Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul Review

Photo Credit - Universal Pictures/Peacock

Church, specifically megachurches, has always been a hot topic, yet so few films have broached the topic in a way that moves the conversation about them forward. You see the church completely demonized or lampooned the entire time, but never any middle ground or something thought-provoking.

Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul might be the exception to that rule. Based on the 2019 short film by the same title written and directed by the Ebo sisters, Honk for Jesus stars Regina Hall and Sterling K. Brown as the heads of a Southern megachurch attempting to rebound from a scandal that has depleted their congregation.

If Abbott Elementary were in a church, it would be Honk for Jesus. It addresses the Black church and megachurch cultures like Abbott does early education – finding humor in the idiosyncrasies and oft-discussed but rarely admitted truths about its subject.

Adamma Ebo’s script (Adamma wrote and directed the feature solo) pulls no punches in covering the willful ignorance, hypocrisy, and outright treachery unfortunately found in the church. She also captures its flamboyant yet comedic elements with the frenemy relationships, pettiness, and scandalous nature seen among competing houses of worship. Still, she handles these matters in a way that doesn’t remove the humanity of the film’s characters and creates a space for empathy that wouldn’t exist for them in real life.

The church is Honk for Jesus’s calling card, hitting themes such as forgiveness, redemption, and pressing forward against all odds, but the film is most potent when the focus is on Trinitie. She embodies the expectations and plight of not only the First Lady of the church but, honestly, wives in general when their spouses run afoul of their marital and/or professional obligations. The character would otherwise be questioned and torn to shreds for her love and dedication to Lee-Curtis, yet you understand where she is and why she chooses to be there.

Tackling an entity as sacred yet troubled as the church is an ambitious task for any filmmaker. Going that route as director and writer on your debut feature film is a more challenging endeavor, and Abo navigates with the eye and storytelling of a seasoned auteur.

Even with the strong impression Honk for Jesus makes from a technical standpoint, the acting is A-1 and easily the film's best part. Hall and Brown are a perfect pair. That said, Hall is the Jordan to Brown’s Pippen in this one, turning in a career-best performance that warrants more than word-of-mouth praise.

As Trinitie, Hall puts her entire range on display. It’s similar to her underrated turns in 2018’s Support the Girls and Showtime’s Black Monday but better. She’s Brenda from Scary Movie funny one minute and breaking your heart the next. The element of her performance that drives everything is her face acting. The delivery of her lines hit hard, but it’s her faces that either has you howling with laughter or ready to hug her.

Brown isn’t quite as adept at comedy as Hall, and that’s cool because he’s still a force in this one. He’s not loose enough to play into the cheesiness of Lee-Curtis, but Brown hits home runs when he’s back in the familiar dramatic territory and the darker side of the pastor gets time on the screen. There are several standout moments for him, but the most impactful ones came in the gym scene and later in the film as an important character confronts him. It’s not up there with Hall’s, but Brown again showed why he’s one of the best in the business.

Despite taking a dive into one of the most complex institutions in our society and directly addressing its flaws, Honk for Jesus is an amusing yet hard-hitting watch that intelligently brings forth the conversation of the more unsavory sides of the church led by an incredible performance from Hall and savvy filmmaking by Obo.

If the Academy and other awards bodies are serious about paying more attention to the work of people of color, Hall should be in many conversations during awards season. It’s still early, but I have difficulty seeing too many performances besting this one.

Obviously, Honk for Jesus is a must-see. My only additional thought is that you should watch the Honk for Jesus short before watching the feature. You can find it here.