Read to the end for the latest good news update!!
Adamma Ebo and her twin and producer Adanne Ebo have made an ambitious debut satirizing the Black Christian Mega Churches. ‘Honk for Jesus, Save Your Soul’ is a big black comedy, played brilliantly to the hilt by the charismatic, Sterling K Brown, as the Eddie-Murphy type pastor Lee-Curtis and his faithful wife Trinitie Childs played by Regina Hall who is “the spine and backbone to his face and body” in Wander to Greater Paths Baptist Church.
As the proud first lady of a Southern Baptist megachurch, Trinitie Childs carries immense responsibility on her shoulders. Her church, Wander To Greater Paths, once served a congregation in the tens of thousands, but after a scandal involving her husband, Pastor Lee-Curtis Childs, forced the church to close temporarily, Trinitie is struggling to manage the aftermath. Now Trinitie and Lee-Curtis must rebuild their congregation and reconcile their faith by all means necessary to make the biggest comeback that commodified religion has ever seen.
Very funny, with laugh out loud jokes, more nuanced jibes and great physical comedy, the mores of the Churchgoing Christian Black Faithful are lampooned to great affect. I love the hats and dresses of the faithful, the hypocritical and exaggeratedly civil dialogues between the two rival pastor couples and that of the former congregant who meets Trinitie in the mall. The belief that God brings prosperity brings to mind at least one television pastor I have seen and it is played with pure glee by Brown. In the beginning, Sterling K Brown and Regina Hall also make a great comedy team, she playing straight to his schtick. As the film moves on, the comedic edge between the two morphs as she realizes that when the fun stops, she must give up what she wants to his egoism. Listen to IMDb’s Studio Q&A between Sterling and Regina. As Sterling says in it, he felt old when the “knuck” came up.
That leads me to a number of funny things I did not get and would like to get because I know that they are really funny. I even laughed but still didn’t know what I was laughing at. Aside from the “Knuck of your buck, boy” duet between Curtis-Lee and Trinitie which is truly hilarious, I didn’t understand the intro rap words “I’ve been popping my collar” Huh??? What does that mean? So many of the phrases and words tickle me without my understanding and indeed, often the lines are really quirky or NOT understandable on purpose, as when Curtis-Lee says, “They stuck by us even through all the awful awfulness”, or he speaks of the deacons of his church who turned on him and says “What good are disciples if they are undisciplined?” eliciting another “Huh?” from all. Another great use of the humor of words is when Trinitie compares themselves, unwittingly, to rats, or Curtis-Lee talks of the devil, “ who gets under your skin like roaches under the floor boards”. Language is a gift here as we get a glimpse into the vernacular humor of this segment of society.
Shari Frilot, programmer for Sundance compares the film to the Diary of a Mad Black Woman, the 2005 comedy directed by Darren Grant and written by the great Tyler Perry.
Oddly enough, the problem that has caused the downfall of the church they run — sexual abuse — is never named and yet one realizes it is around the very hypocritical stance of the church against homosexuality. The other realization which slowly dawns upon us is the place of the Christian woman who stands by her man, knowing he is not the partner she believed he was. Still the efforts of the two have created something which Trinitie comes to understand cements her to the stand she is taking, not such a pleasant end but one that makes her one of those strong women you see standing firm, mouths resolute, holding so much in and staying unbowed.
My question is, will this dark comedy catch on with white audiences (I don’t think they will get it), black popular audiences (I hope, but they may not get the chance to see it!) or will it stay in the small art house world (and remain unseen for the most part)? So much depends upon its distribution. At the moment it does not seem to have any distribution…or any representation! Nor does it have any big producer names shoring up this indie debut feature.
What it does have however, is Teri Schwartz, former dean (the first woman dean) of 10 years of UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television (UCLA -TFT) and Donna Deitch (Desert Hearts) who created a scholarship fund for women of color in the graduate directing program at UCLA TFT which enabled Adamma to attend UCLA while her sister Adanne attended law school. Together they formed this company and together they are striding into a bright future. They have no worries, as we know, however, it is the film that never makes any money, but I certainly hope this one will get proper distribution because it can if it is handled by a savvy international sales agent and/or distributor who knows the streaming platforms and how to reach the film’s public. It deserves no less.
Speaking of merit, the importance of these two sisters in light of today’s news (LA Times) of the Supreme Court’s consideration (Thank you, Clarence Thomas!) of repealing the rulings for affirmative action by universities shows us the great need we have of talents able to put into great stories the lessons we have learned while we were permitted to do so. This team merits recognition big time.
Another feature debut meriting good distribution and getting it from Roadside Attractions and Vertical in the USA, Alice, will be featured in my blog following Honk for Jesus, Save Your Soul…Kudos to Krystin Ver Linden who wrote and directed Alice.
Filmmaking power duo the Ebo twins (writer-director Adamma Ebo, producer Adanne Ebo) make their feature film debut in this adaptation of their previous short film of the same name. Partially shot in faux-documentary style, this lively satire on for-profit religion explores both the on-camera desperation in image rebranding and the hard truths that fester behind the scenes. The humor is big and biting in both writing and performance, reaching lofty heights with Regina Hall and Sterling K. Brown in lead roles.
FEBRUARY 7, 2022 UPDATE! BREAKING NEWS:
Focus Features, Peacock and Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions Acquire Sundance Breakout Comedy Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul. Peacock (NBC) Will Stream the Film Day-and-Date with Focus’ Theatrical Release Later This Year.
The deal for the film was negotiated by UTA Independent Film Group who represents the Ebo Twins and Pinky Promise, and brokered the deal with CAA and ICM. Monkeypaw is represented by CAA and Jared Levine.
Produced by Academy Award® winner Daniel Kaluuya through his production company 59% with Rowan Riley and Amandla Crichlow, alongside Adamma Ebo, Adanne Ebo, Kara Durrett, Pinky Promise’s Jessamine Burgum and Matthew Cooper, and Regina Hall and Sterling K. Brown.
“We are excited to partner with Focus Features and Monkeypaw to bring HONK FOR JESUS. SAVE YOUR SOUL. to Peacock customers day-and-date with its theatrical release,” said Val Boreland, Executive Vice President, Content Acquisition, NBCUniversal Entertainment, Television and Streaming. “We continue to expand the Peacock catalog with fresh stories from new creators like the Ebo twins, whose feature film debut already has Sundance audiences buzzing and is certain to delight viewers everywhere with its magnetic mix of satirical humor and drama.”
Monkeypaw’s president Win Rosenfeld said, “Central to Monkeypaw’s mission is working with emerging filmmakers who are telling fresh and disruptive stories in mischievous new ways. We are so fortunate that the brilliant Adamma and Adanne Ebo have chosen to partner with us on the release of their hilarious HONK FOR JESUS, SAVE YOUR SOUL. They’re master satirists and have found both humor and heart in this fierce and provocative critique of hypocrisy.”
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