A proper critique of exploitation in megachurch culture; Adamma Ebo’s “Honk for Jesus Save your Soul” is something of a ridiculous and hilarious train wreck that you can’t look away from. This mockumentary-style satirical comedy that is a feature film adaptation of a short film of the same name takes us through the inevitably doomed journey of a vain and narcissistic shepherd desperately trying to find redemption. Ebo doesn’t leave much room for misinterpretation of the message even with the passive and often downright absurd narration; making it a perfect blend of witty humor and slapstick.
Sound the horn for Jesus. Save Your Soul (2022) Plot Summary and Movie Synopsis:
Playing the role of the quintessential devoted wife who supports her man no matter what, Trinitie Childs (Regina Hall) works with the documentary crew that her husband, “fallen” pastor Lee-Curtis Childs (Sterling K. Brown) ) has hired to help him with his highly controversial comeback. The pastor and first lady duo are seen fighting to get their church, Wander to Greater Paths, reopened and for Lee-Curtis to redeem himself after the ordeal that several of his parishioners faced accusations of sexual misconduct. .
The documentary crew led by Anita (Andrea Laing), who stays behind the camera the whole time, follows Lee-Curtis and Trinitie as they give them a comprehensive and embarrassingly revealing tour of their megachurch and their lives. Rejecting “Blessed Are The Meek” and coming across as weird and outrageous, the pair have the crew film them as they show off their impossibly grand church and flaunt the unimaginably grand collection of high-end outfits and shoes.
Since the scandal, the church’s membership has dropped from 25,000 to 5. The five strange people of faith include a mother who wants to keep her daughter occupied with theatrics of sermons, an elderly couple with blind faith in the idea of redemption. , and a young man who doesn’t think Pastor Childs can do anything wrong. After Lee-Curtis’s dramatic renaming, the pair bicker over “ay-men” and “ah-men,” creating more work for the crew as they have multiple takes to do.
The story’s mostly linear progression is sometimes interrupted by flashbacks to Lee-Curtis’s sermons that serve as a more intimate look at his often-troubled faith and ridiculously unaware vanity. .
Keon Sumpter (Confidence), the pastor of rival church Heaven’s House, along with his wife Shakura Sumpter (Nicole Beharie) are seen effortlessly taking advantage of the Childs’ downfall while publicly supporting them from getting into an active ugly war. . They plan the grand opening of their church for Easter; the same day as the reopening of Wander to Greater Paths.
While trying to keep the crew out of their morally questionable personal lives, Trinitie finds herself in a passive-aggressive argument with former Congresswoman Denetta. With every awkward encounter she has with people and every fruitless conversation she has with Lee-Curtis; Trinitie’s faith in him and her marriage is seen to be fading. Following the teachings of the church and all religious homes, Trinitie seeks her mother’s guidance and is met with a reaction that reassures her with her denial and disturbs her with the promise of lifelong unhappiness.
As reopening day approaches and unable to convince the Sumpters to postpone, Lee-Curtis and Trinitie find themselves in a desperate state of brainstorming. Lee-Curtis convinces her to move the opening up a week, but what they don’t know is that the Sumpters, who are watching their every move, are also planning to do the same. Along with preparing a “groundbreaking” sermon that falls pretty flat; they stand by the side of the road with an idol of Jesus. Trinitie holds up a sign that says “Honk for Jesus” as an attempt to gain attention and, following Lee-Curtis’s advice, she waves it for the Lord.
During a “mime-eulogy” that Lee-Curtis forces her to do, they are confronted by Khalil, one of the victims of Lee-Curtis’s crimes and the awkward conversation that follows is mostly Lee-Curtis trying to justify his actions. Every word that comes out of her mouth sounds like an echo of “I’m not a pervert. I am a sinner.”
Movie review:
It’s no wonder that with phenomenal actors like Sterling K. Brown and Regina Hall, a producer like Daniel Kaluuya, who is also known for his incredible achievements as an actor, and an executive producer as creative as Jordan Peele; the movie would be completely entertaining.
With such an outstanding team, the expectations for this film were certainly very high. But by delivering an incredibly well-written, compact story that deals with sensitive issues and is funny when it needs to be; Adamma Ebo has met and exceeded all expectations with his feature debut. Expanding the content of a short film can be quite tricky when it comes to adding new elements as the writer needs to make sure that the new and the old blend effortlessly and Ebo can be said to have done an impeccable job on that. .
When it comes to acting gigs; Regina Hall was not only outstanding; her performance surpassed even that of Sterling K. Brown, who did an incredible job. Whether it’s her impeccable comedic timing or just her expression when she doesn’t even say a word; Without a doubt, Hall steals the show and deserves it.
Even without diving too deep into the details of Lee-Curtis’ misdeeds, the film manages to get her point across. There is an empathetic recognition that faith is more than just devotion and that the church is more than a place of worship for its diverse congregation. Every aspect of the film and its sensitively handled nuances come together and provide a courageous critique of the exploitation of blind faith, without criticizing faith as a whole.
Sound the horn for Jesus. Save your soul. (2022) Movie Ending, Explained: Deception or Denial?
Lee-Curtis’ despair at the success of her redemption reaches a new level when she manipulates Trinitie into putting on makeup and performing a roadside praise mime despite her expressing discomfort. Ignoring the indifference, if not outright rejection, already facing their “honk your horn for Jesus” agenda, the pair manage to make an even more absurd show of themselves with the mime routine.
Trinitie’s obvious humiliation masked beneath the black and white of her face is met with an even more uncomfortable test when Khalil stops traffic while sitting in his car and stares at her. Instead of driving away; Khalil gets out of his car and confronts them. The thin veil of denial that was slowly slipping away gets a quick yank as Trinitie stands there with a terrified look watching Lee-Curtis respond to Khalil’s question with a long speech about her return as an absolute necessity for the people around her. they need to save their souls. Her inner turmoil seeps through the course of her frantic walk to church and her self-deceptive response to Anita’s question “why don’t you go?”
With the inevitable success enjoyed by the Sumpters; Lee-Curtis’ well-deserved defeat and doom begins to unfold. Lee-Curtis hoping that at least 500 people will attend her church as she receives the obvious 5 is an interesting observation of the possibility that his denial has gone too far and taken the form of a absolute deception.
His shady activities that are shown or discussed during the course of the film and his way of offering a passionate justification for everything point to the possibility that he has begun to believe the lies he has been telling himself and others. While Lee-Curtis is found as excited as ever looking at an empty driveway with only one car turning; Trinitie’s face is that of someone who has most likely reached the ultimate acceptance of the bitter truth.