<p>Critics and the general public are at odds over the new faith-based film &#8220;Father Stu,&#8221; released in theaters last week.</p>
<p>At least 75 film critics have collectively rated the Catholic film with a dismal 44% rating, <a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/father_stu/reviews?intcmp=rt-scorecard_tomatometer-reviews">according</a> to popular review website Rotten Tomatoes. The audience, on the other hand, praised the movie as a resounding success, with more than 500 reviews averaging a high 95% rating.</p>
<p>The film takes viewers through the life of troubled amateur boxer-turned-Catholic priest Father Stuart Long, who suffered from a rare degenerative and incurable muscular disorder called inclusion body myositis. Critics, clearly, were not convinced of the film adaptation.</p>
<p>&#8220;This ill-conceived, frequently irritating biopic trots out every stale genre chestnut while focusing on a relentlessly unlikable main character who comes across as a stubborn, argumentative bully,&#8221; complained Common Sense Media&#8217;s Jeffrey M. Anderson.</p>
<p>Movie Reelist&#8217;s Monti Lee Stormer mocked, &#8220;The message seems to be &#8216;In the End, Stu became a priest, and everybody clapped.'&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;Its clumsy, inert storytelling seems less interested in converting nonbelievers than in convincing us of Wahlberg’s piety,&#8221; Washington Post critic Michael O&#8217;Sullivan said.</p>
<p>James Verniere of the Boston Herald said actors Mark Wahlberg and Mel Gibson had their performances &#8220;blocked&#8221; by the &#8220;mediocre screenplay by first-time director Rosalind Ross,&#8221; who is Gibson&#8217;s girlfriend, adding that the film is &#8220;a total bore.&#8221;</p>
<p>The general public, though, appreciated that the film was &#8220;a pleasant change&#8221; from &#8220;all the other movies available&#8221; with both &#8220;excellent acting&#8221; and a &#8220;profound message.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;Great message and amazing performance by actors and actresses it teaches us how to be tolerant and persistent at the same time,&#8221; one audience review said.</p>
<p>&#8220;Humanized priest &amp; faith life relatable highly recommended!&#8221; a reviewer named Alison wrote. &#8220;Will watch again!&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;Absolutely loved this movie,&#8221; a user named Brian D. commented. &#8220;Keep Bringing us these kind of movies that uplift us and inspire us to be better souls on this earth. Thank you.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;Thoroughly enjoyable movie. Mark Wahlberg was excellent as usual. Entire cast was great,&#8221; another review said. &#8220;I would recommend it to anyone who would enjoy a real life story of someone succeeding after much adversity.&#8221;</p>
<div id="attachment_370042" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-370042" class="wp-image-370042 size-large" src="https://editorial.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Screen-Shot-2022-04-18-at-8.23.20-AM-1024x331.png" alt="" width="1024" height="331" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/04/Screen-Shot-2022-04-18-at-8.23.20-AM-1024x331.png 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/04/Screen-Shot-2022-04-18-at-8.23.20-AM-300x97.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/04/Screen-Shot-2022-04-18-at-8.23.20-AM-768x248.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/04/Screen-Shot-2022-04-18-at-8.23.20-AM.png 1498w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><p id="caption-attachment-370042" class="wp-caption-text"><em>Rotten Tomatoes</em></p></div>
<p>Despite critics&#8217; reaction, &#8220;Father Stu&#8221; meant a lot to Catholic actors Wahlberg and Gibson; the former privately financed the project and the film was written and directed by Gibson&#8217;s girlfriend, Rosalind Ross.</p>
<p>Moreover, the film seems to be signal of what&#8217;s to come from Wahlberg.</p>
<p>&#8220;I feel like this is starting a new chapter for me in that, now, doing things like this &#8212; real substance &#8212; can help people,&#8221; the 50-year-old actor <a href="https://www.etonline.com/mark-wahlberg-on-father-stu-and-leaving-hollywood-sooner-rather-than-later-exclusive-182177">told</a> Entertainment Tonight. &#8220;I definitely want to focus on making more. I wouldn&#8217;t say necessarily just faith-based content but things that will help people. So, hopefully this movie will open a door for not only myself but for lots of other people in Hollywood to make more meaningful content.&#8221;</p>
<p>Wahlberg added that it will be &#8220;sooner rather than later, probably,&#8221; that he&#8217;ll be leaving Hollywood.</p>
<p>Gibson <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/people-want-it-mel-gibson-discusses-faith-based-films-like-father-stu-the-passion">told</a> Fox News that he has long understood that there is a &#8220;real thirst&#8221; for faith-based content, referring to smash hit &#8220;The Passion of the Christ,&#8221; which was co-written and directed by the actor.</p>
<p>“You know, I had a pretty big experience with ‘The Passion,’” he said. “That was an interesting journey to understand that there’s a real thirst for this kind of content out there. People want it, and they respond well to it. So it’s a privilege to be a part of that delivery.”</p>
<p>“I think ‘Father Stu’ offers that,” Gibson continued. “It’s a little different. I wouldn’t really call it a faith-based film, but I think it hits all those cravings that the community wants. But at the same time, it’s not preaching to the choir. It’s got F-bombs, so you do have to weather those things to get to the jewel.”</p>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" title="FATHER STU - Official Trailer (HD)" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DHREzAdyCPs?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p><strong>Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/even-critics-really-hate-woke-cinderella-remark-level-of-badness-unmatched">Even Critics Really Hate Woke ‘Cinderella’ Remake: ‘Level Of Badness’ Unmatched</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dave-chappelles-rotten-tomato-standup-reviews-are-amanda-prestigiacomo">Dave Chappelle’s ‘Rotten Tomato’ Standup Reviews Are In. They’re Exactly What You’d Expect.</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/heres-what-critics-are-saying-about-bill-burrs-amanda-prestigiacomo">Here’s What The Critics Are Saying About Bill Burr’s Latest Anti-PC Comedy Special</a></strong></p>

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Critics Pan New Faith-Based Film ‘Father Stu,’ But The Audience Loves It