Mark Wahlberg and the cast of the biopic Father Stu open up about what makes their new faith-based film unique from others in the genre.
Mark Wahlberg and the cast of Father Stu discuss how their new movie is different from other faith-based films. Father Stu is a biopic following the life of Father Stuart Long, a boxer who overcame numerous hardships and overhauled his life to become a priest. Wahlberg plays the title character alongside a cast that includes Mel Gibson, Teresa Ruiz, and Jacki Weaver.
Father Stu falls into the genre of faith-based films, which are movies with a religious message. The genre boasts well-known films, like Gibson's The Passion of the Christ or Martin Scorsese's Silence. However, when faith-based cinema comes up, audiences may have other movies in mind, like God's Not Dead or Kirk Cameron's body of work, including Fireproof and the Left Behind series. While generally drawing a specific audience, faith-based films are often quite successful. For example, The Passion of the Christ was made for $30 million before bringing in over $612 million worldwide, and even smaller budgeted films, like the $3 million spent on 2105's War Room, ended up with stellar returns, earning over $73 million worldwide.
While talking with CinemaBlend, Wahlberg and the cast of Father Stu opened up about what makes the film unique within the genre. Weaver stated that many films in the genre are often "too proselytizing," adding that Father Stu doesn't venture into that territory or take itself too seriously. Ruiz said that it was a human story of transformation and redemption, which are themes audiences can relate to, and Wahlberg noted that Father Stu has "more edge" while also mentioning the film's R-rating. The cast also said that, beyond being inspirational, the movie is full of humor. Check out the comments from the cast of Father Stu below:
Weaver: "I too was pleasantly surprised, because I have nothing against faith-based films, but I usually find them too sentimental, too proselytizing, too mawkish sometimes. This film is spiritually uplifting, but it is none of those things. It is genuinely amusing, funny, dig in the ribs, doesn’t take itself too seriously, doesn’t proselytize. And yet, I think it’s an uplifting, hopeful film. A beautiful film. And people who like faith-based films, I think that they’ll like it too. They might find some of it a little shocking, because there are some rough characters in it. But ultimately, it’s about decency, goodness, and how in life there’s always hope."Ruiz: "I think it’s a film about human transformation, and human redemption. It’s a film that tells us that it doesn’t matter where we are in our lives, we can all change. We can move forward, and not only can we be better, but we can have a better life and a better experience. We can have joy and love and community. I think that’s the underlying theme of the film."Wahlberg: "I think the great thing about it is people are seeing the trailer, they’re seeing TV spots, so they’re getting that it’s got more edge. They can tell that it’s raw … I mean, it’s a rated-R film. It’s got language, it’s got a lot of very raw elements to it. But it’s also got a lot of humor, it’s got a lot of heart. I’ve seen a lot faith-based movies that really preach to the choir, and this is a movie for everybody. This is really encouraging people to not give up on themselves, to see the good in others, and to have hope. And hopefully reignite their faith, whatever that is. This is a movie for everybody, but I was committed to making the movie because I thought it’d be wildly entertaining, and certainly very uplifting and inspirational."
One of the biggest things setting Father Stu apart from other faith-based films is the R-rating. The R-rating is said to stem from "language throughout," which fits with the story presented in Father Stu's trailer. However, most faith-based films tend to stick to more family-friendly ratings. While there are examples of R-ratings in the genre, like The Passion of the Christ or even Hacksaw Ridge, most stick closer to the PG-rated God's Not Dead.
The cast also pointed out that Father Stu doesn't take itself too seriously, which is often the case in faith-based films that tend to be heavy-handed with their message. Movies in the genre also tend to have a limited demographic. However, with Father Stu's rating and Wahlberg's appeal, the film opens itself to a broader audience that may not typically watch faith-based cinema. For those looking to see how Father Stu sets itself apart from the genre, the film opens on April 13.
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