X
- 2022
- R
- Focus Features
- 1 h 46 m
- 2022
- R
- Focus Features
- 1 h 46 m
Summary As the proud first lady of a Southern Baptist megachurch, Trinitie Childs (Regina Hall) carries immense responsibility on her shoulders. Her church, Wander To Greater Paths, once served a congregation in the tens of thousands, but after a scandal involving her husband, Pastor Lee-Curtis Childs (Sterling K. Brown), forced the church to cl...
Directed By: Adamma Ebo
Written By: Adamma Ebo
- 2022
- R
- Focus Features
- 1 h 46 m
- 2022
- R
- Focus Features
- 1 h 46 m
Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.
63
4.6
Where to Watch
Summary As the proud first lady of a Southern Baptist megachurch, Trinitie Childs (Regina Hall) carries immense responsibility on her shoulders. Her church, Wander To Greater Paths, once served a congregation in the tens of thousands, but after a scandal involving her husband, Pastor Lee-Curtis Childs (Sterling K. Brown), forced the church to cl...
Directed By: Adamma Ebo
Written By: Adamma Ebo
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 35 Critic Reviews
63
60% Positive
21 Reviews
21 Reviews
34% Mixed
12 Reviews
12 Reviews
6% Negative
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 35 Critic Reviews
63
60% Positive
21 Reviews
21 Reviews
34% Mixed
12 Reviews
12 Reviews
6% Negative
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
Hall’s performance is remarkable, full of shadings and intimations of significant emotional depths.
The film’s characters are human and, while they’re afforded depth and nuance, Ebo isn’t interested in coddling them or excusing Lee-Curtis’ behavior. And it’s in the balanced exploration of characters and religious hypocrisy, the blending of the facetious with the serious that makes the film worth the watch.
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 17 User Ratings
4.6
29% Positive
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
41% Mixed
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
29% Negative
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 17 User Ratings
4.6
29% Positive
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
41% Mixed
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
29% Negative
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
Hey, Streamers! You know you need some laughter and Jesus in your life. Why not try both? There was a comedy released in theaters and on Peacock this weekend called Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. I ventured to the theater to see this one. Here’s whether my soul was saved by the humor in this one.
Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. follows Pastor Lee-Curtis Childs (Sterling K. Brown) and First Lady, Trinitie Childs (Regina Hall), as they attempt to rebuild the congregation of their Southern Baptist mega church after a scandal. The movie isn’t explicit about the scandal, at first, that led to the devastation of their ministry, but the audience is led to believe it has something to do with Lee-Curtis’s sexual indiscretions. Trinitie is a dutiful wife, who has been standing by her husband and gets into increasingly silly and humiliating situations all in support of him and the church. There is also a funny side plot about a rival church led by the Sumpters (Nichole Beharie and Conphidance). Will the Childs be able to regain their stature in the community? Praying and hijinks ensue.
The best part of this movie is the cast, particularly Regina Hall and Sterling K. Brown. They both came to play and they have great chemistry with each other. Sterling plays Lee-Curtis with the swagger and false charisma of a pastor rocked by scandal. He has the kind of energy that you’d expect from a pastor who had 25,000 congregants, lost it all and desperately wants it back. Regina Hall’s character supports her husband, but you can tell that she’s struggling mightily with all that he’s doing. She puts herself in such crazy situations, but she never breaks a sweat. The control and humor that Hall infuses in her character makes her endearing and hilarious. She is excellent.
On the downside, the plot itself feels thin. It is like an extended SNL sketch. It is a funny sketch, but I can’t say that it is necessary to be the length of a movie. There are a few lulls in the humor. Even though the cast is game and there are some laugh out loud moments, there really could have been more. I wanted every line to hit and they didn’t always. Nevertheless, the movie is more successful than not. Additionally, the moral of the story is kind of murky. Does Lee-Curtis learn a lesson? Does Trinitie continue to stand by her man and support the church despite what she’s been through? It is complicated, and the movie doesn’t do a great job of untangling those issues.
Ultimately, Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. is a funny movie even though it is just an extended comedy sketch. The cast does its best with a comedy. Brown brings energy necessary to punch up the jokes while Regina Hall gives a stellar performance from beginning to end. I can’t say it is necessary to see this movie in the theater, but it is definitely worthy of a big box of popcorn if you can catch it on Peacock.
Report
Through Brown and especially Hall’s fully committed performances, scenes like this and “bless your heart,” which move in both potent and profound ways, gives the ropiness of Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. enough depth to pray for the arrival of Ebo’s next feature.
While “Honk for Jesus” isn’t a perfect movie, give it praise for at least being an interesting one.
A strong ensemble cast, led by Sterling K. Brown and Regina Hall, does a lot of emotional heavy lifting in the otherwise lightweight mockumentary Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.
Yes, “Honk” picks some low-hanging fruit. But it also, as it turns out, leaves a sour aftertaste in the mouth.
Black church is all about feeling – the building, the people, the message. But Honk has none of that soul. At best, the film is an abstract commentary on a culture it doesn’t fully understand; at worst, it’s half-hearted creative license. And at this late stage, sadly, not even Jevus could save it.
Nobody likes hypocrites – unless, of course, they make good fodder for laughs, as is the case in this sidesplitting new comedy from writer-director Adamma Ebo. The target here is the hypocrisy often present in the bluster-filled fundamentalist megachurches, whose elaborate Sunday services play like big-budget Broadway productions and for which their pastors ask their congregations to fork over wads of cash – all in exchange for allegedly saved souls and their leaders’ ability to live lives of grossly ostentatious affluence. Invariably, though, these schemes come with a catch in which their two-faced preachers get caught in career-ruining scandals that expose just how hypocritical and corrupt they really are. Such is what happens in this mockumentary-style offering about a once-big time Atlanta pastor and his “first lady” as they attempt to rebound from a fall from grace that rings all too familiar in the evangelist community. Filmmaker Ebo’s debut feature pulls no punches in the picture’s critically biting humor and in its periodic forays into dramatic material, moves meant to draw attention to the innate insincerity of its protagonists (and some of its parishioners). In doing so, the film straddles a fine line between comedy and drama, presenting a carefully concocted mix that works much of the time but occasionally becomes a little too heavy-handed for its own good. Nevertheless, “Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul.” makes an impact with its fine performances by Sterling K. Brown and Regina Hall, as well as its wickedly delicious wit and ample sight gags, elements that will have viewers delightfully giggling with glee. This one might not have you on your knees, but you might easily fall over laughing.
Report
The main performances, particularly Regina Hall were very well done. The plot really lacks some punch and does not really create a lot of good or interesting scenes, it is very held back and measured.
Report
Just watch The Righteous Gemstones instead. There are a few funny or clever bits here, but the overall experience is scattershot and ends without truly answering “what was the point of this?”
Report
Production Company
Pinky Promise,
59%,
Ejime Productions,
Newhouse
Release Date Sep 2, 2022
Duration 1 h 46 m
Rating R
Genres
Awards
Black Reel Awards
• 7 Nominations
Film Independent Spirit Awards
• 2 Nominations
Image Awards (NAACP)
• 2 Nominations
