“Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul” (2022) is a dramedy about the making of a fictional documentary about Trinitie (Regina Hall) and Lee-Curtis Childs (Sterling K. Brown) trying to make a comeback after a huge sexual scandal prompted them to close their Southern Baptist megachurch. The film’s tension rests on several unanswered questions. Will they succeed? Will Trinite ever stop supporting her husband? Will Lee-Curtis ever have a redeeming moment?
I would recommend “Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul” if you love fictional documentaries, love the cast or are familiar with this type of prosperity gospel. Controversial, but obvious take: if this film was a satire with a white cast, it would be more successful. Mockumentaries are insanely popular in film (“Best in Show” (2000) “This Is Spinal Tap” (1984)) and television (“The Office,” “Modern Family,” “Parks and Recreation”). It is marketed as a comedy, but it feels like a (lack of) character study that skewers society and religion. It is right up there with dramas such as “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” (2021) or documentaries such as “The Queen of Versailles” (2012). Maybe the blackness distracts people from seeing the themes of excessive consumption and the conflict between mission and ego.
Hall is one of the great American actors. Trinite must maintain an image at all times-to the public and to her husband as his devout sidekick, but Hall lets Trinite’s mask slip to reveal the warring emotions underneath her façade. She is a woman at a crossroads realizing that she is married to a white sepulcher, but also wanting to retain the privileges that comes with being a wife, the head of a community and a Christian leader, which she would lose if she left him even though she did and would be doing nothing wrong. For those unfamiliar, there are some Christians that believe divorce is wrong under all circumstances even physical abuse even though the Bible disagrees. Trinite is cursed with being smarter than her husband about her place in the world and must come to terms with what her values are. Does she disapprove of her husband’s conduct more than her own established identity even if that identity is attached to a sinking ship? When watching “Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul,” pay attention to the moments when she shows genuine anger.
Brown may be playing his most villainous role to date. The most disturbing part of his performance is that while it is obvious that this man is only out for himself and has zero interest in the gospel except how it benefits him, many are still taken in by him, including himself. He really thinks that he has wrestled with his flaws and is doing God’s work. He is a genuine person, a genuinely awful person who thinks that by living a certain way, he has made a sacrifice to God. Because his act fits a type of expected Christian pastor archetype, he can get away with it. If people hate this movie, it may be because a hit dog hollers. Some people’s idea of being a devout are conflated with images of success, vaguely Holy catch phrases and acts. This depiction is not unrealistic. May I point you to Presidon’t, who is probably less devout than an inanimate object, but it was very easy for him to get accepted by that community.
The writing captures the dynamic of a charity narcissist or misanthropic altruist. Whenever Lee-Curtis has a vulnerable moment, i.e. is caught doing something wrong, he deflects by criticizing his wife. He frames their potential failure as resting on her shoulders for failing to be as obedient as he would like instead of his sexual transgressions. It may not be obvious because our society is accustomed to criticizing wives for their husbands’ failings. “Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul” nails this male-dominated thinking by spending most of the film showing people, mostly women, directly confronting or chastising Trinite, whereas Lee-Curtis gets support and encouragement until the end. Even when he makes unwanted advances on people other than his wife, he gets the most subtle rejection. It is heartbreaking how unhappy they are in their marriage as a relationsip, but how united they are as a business partnership.
“Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul” is a gorgeous film-the people, the wardrobe, the setting. The use of old video recordings of sermons, news clips, talk radio makes the documentary feel authentic. Brown spends a lot of time taking off his clothes in the film though there is no nudity. There is a lot of profanity, which I loved, but may have viewers clutching their pearls who mistook this film as a different kind of movie. I noticed that my local theater sold the most tickets on Sunday so I suspect that the reception for this film is the dissonance between expectations contrasted with the reality of the film.
“Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul” has an entirely black cast. Though set in the US, it feels as if it is a film made in a global majority region. The characters can just be people instead of having to address racial issues, which is refreshing and a rare find. There are no friendships depicted in the film, only marriages and sexual relationships. It enhances the loneliness of the films. I was sad for Trinite that she did not have any fierce female friends in her corner, and women were only a source of torment and criticism. Sleepy Hollow’s Nicole Beharie was thrilling as an ambitious rival, up and coming Pastor Shakura Sumpter. Toxicity is endemic in this inhospitable environment, which could be more representative of most people’s experience with Christian fellowship. It should not be like that, and if it is for you, please run and do not settle. Jesus had at least eleven close friends.
Even though I noticed that the aspect ratio changed to denote that we were no longer seeing documentary footage and shifted back to the film, I do not think that the distinction would be noticeable to the average viewer. It is the main flaw. The type of film quality should have changed, or “Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul” needed to just make it a mockumentary, but then we would not get the intimate moments between the couple at the dining room table or the bedroom. For first time feature filmmakers, Adamma Ebo, the director, and Adanne Ebo, the producer, knocked it out of the park. After Damien Chazelle’s story about creating “Whiplash” (2014) inspired them, the Nigerian American twins always planned on making a feature, but made a short as the solid first draft for the film.
I recommend seeing “Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul” in the theaters to ensure that the Ebo twins can make more movies. They could be future great auteurs and have even hinted at continuing to work with Hall, Brown and Daniel Kaluuya, who produced the film through his production company, 59% Productions.
