Mr. Church

Name: Mr. Church
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Released: September 16, 2016
Duration: 104 min
Rating: 37

2016

METASCORE

Generally unfavorable reviews based on 12 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 49 Ratings

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7.3

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7.3	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 49 Ratings

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Mr. Church

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Movie Details & Credits

Cinelou Releasing | Release Date: September 16, 2016 | PG-13

Summary: Mr. Church tells the story of a unique friendship that develops when a little girl and her dying mother retain the services of a talented cook - Henry Joseph Church (Eddie Murphy). What begins as a six month arrangement instead spans fifteen years, and creates a family bond that lasts forever.

Director: Bruce Beresford

Genre(s): Drama, Comedy

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 104 min

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Critic Reviews

Frank Scheck

Aug 12, 2016

The film is emotionally manipulative, to be sure, but it's ultimately hard to resist, especially given the quality of the lead performances. Read full review

The Film Stage Jared Mobarak

Sep 16, 2016

No matter how effective Murphy (great in his first film role in four years) or Robertson is, the fact they are driven by external forces rather than internal can’t be ignored. Read full review

Joe Dziemianowicz

Sep 21, 2016

Murphy’s low-key but affecting performance is filled with loaded and loving glances. And the restraint becomes the 55-year-old star. If only the film were better. Read full review

The Playlist Kimber Myers

Jul 28, 2016

It flails for the heartstrings, but instead of reaching them, it only tugs at that muscle that makes you roll your eyes at its old-fashioned, melodramatic attempts at emotion. Read full review

The Guardian Alex Needham

Aug 12, 2016

It’s the film’s racial politics, particularly its stereotypical evocation of willing servitude by an African-American, and its characters’ refusal to acknowledge this imbalance of power, which make it not so much old-fashioned as downright retrograde – and likely to go down even worse with black audiences than Driving Miss Daisy. Read full review

Jesse Hassenger

Sep 13, 2016

A small, unflashy, borderline incompetent movie like Mr. Church is certainly another sign that Murphy does what he wants. Maybe this guarded performance in a lousy movie is a sign of him wanting to do something better. Read full review

Nico Lang

Aug 12, 2016

There’s nothing wrong with melodrama. But in order to break the dishes, movies have to be willing to build tension by holding something back. Mr. Church, however, is all reveal, constantly giving everything away in the most obvious fashion. Read full review

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User Reviews

Jacksjus

Nov 12, 2016

I'm sorry but the critics and most of these user reviews has gotten this movie all wrong. Maybe they were expecting a comedy being that Eddie Murphy is the star in this, but to me this was a great movie. What's even more surprising is that it displayed the beauty of interracial relationshipsI'm sorry but the critics and most of these user reviews has gotten this movie all wrong. Maybe they were expecting a comedy being that Eddie Murphy is the star in this, but to me this was a great movie. What's even more surprising is that it displayed the beauty of interracial relationships without even bringing it up.… Expand

3 of 3 users found this helpful30

May 31, 2017

I watched "Mr. Church" and enjoyed it immensely. I wrote a Facebook post in which I highly recommended it to my friends and wondered why it had not received much wider distribution in theaters and much more critical acclaim. Then I read an absolutely scathing review of it in which I wasI watched "Mr. Church" and enjoyed it immensely. I wrote a Facebook post in which I highly recommended it to my friends and wondered why it had not received much wider distribution in theaters and much more critical acclaim. Then I read an absolutely scathing review of it in which I was informed that Eddie Murphy was playing the role of a "servile Negro" who was a closeted gay man and that such a blatantly politically incorrect film is unsuitable for contemporary audiences. (The story was set in the 70s and 80s and was supposedly based on real events. Perhaps the reviewer believes certain stories simply should remain untold.) I don't believe I'm lacking in intellect or perceptiveness, but I must confess that I found the movie heartwarming and inspirational rather than offensive. Eddie Murphy's character would have been noble regardless of his race because Mr. Church demonstrated self-sacrifice and love. As is often demonstrated, there is an immense gulf separating the viewpoints of average Americans from those of journalists who dwell in cocoons that insulate them from--to put it bluntly--normalcy.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

mlhuffstetler

Oct 21, 2017

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The role was well played by Mr. Murphy.There was no color.Only love for one another.Unconditionally.As it should be. Hats of to Mr. Murphy....................… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

bfoore90

Feb 1, 2017

Great feel good movie that I happened to catch for free on Amazon Prime. Eddie Murphy was fantastic here, I just can't say enough about him in this movie.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

DivinityItself

Oct 20, 2016

A fairy tale with its feel good delivery scoring on most points. Realists should go look elsewhere as only a few earthly negatives are kept to keep the story told. Money, time, sex & lust are all motives that are disregarded and I can see that for some this makes the story too unearthed. OnA fairy tale with its feel good delivery scoring on most points. Realists should go look elsewhere as only a few earthly negatives are kept to keep the story told. Money, time, sex & lust are all motives that are disregarded and I can see that for some this makes the story too unearthed. On the flipside much effort is put in the meme of enjoying life as a empathic human. Where Robertson acts as well as she always does, Murphy's performance is good, but perhaps deliberately kept low key to add mysterie and tension. After a good watch I'm left with a decent experience, but as real life was order of the day again, I felt that there's more that could have been done about the dept of the characters. The vibe of the movie lingered so in that regard it succeeded. Will watch again.… Expand

3 of 3 users found this helpful30

hardcorekidd

Mar 9, 2019

While this movie does has problems of plenty, it's mostly good because of Eddie Murphy's heart-stopping performance. I will give Mr. Church a B-. (7.2/10)

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

skeptic303

Sep 26, 2016

Mr. Church is about an African-American cook-slash-servant (Mr. Church) who develops a relationship with a family member who initially condemns his presence bitterly...for fifteen minutes.
Mr. Church is actually about an African American cook-slash servant who becomes acquainted with aMr. Church is about an African-American cook-slash-servant (Mr. Church) who develops a relationship with a family member who initially condemns his presence bitterly...for fifteen minutes.
Mr. Church is actually about an African American cook-slash servant who becomes acquainted with a family member who appreciated his comfort in her kind-of difficult scenarios...for the rest of the movie.
That would be fine if the people behind the camera developed a trying, but complex relationship like the one displayed in Inside Out or Room, but they only scratch the surface and bore the average moviegoer for 105 minutes, time that is better spent watching Don't Think Twice (2016).
The characters are not only based off of stereotypes, but they are considerably boring because they don't learn anything. Any conflict that, when focused on, could have paved the way for a deep film that had something to say about something was nuked after just around fifteen minutes. I have barely seen a film, like this, that tries every idea in the book to make you sad and in the end, it can't focus on that idea and adds to the sappiness of it all. It is a waste of time; wait for or find better movies.… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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