As a practising Catholic, I can guarantee no Catholics were consulted in the making of this movie. If this is how atheists see religious people, no wonder there is great ridicule involved.From the priest who constantly wears his collar including on a canoe trip, to his naive, dorky nature, this movie couldn't be further from reality. I could go on and on how this is offensive and completely inaccurate but I no longer want to waste any more time thinking of this waste of 80 minutes of my life.I should have known better than to continue with the movie when I saw a burning Pentagram before the actual movie even started.Spare yourselves and stay as far away from this as you can.
... View MoreVery interesting review and personal critique of the movie. I loved it. :-) I thought it was very witty and clever, but then again, I love black comedies... and this movie definitely qualifies in my opinion.At first, I thought it was a simple comedy, slapstick really... until the end. I don't think it was about a mentally challenged adult though, however that assessment is hilarious.In my opinion, I think the movie is much darker than what appears on the surface. I don't think Steve Little's character is mentally challenged at all. Personally, what I took from the movie was that his character was extremely innocent and childlike... until he returned from his sabbatical. I saw many signs that he suffered from mild schizophrenia, which developed into paranoid schizophrenia towards the end of the movie. The highlight of such being at the very end where he starts running in a panic and seeing things that weren't there. He was obviously in fear for his life by an unknown threat...It makes you question how much of his sabbatical was real and how much was imagined... especially considering the impossible scenarios he experienced while camping out. I don't even think "Robbie" was a "real" person. I think he represented the inner duality conflict within Father William, which having dealt with those issues while he was gone... he returned a new man. A much more somber and "wiser to the world" adult. This can obviously be interpreted as negative as much as positive.The only part I really didn't get was at the very end, after his bible session... he received a bible and he smelled it. What did I miss?~Suki
... View MoreThis film sat on my Netflix queue for a long time before I finally got around to watching it. Perhaps I should have waited longer. Then, perhaps, I would understand what it was all about. I know the film was supposed to be funny, but ultimately I think the joke was on me. In the film, an absurdly childish priest Father William, played by an unbelievably annoying Steve Little, is forced to take some time off by his superiors. He decides to contact his high school idol Robbie Shoemaker, played by Robert Longstreet, to take a little trip with him. Robbie agrees for no good reason. The two meander down a river on a raft purposelessly and seeming endlessly until you start praying for something, anything to happen. It does when two Japanese tourists and their black bodyguard show up. Sadly, what happens doesn't make any sense either. I have no idea what the filmmaker intended. Steve Little was simply too absurd for the film play as meaningful religious satire. I am giving the film three stars for the soundtrack. John R. Butler's sacrilegious ditty, Hand of the Almighty, is almost worth the price of admission.
... View MoreI just saw the movie at the SXSW film festival with my daughters. We loved it. Not only because it is delightfully weird but also because it's funny, very funny, even by "mumblecore" standards. (The director is a founding member of that movement. Google it if you've never heard of it.) It's one of those daring little flicks that grabs religion by the balls and shakes it left and right until it pukes. And then there's the acting. Excellent, considering the uniqueness of the script and the irreverence of the subject matter. Father Billy will crack you up in just about every scene.If you're into odd and peculiarly funny stuff, this movie is a must see. But if you're one of those folks who gets easily offended when artists mess around with religion or religious institutions, don't bother. This movie may kill you. Just consider this as a warning: The movie features a song called "God will f... you up". Now, that's irreverent. Keep an eye on this movie if it plays in a theater near you. I doubt it, but you'd never know. God works in mysterious ways. LBlancoNazoa
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