Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. (2022)

Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. review by Mark McPherson - Cinema Paradiso

The dark satire of Honk for Jesus Save your Soul is about as boldly bitter as a strong cup of coffee. It doesn’t take a slightly sympathetic hand to the garish and gross decadence of American Christianity. The target is made clear and it’s the ministries with enough power that sexual abuse is covered up or settled. This darkness is made present at the beginning of the film and always bubbles amid laughing at the fall of a megachurch.

The film is shot in a pseudo-mockumentary format, cutting between footage filmed by the crew and the intimate moments of introspection not filmed. When the cameras are on, Trinitie Childs (Regina Hall) puts on the big grin as the first lady of her Southern Baptist megachurch. She stands by her man Pastor Lee-Curtis Childs (Sterling K. Brown) through thick and thin. They’re currently weathering the worst time after charges were brought against the pastor for sexually abusing teenage boys.

After a slew of apologetics and out-of-court settlements, the couple prepares to relaunch the church. They’ve lost nearly all of their congregation as only a small handful still follow them. The apologies are still in full force, where the congregation discusses how you shouldn’t believe everything you hear and to practice forgiveness and all that nonsense people tell themselves to justify those in power. The megachurch is now a sparse and empty place compared to the smaller churches of the area that have expanded and whisked away the congregation to less corrupt pastures.

During the documentary portion, Lee-Curtis and Trinitie stumble about with awkward laughs and smiles, uncertain whether or not it was a good idea to film their supposed return to service. When the cameras are off, signaled by the film switching aspect ratios, we see the desperation in Trinitie’s face. She is in a marriage where she is devalued and trapped, where no comfort comes to her. Sex in bed merely results in Lee-Curtis requesting blowjobs given his sexual incompetence. Sermons are briefly interrupted by Lee-Curtis and his constant bickering with his wife over the mere pronunciation of words. Quiet arguments are had over wardrobe and marketing techniques. It all builds up to a tragic point where Lee-Curtis pretty much forces Trinitie to dress up like a clown to bring back his church.

This is a film that slowly amps up the cringe to a point of uneasy truths. Trinitie soon comes to discover that she is abandoned by everyone. The former congregants speak lowly of her, either directly with profanity or casually like a gossip queen who can’t wait to dash off and snicker at her failure. Her mother offers no help, merely stating that Trinitie needs to be a good Christian and stick by her man until he dies. She is all alone and nobody will grant her even a moment of peace, making her the most sympathetic character.

This type of satire is not an easy rope to walk, but Hall and Brown walk it with style. They’re easily able to dart between performative Christian BS to deeply concerned sinners who can sense the walls closing in around them. This act of portraying a two-faced Christian couple works so well that it’s easy to get lost in this highly believable situation. The setting is also strong enough to sell you on this type of scenario, where people like the Childs can get away with not going to prison over such a scandal but still be plagued by a public who either denies any wrongdoing on their part or will condemn them for the abuser Lee-Curtis truly is.

This is a film that is not exactly easy to watch as it is the darkest of dark comedy. It’s very pointed but never overloads on the absurdity so that there’s no escapism present in this uneasy tale. It’s the type of movie that you laugh at for the awkwardness and then feel the goosebumps as the real-world implications of corruption and abuse both sexual and emotional washes over the picture. So if you like your Christian satire sharp yet focused, never reducing the targets to mere clowns, this is one hell of a movie.