Blu-ray Review: HONK FOR JESUS. SAVE YOUR SOUL.

Home » Blu-ray Review: HONK FOR JESUS. SAVE YOUR SOUL.

Nov 08, 2022 Posted by Kyle Nolan in DVD/Blu-ray, Reviews | Comments

Pastor Lee-Curtis Childs (Sterling K. Brown) and his wife Trinitie (Regina Hall) were once surrounded by thousands of fans, with 25000 congregants coming to their Wander to Greater Paths Baptist Church in Atlanta, GA in its heyday. But 9 years ago, a huge scandal caused a mass exodus, and the church has been closed ever since. Now the Pastor and First Lady hope to regain their stature in the community, and are planning a massive grand reopening on Easter Sunday. A documentary crew has come to the church to document their attempt to rise from the the ashes and reclaim their former glory. While Trinitie has stuck by her husband, only five devout church members have stuck by them. Thousands of their flock have made their way to a new church started by former congregants/Co-Pastors Keon (Conphidance) and Shakura Sumpter (Nicole Beharie), who are planning a launch of their newly-expanded location for Easy Sunday as well, which doesn’t sit well with the Childs.

Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. takes a documentary approach, with cameras following the Childs as they prepare for the reopening. The couple is constantly trying to show how devout and happy they are, though its only a matter of time before the cracks start to show in this false façade. Trinitie has publicly stuck by her husband—whether it’s out of her faith and loyalty to God, or to the sanctity of marriage—but it is very evident that she is still constantly struggling to be the happy, supportive wife, trying to mask her annoyance with her husband by plastering on a fake smile, especially whenever the cameras are around. Pastor Lee-Curtis and the First Lady think fo themselves as royalty, dressing in lavish designer clothes and sitting on a literal pair of thrones on the stage of their now-empty megachurch. In their minds, they are still back in their heyday, and there is no doubt their throngs of adoring fans will return. Lee-Curtis always seems more concerned with how he looks and putting on a good show for the reopening, rather than making an honest, true and heartfelt contrition for his actions. Both the Pastor and First Lady don’t seem to fully understand the point of the documentary, looking at it more like free publicity and a commercial for their reopening. Both regularly call out “Cut”, or ask for a retake if something they say or do doesn’t quite fit the narrative they are trying to sell to their public. They both know there is a lot riding on this re-opening, and are desperate to get back the love, money and adoration of their congregants. However, they primarily come off as unlikeable, fake people—though with Trinitie you can sense there is some darker pain and misery there as well.

The film is a comedy, mixing satire and social commentary, with some over-the-top moments. The film tries to poke fun at these rich folks who use religion to fun their lavish lifestyle and really care more about themselves and their appearance than any true devotion to God. The Childs are desperate to be back on top, and there is nothing they won’t do to feel that fame and adoration again, which leads to some ridiculous moments. Trinitie and Lee-Curtis are not very likeable people. They are fake, fallen celebrities who desperately crave to be back in a positive spotlight.

While I didn’t love the movie, I did find many humorous moments, and thought the two leads really gave it their all. Sterling K. Brown and Regina Hall do an excellent job of playing things straight despite the often absurd things their characters are given to do and say. The filmmakers also do a nice job of slowly revealing the nature of the scandal, playing with the audience’s expectations, regularly steering things in one direction only to pivot and go another way, keeping you guessing. While I did find some of these reveals to be an interesting surprise, I thought the film had lost a lot of its steam by the final act, with the story a bit all over the place, and closing on more of character/emotional ending rather than a story resolution. There is a deleted scene included on the release that I think would have actually helped the ending a bit.

Universal’s Blu-ray release looks and sounds great. The video is pristine, with a clean and clear picture. The colors look rich, and there is an excellent level of detail, both in close-ups of faces, clothing and statues, as well as in wider shots of the megachurch. The audio track is even more impressive, providing clear dialogue and a very immersive viewing experience. While you wouldn’t think a documentary would have a lot of use for the surround channel, this film uses it brilliantly to provide an echo in the empty church as the Pastor practices his sermon to his devout crowd of five.

The Blu-ray disc comes packed in a standard HD keepcase, along with a glossy carboard slipcover, and an insert containing a code to redeem an HD MA digital copy of the film. The release also contains a fun gag reel and over 17 minutes of deleted/extended scenes, including an alternate opening, which I’m kind of glad they left off as it would have forecasted something that isn’t revealed until later on in the film.

What’s Included:

Film: (1:43:24)

1080p / Widescreen 1.78:1
Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English DVS (Descriptive Video Service), Spanish 5.1 DTS Digital Surround
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French

Digital (code may not be valid after 1/31/2024):

HD Digital Copy (Movies Anywhere compatible)

Extras:
Play All, or select from:

Alternate Opening (1:04)
As the camera pans out from the statue of Black Jesus, documentary filmmaker Anita Bonet introduces herself to Khalil and asks him if he’s aware that Pastor Lee-Curtis Childs is reopening Wander to Greater Paths, to which he responds “WTF?!”. I think its probably better that this was left out as it may have have been too revealing of what comes later in the film.
Deleted/Extended/Alternate Scenes (16:16)
Collection of 9 deleted/extendedd/alternate scenes. Play All, or select from:
- Showtime (:35)
  In this slightly extended scene we get a glimpse of the documentary crew arriving at the house, before Pastor Lee-Curtis announces it’s “Showtime”.
- Skate Rink (1:38)
  Interview with Shante DelMar, an employee at the Golden Glide Skate Rink, who talks about the scandal and asks her friend if she’ll go back to the church when it reopens.
- Childs in the Attic (2:36)
  As Trinitie and Lee-Curtis bring stuff to the attic, they talk about how the documentary is going so far, and again argue over the pronunciation of Amen.
- Trinitie in the Bath (:47)
  As Trinitie lays in the bath trying to avoid her husband, Lee-Curtis talks to her from outside the door. Lee-Curtis preaches to the oncoming traffic in a foreign language.
- Highway Pedestrian Guy (1:59)
  Trinitie and Lee-Curtis hold their sign for traffic when a pedestrian walks up to the camera and talks about the scandal.
- Trinitie Bringing Food (:5)
  Trinitie brings some fast food to Lee-Curtis as he takes a break from his roadside preaching.
- Trinitie Praying Over Lee-Curtis in Bed (2:58)
  Trinitie and her husband have trouble sleeping, worrying about the reopening, so Lee-Curtis asks her to pray on it and over him as well.
- Trinitie Sees Sidewalk Woman Again (1:21)
  Trinitie takes the Black Jesus statue out for a walk and sees the woman with a baby who was staring at her earlier.
- Anita Speaks (3:39)
  Trinitie (in her mime makeup) goes on a rant, accusing Anita of putting them in a bad light, and Anita finally breaks her silence, asking Trinitie why she doesn’t just leave. Out of all the deleetd scenes, I think this one would have helped the movie the most.
Gag Reel (3:34)
The cast improv, make each other laugh, deal with flies and a runaway Black Jesus, and just have fun on set.

Final Thoughts:

My Rating

Film:

Video:

Audio:

Extras:

Worth a Look

Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. has some really fun moments and memorable performances by leads Regina Hall and Sterling K. Brown. However, the story kind of loses steam by the end. Universal’s Blu-ray features solid picture and sound, and includes about 20 minutes of entertaining bonus material. Fans of the film will definitely be pleased with the presentation. Fans of the cast may be OK with a blind buy, but others may wish to check it out first—at the time of this review, the film is still available to stream on Peacock.