical “Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul.”
When it comes to satire, there’s nothing bigger to go after than organized religion. Religion is the perfect thing to mock because it’s something everyone has an opinion on, it’s controversial and, if done well, can expose religion’s benefits and its consequences. Some of best examples of religious satire include “Monty Python’s Life of Brian,” “Religulous” and “The Book of Mormon.” While not a perfect satire, “Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul.” makes for an interesting story involving the delusions of megachurches and how those who lead these institutions often exploit them for profit.
Set in a Southern Baptist Megachurch, the film follows Pastor Lee-Curtis Childs (Sterling K. Brown) and his wife, First Lady Trinitie Childs (Regina Hall), as they try to reopen their church one year after a scandal caused the church to close and its congregants to move on. To capture the entire process of reopening the church for an Easter Sunday service, the Childs hire a documentary film crew. However, the opening goes anything but smoothly as tension between the Childs and the crew causes certain scars from the past to reemerge.
To play megachurch leaders must be challenging because they are larger-than-life people who exist in our world. In many cases, they exploit people’s faith to pay for their luxurious lifestyles including multi-million dollar parsonages, extravagant fashion and private jets. So how do you make these people your protagonists and understandable? Regina Hall takes the same approach to this role that Jessica Chastain did when she played Tammy Faye Baker in her Oscar-winning performance.
Hall’s portrayal is incredibly powerful as she stands by her husband despite the allegations poised against him and the church. While the details of these allegations aren’t revealed until much later in the film, it’s obvious that they’re eating her up inside as there’s a constant battle between what is expected of her and what she actually wants.
Sterling K. Brown also is a commanding presence as this televangelist who believes himself to be the savior of people’s souls. However, as the film goes on, there’s some cracks in the impenetrable marble Lee Curtis wants you to believe he’s made of. He puts on a show that he might not even believe in all the way. Together, their performances make for a dysfunctional couple trying to put on an illusion of civility and love.
These two actors lead a biting satire that writer/director Adamma Ebo has crafted to point out the hypocrisies of megachurches and the ones who lead them. Ebo’s filmmaking is further enhanced by the two styles they embrace. Part of the film is shot like a documentary from the point-of-view of the film crew the Childs have hired. During these sequences, they try to convey that nothing is wrong and their attempts to do so are painfully humorous.
But when the crew isn’t rolling and the film looks like a traditional narrative film, that’s when the gold foil is ripped off. These sequences are fantastic as they portray these people as human. Deeply flawed, but human all the same.
However, the biggest detractor of the film is its pacing. The 102 minute runtime could have been cut by about 10 minutes because there’s too much fat on this plot. While some slow moving sequences are captivating, others are tedious. This makes for a second act that walks the line between interesting and dull. When the film does reach its end, it does make for an interesting ending which showcases how religion can bring out the best in us but it can also bring out the worst.
