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MESSAGE IN THE MOVIES

Things haven’t been going well for the Wander to Greater Paths Baptist Church since Pastor Lee-Curtis Childs (Brown) was accused of sexual misconduct. His faithful wife Trinitie (Hall) is by his side as they watch their congregation dwindle, with many choosing to move to nearby Heaven’s House.

Honk for Jesus has been promoted as a mockumentary, featuring the kind of observational format familiar to fans of television’s The Office or Abbott Elementary. As Lee-Curtis and Trinitie want to tell the filmmakers that all is well, their body language sends another message altogether. Unfortunately, this movie decides to set aside this point of view fairly early as we are privy to private time with the Childs that is not being filmed, including one bedroom scene and many occasions of frustration and profanity behind the scenes.

Yes, these people are hypocrites, but Honk for Jesus never takes the time to move beyond the obvious, trusting Hall and Brown to use their comedic skills to sell the weak material. When the movie decides to take a darker turn in its final third and switch to painful revelations, it is heavy-handed in its attempts at pathos.

It is appropriate that Honk for Jesus is on the same streaming service as The Office. You are just one click away from real comedy.

Halo and Pitchfork Rating:

Two halos: There’s about ten minutes of inspired content in an otherwise unexceptional film.
Four pitchforks: Casual swearing throughout; one sex scene played for laughs; homophobic slurs.

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