I was in the library one afternoon, browsing through the DVD titles looking for something to jump out at me. Jesus Henry Christ, caught my eye because of its two leads, Michael Sheen and Toni Collette. I love their work and was surprised to see a film starring both of them, that I hadn't heard of. Toni Collette is the single mother of Henry - a product of sperm donor father. Being a child genius, Henry knows all he needs to. Everything except the most important thing, "Who is his father?"Several leaps of faith later and Henry is lead to Michael Sheen, who may or may not be the sperm donor. And 'hilarity' ensues. OK, I guess I may not have been very charitable there, but the film is not a great one. At the films core is an interesting idea and as I have titled my review "It's heart is in the right place". But I feel the film doesn't really know where it's going or what it wanted to be. It switches from moments of farce, black comedy and drama. It also shoots off at tangents, leaving several threads hanging.Sheen and Collette do the best they can with the material at hand. But I couldn't help wondering how or indeed why either, but especially Sheen had ended up in this film.The film describes itself as being "quirky". I am suspicious of anything that describes itself as quirky. Surely that is for the viewer to decide?That said, the film is enjoyable in the most part, and it did make me laugh a couple of times. Perhaps best watched on a wet Saturday afternoon, if there is nothing better to do. I have given it a 6/10 score - mainly due to Collette and Sheen. With lesser actors the score would have been less.

After reading some of the reviews I doubt if they saw this movie. I can't believe that some reviewers are upset by the name.Aertimyz-moon's review bashes' the film because of the name. I'm sure God and/or Christ would have laughed at this movie. It's just pure fun. Toni Collette was great as usual with a very good lead. I felt the story was up-to-date. I'm sorry if the "petri-dish" thing offends, but perhaps it's more common than some people may think. The story of a young boy-genius, who discovers this is how he was conceived and the search for his donating father is a great romp. Maybe we Aussie's see a bit more humor in this movie than some others. That said there is a lot to be desired in this film, but if you just want to turn off and go for the ride. It's great way to spend 90 minutes.

I have to say I was impressed, pleasantly by this indie production. I did chance upon the movie and I did not expect much from the story line. I thought it would be some kind of children offering and I was prepared to sample and leave it. However I found a little gem of a film. It is funny, well acted and briskly paced. The story of the little genius is more incidental than central to the theme. I particularly like the black humour that one wouldn't expect associated with with child actors. All in all it shows that mega budget are not needed to produce an intelligent, humorous and entertaining production. Well done Dennis Lee. I will watch out for this director/writer.

Jesus Henry Christ is a delightful motion picture directed by Dennis Lee.The story follows Henry's life and his extraordinary memory abilities since birth. He is a young boy genius who was conceived in a petri dish and raised by his single mother (Toni Collette). One day he discovers he has a half-sister and with that information he goes after finding who his biological father is.Counting with amazing performances from all its main cast, and with characters carefully developed, even the somewhat absurd plot feels terrifically realistic. The story is specially satisfying, surprising and feels, in a way, real in its third act exactly for not following the standard Hollywood formulas nor predictable romantic involvements.The plot may be nothing remarkable, but the movie really succeeds with its characters by making the four main roles special in their own unique way. And with that it is really hard not to cheer for them and empathize with what they are going through.The movie is also without a doubt very funny. While the prologue uses some outrageous situations to be funny (and works quite well might I add), the rest of the film has a more low-key comedy style but equally effective.In sum, it is great film that will make you laugh many times but more importantly it will make you smile.