Our guiding philosophy when reviewing movies over the years is usually to focus on the work and not the personal lives of those who make the art — but in the case of the inspirational biopic “Father Stu,” it’s impossible to ignore that it’s Mark Wahlberg playing the title character and Mel Gibson as his father. Each man has a violent, racist, troubling past — in Wahlberg’s case before he became famous, with Gibson’s ugly episodes transpiring after he had reached global superstardom — and both men have been vocal about their respective faiths, and now they’re in a film that’s all about redemption.
Wahlberg has called this a passion project and the casting of Gibson certainly doesn’t seem coincidental, especially given the fact “Father Stu” is directed by Gibson’s romantic partner Rosalind Ross (who does fine work here). Wahlberg’s Stuart Long is a booze-soaked, club-level fighter, womanizer and lifelong screw-up who decides he’ll become a priest relatively late in life, and Gibson’s Bill Long is a hard-drinking, verbally abusive, all-around S.O.B. who has been estranged from his son for years but just might find some reconciliation when Stu needs him most.
