Father Stu
Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) | Release Date: April 13, 2022 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
40
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 27 Critic Reviews
Positive:
3
Mixed:
18
Negative:
6
Watch Now
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperApr 12, 2022
Father Stu breaks no new ground in the biopic game, but it’s a solid and worthy tribute to the real-life Father Stu, who continued to do the Lord’s work until his death in 2014 at the age of 50. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubBrent SimonApr 14, 2022
Distilled, it is a fairly well-sketched portrait of self-care — spiritual, yes, but also psychological and physical — and the outwardly rippling effects of healing that can flow from that single choice. Read full review
65
Film ThreatPatrice WitherspoonApr 18, 2022
Ultimately, Father Stu is unlike any other faith-based film I’ve seen. It’s raw, honest, and uplifting without tapping into preachy territory, which ultimately makes it effortlessly uplifting. Read full review
50
Screen DailyTim GriersonApr 15, 2022
Intermittently, Father Stu hints at Long’s fascinating contradictions — his earthy bluntness mixing with his sensitive belief in the divine — but the film is not sharp enough to give those contradictions vivid dimension. Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comNell MinowApr 13, 2022
Father Stu understood how to connect to skeptics and non-believers. Instead of reaching a broader audience, Wahlberg and Gibson preach to the choir. Read full review
50
Screen RantMae AbdulbakiApr 13, 2022
It isn’t sincere or as inspiring as it believes itself to be, but it also understands what its aims are, and that self-awareness is worth noting. Read full review
50
The New York TimesNicolas RapoldApr 13, 2022
Stu’s travails feed into his salty homilies about getting closer to God, delivered with Wahlberg’s usual bluffness. That doesn’t automatically translate into a religious experience, and watching the movie can feel like a two-hour hearty handshake. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesKatie WalshApr 13, 2022
It’s a remarkable story, but “Father Stu” is a broad, somewhat brutish film. Read full review
50
Movie NationRoger MooreApr 13, 2022
Wahlberg and the movie are likable enough, but overstay their welcome like a priest or pastor who never mastered the art of wrapping things up. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeMark FeeneyApr 12, 2022
Ultimately, Father Stu is a movie about faith, but some kinds of faith have limits. So does casting. Wahlberg as a seminarian is one kind of stretch. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterStephen FarberApr 12, 2022
Although this true story (even if embellished a bit by the filmmakers) inevitably builds some emotion, it ends up feeling more banal than spiritually exalting. Read full review
50
VarietyOwen GleibermanApr 12, 2022
Father Stu is not your everyday Hollywood religious odyssey — it’s closer to “Diary of a Country Cutup.” It’s a surprisingly sincere movie about religious feeling, but it is also, too often, a dramatically undernourished one. Read full review
45
TheWrapCarlos AguilarApr 12, 2022
Anyone who’s sat through enough of those Christian films and watched them with a critical eye (and not for the mere indoctrination) can easily tell that the basic craftsmanship of Father Stu is on a different level. That doesn’t necessarily make this an admirable production, but at least it’s a proficient one. Read full review
42
UproxxVince ManciniApr 13, 2022
Father Stu is exactly this kind of intriguing mix, of illuminating religious philosophy and utterly baffling narrative choices. It’s vaguely inspiring, slightly tedious to sit through, and ultimately unknowable, like any good Catholic sermon. Read full review
42
IndieWireDavid EhrlichApr 13, 2022
As a critic who’s professionally obligated to reckon with the latest trends in Christian cinema, I have to admit that Wahlberg’s R-rated conception of godly entertainment seems almost divine when compared to the culture war militance of “God’s Not Dead” or the Sunday school hokeyness of “I Still Believe.” Read full review
40
Time OutWhelan BarzeyMay 18, 2022
Well-intentioned but ultimately mishandled, it commits the cardinal sin of indecisiveness, middling out in a purgatory of daddy issues and Sunday service pamphlets. Read full review
40
The Observer (UK)Wendy IdeMay 15, 2022
Playing out to the histrionic squalling of a country-infused score, this is film-making that aims to smite its audience into submission. Read full review
40
EmpireJohn NugentMay 13, 2022
Mark Wahlberg is convincing and committed as a foul-mouthed Father, but this is ultimately just religious propaganda — preaching exclusively to the converted. Read full review
40
The TelegraphTim RobeyMay 12, 2022
The movie isn’t awful, just sapping and strained. Read full review
40
The GuardianLeslie FelperinMay 12, 2022
There are also good bits in this based-on-a-true-story drama, including the aforementioned performances and a commitment to theology so sincere it’s not afraid to bore an audience with lots of pin-head-fine debates about Godhood. If Gibson weren’t part of the package it might be possible to like it more. Read full review
40
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzApr 12, 2022
The most interesting parts of Father Stu, an OK film in which Mark Wahlberg plays a rough-hewn man who finds redemption in an unexpected place, are not the ones you — and possibly the filmmakers — would expect. Read full review
37
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanApr 13, 2022
Its clumsy, inert storytelling seems less interested in converting nonbelievers than in convincing us of Wahlberg’s piety. Read full review
30
Little White LiesCharles BramescoMay 13, 2022
The unfocused script from outclassed first-timer Ross never really follows through on what should be its foundational idea, led astray by underdone subplots and vague relationships between its characters. Read full review
30
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Sarah HagiApr 15, 2022
Ross’s formulaic direction could have been delivered by a robot or algorithm and nobody would have noticed. Watching Father Stu feels like enduring a B-movie that would never see the inside of a cinema (the film is playing exclusively in theatres) and be instead relegated to the bottom of a streaming or VOD queue – only it holds the star power and charisma of Wahlberg. Read full review
30
Austin ChronicleTrace SauveurApr 13, 2022
Ross’ script is never able to pull this out of the depths of trite banality, every line and emotional beat clocked from a mile away and cribbed from every other faith-based drama you’ve ever seen. Read full review
25
Slant MagazineDerek SmithApr 13, 2022
The film is a Hollywood-approved show of Old Testament judgment that sees all people as sinners and thus deserving of all the punishment they receive. Read full review
25
The Associated PressMark KennedyApr 12, 2022
There’s always something a little off about Father Stu, a sense that the filmmakers have taken a lot of liberties with a real life to make it extra saintly. Read full review
More From This Movie

40 Critic Reviews

6.0 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 72 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL