Father Stu

Father Stu tells the true story of Stuart Long, an amateur boxer whose career ends with an injury. He heads to Los Angeles hoping to find money and fame, and gets by working in a supermarket. There he meets Carmen, a Sunday school teacher who is unmoved by his rough charm. To win her over, the lifelong agnostic begins attending church. After surviving a serious motorcycle accident, he starts to consider whether his second chance should be spent helping others, and gradually comes to believe he is meant to become a Catholic priest. The film follows his path toward the priesthood and the health crisis that tests his resolve, as well as the doubts of church figures and his estranged parents.

The drama was written and directed by Rosalind Ross, and produced by Mark Wahlberg, Stephen Levinson and Jordan Foss. Wahlberg plays Stuart Long, with Mel Gibson and Jacki Weaver as his parents, Teresa Ruiz as Carmen, Malcolm McDowell as Monsignor Kelly and Annet Mahendru as Mary. It runs 124 minutes and was made for about 4 million dollars, going on to earn roughly 22 million worldwide, a strong return on its modest budget.

Audience response has been warmer than the critical one. On IMDb it holds 6.5 out of 10 from around 36,000 votes, and on TMDB 7.1 out of 10 from a much smaller pool of just over 760 ratings. The critics' rating stands at 5.2 out of 10 from 124 reviews.