Towards the end of “Father Stu,” the film’s titular lead, Stuart Long (Mark Wahlberg), now in the throes of inclusion body myositis, visits a collection of prisoners with fellow priest Jacob (Cody Fern). Initially, the prisoners are more confrontational than welcoming of the duo since Jacob’s doing all the talking and doesn’t know how to speak to these men. But Stu, having experienced countless run-ins with the law and all kinds of turmoil, can speak their language and proceeds to deliver a passionate speech about how God is the only one who will always have their back.
On paper, this should be the showstopper sequence of “Father Stu,” a moment where Stu demonstrates that what makes him unique as a priest is also what makes him good at this job. However, the entire scene lacks any panache or drama in the hands of director Rosalind Ross. Any dramatic build-up or creative camera angles that could accentuate the importance of these words is eschewed in favor of flat filmmaking. The erratic editing by Jeffrey M. Werner also constantly undercuts any momentum in Wahlberg’s delivery, while the speech itself is so generic that it might as well have been ripped from a bunch of plaques you can buy at Hobby Lobby. Unsurprisingly, the movie where Mark Wahlberg plays a bad boy priest was bad, but this prison-set moment alone may shock viewers in its overwhelming tediousness.
