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Metascore
27 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperChicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperFather 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.
- 50The Hollywood ReporterStephen FarberThe Hollywood ReporterStephen FarberAlthough this true story (even if embellished a bit by the filmmakers) inevitably builds some emotion, it ends up feeling more banal than spiritually exalting.
- 50VarietyOwen GleibermanVarietyOwen GleibermanFather 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.
- 50Boston GlobeMark FeeneyBoston GlobeMark FeeneyUltimately, 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.
- 50Los Angeles TimesKatie WalshLos Angeles TimesKatie WalshIt’s a remarkable story, but “Father Stu” is a broad, somewhat brutish film.
- 45TheWrapCarlos AguilarTheWrapCarlos AguilarAnyone 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.
- 42IndieWireDavid EhrlichIndieWireDavid EhrlichAs 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.”
- 40Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzArizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzThe 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.
- 25The Associated PressMark KennedyThe Associated PressMark KennedyThere’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.
- 25Slant MagazineDerek SmithSlant MagazineDerek SmithThe 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.