Netflix Is Streaming Paradise Star Sterling K. Brown's Underseen 2022 Comedy

Adamma Ebo's 2022 comedy "Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul." is a sharp, fitfully soulful mockumentary spoof of America's cartoonish Megachurch culture. Regina Hall plays Trinitie Childs, the wife of a Southern Baptist pastor named Lee-Curtis (Sterling K. Brown), and co-runner of their corporate Christian empire, Wander to Greater Paths. Trinitie has decided to make a documentary film about her and Lee-Curtis, as they have recently run aground on a sex scandal, and their old church has collapsed under them. Trinitie is now trying to document their comeback a year later. They plan to open a new church on Easter Sunday. Their comeback will not go terribly smoothly. The true nature of their sex scandal will only gradually be revealed over the course of the movie.

The Childses are outlandish satires of modern "prosperity gospel" televangelists. They both became incredibly wealthy running their church, and can't seem to give up their wealthy lifestyle. After being rejected by their congregants, they find themselves competing with a new Christian power couple, the Sumpters (Conphidance and Nicole Beharie), who are launching a competing church on the same day as the Childses. 

We eventually learn that Lee-Curtis, previously an anti-gay minister, had been caught seducing a long string of young men. Trinitie handily puts her fingers in her ears about her husband's sexuality and attempts to keep their comeback on track as best she can. Later in the film, Trinitie will begin to crack under the stress. 

"Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul." was a tiny release and only earned about $1.4 million at the box office. It is, however, a pretty sharp satire, and both Hall and Brown give great performances as cartoons who slowly become flawed humans. The film is currently on Netflix.

The theme of "Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.," which initially made a splash at Sundance, is the frustrating way that ultra-rich mainline Protestants have become the church of Keeping Up Appearances. The Childses sect is devoted to a particular type of placid, aesthetically pleasing form of vague righteousness and vaunts the way that righteousness plays into the local community. The actual teachings of Christ are far from anyone's lips. When Lee-Curtis begins talking about the nature of the Devil and how he was tempted by Satanic forces, we hear his full-throated hypocrisy. There is a lot to lampoon about anti-gay ministers who are, at the base of things, merely closeted themselves. 

But "Honk for Jesus." isn't a drama about the contradictions and hypocrisies in right-wing megachurches. It's a comedy film that whimsically ribs the ornate opulence and strange language usually employed by such organizations. It was clearly made by people who have attended such churches and want to make fun of the aggressive proselytizing done by snippy "church ladies." The movie is too slapstick and absurd to be described as "dark." Its satire remains salient, but it's also silly and enjoyable. The film, overall, is pretty gentle, in fact. Church folk could go see this movie, see themselves, and maybe have a laugh about how, yes, some of the opulence in megachurches is pretty absurd.

There are some harder moments throughout "Honk for Jesus.," especially when Trinitie confronts her husband, and those moments are actually quite meaningful. Director Adamma Ebo, though, swerves away at the last minute, revealing more slapstick humor. It's only these bouts of bathos that kept "Honk for Jesus." from fulfilling its full potential. 

On Rotten Tomatoes, "Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul." sports a 72% approval rating, based on 180 reviews. Odie Henderson, writing for RogerEbert.com, gave the film three stars, praising its accuracy to the Black Evangelical experience. He also enjoyed the performances from Regina Hall and Sterling K. Brown, noting that both get to have moments of real reflection. Henderson wrote: 

"The usually stoic Brown jumps at the chance to go large, showing his comedic chops as if he'll never get the chance to do so again. Lee-Curtis is a strutting peacock, but he's also selfish, delusional, and self-loathing. He believes in saving souls, but can't see that his own is in dire need of salvation. When he drops the showmanship during his practice sermon and gives an Oscar-show clip of an impassioned plea for forgiveness, Trinitie sees right through him. 'You need to make it more convincing,' she tells him." 

Indeed, there seemed to be general praise for the performances in "Honk for Jesus." The critics' main complaints were that the targets of its satire were perhaps a little too easy and also that it wasn't quite as funny as it could have been. Many appreciated the film's late-stage turn toward emotional devastation, even if it was at the cost of its comedy. 

The film marked the filmmaking debut of Adamma Ebo, who wrote and directed the film, based on her own 2018 short film. The film was also co-produced by Adamma's twin sister, Adanne. Adamma has since gone on to direct an episode of "Atlanta," three episodes of "Swarm," and one episode of "Poker Face." She has also written eight episodes of "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," and two episodes of the truly excellent animated series "Batman: Caped Crusader."