‘Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul’ (2022) Review: A Dark Commentary of a Sanctuary's Business
Adamma Ebo’s Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul is a mix of mockumentary and narrative storytelling which focuses on Trinitie Childs (Regina Hall) and Lee-Curtis Childs (Sterling K. Brown) reopening their megachurch Wander to Greater Paths Baptist Church. A satirical comedy focused on rebuilding their congregation after the sexual allegations against Lee-Curtis forced them to close their church. It’s a fascinating look at how these central characters are consumed by greed and selfishness to live a lavish lifestyle, their desperation to stay in power, and the predatory stances of organised religion. Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul brings the aforementioned “power couple” to the front and centre in an effort to show that they have changed, all for their trusted followers.
Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul is fashioned as two movies: the faux documentary that follows the megachurch leaders, Trinitie and Lee-Curtis and the real movie, which shows the couple’s true emotions and feelings. The movie begins with news clips of the sexual allegations against Lee-Curtis and captions identifying the locations where the documentary is taking place. Trinitie and Lee-Curtis bring their best smiles and wealth to the forefront of this faux documentary. In an effort to shut down the allegations against her husband, they talk about their relationship with each other, to God, and why reopening the church during Easter Sunday would be good for them. The documentarians, who are referred to as the ‘fly-on-the-wall,’ follow the Childs as they boast about their luxury clothes and the enormous wealth that they have had since they started the church. Even when Trinitie tries to show a good face for the sake of her husband, she slowly begins to regret the decision to stand by her husband. The documentary (and movie) shows her trying to figure out whether staying with her husband is the best path for her or not.
The movie follows a dark subject and it is presented in a ridiculous critique of the sexual allegations against Lee-Curtis. Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul establishes the church’s — and the leaders — part in sweeping the allegations under the rug in favour of their good behaviour. While Trinitie and Lee-Curtis show that they have changed and want to bring their 25,000 congregants to their megachurch, they have a funny way of showing it. They kick the documentary off by boasting about their designer clothes, which distinguishes them from the rest of their followers. The focus on the wealthy, business side of their megachurch is the critique behind organised religion’s attempts to rebuild their cash flow and audience. Because without their audience, there is no cash flow.
But slowly the cracks of Lee-Curtis’ scandals are revealed. Trinitie and her husband are working behind the scenes to put the allegations aside by paying the victims with hush money, and all of this is captured through the faux documentary lens. The hypocrisy is that Lee-Curtis expects the documentary to rebuild his megachurch and rehabilitate his image but they are just delusions. These elements of the faux documentary paint the picture of a ship that is already sinking with no chance to stay afloat. The only person who sees what is happening is Trinitie. She realises that the time and energy she poured into building a community and staying by her husband’s side won’t bring their congregants rushing back any time soon. Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul begins to show Trinitie fighting her inner struggles and principles to do what is right for herself. Even though it is interesting to watch the contrast in how Trinitie and Lee-Curtis deal with this situation and begin to focus on Trinitie’s perspective, the movie begins to break apart.
Edo does a great job showing the ridiculousness of the story. Some of the comedy moments don’t quite hit, but the commentary regarding the Childs’ desperation to keep the cash flow intact brings forth outlandish and funny scenes. The sexual allegations leave the audience to ponder the church’s hand to cover the settlements and the truth behind the actual business, which is narcissism and using their authority to take advantage of people.
Alongside the hilarity and dark subject, Hall and Brown are great counterparts, filled with awkward laughs and the latter’s egomaniac and extravagant performance. Hall, on the other hand, has always been underutilised in a comedic role but in Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul, she’s contained but maintains an impressive performance. She hits the funny moments perfectly and she completely commits herself to the role as the spiritual supporter of Brown’s Lee-Curtis. The movie is hilarious and follows the commentary on the inner workings of the megachurch, which will either end with a happy return of their congregants or the Childs’ downfall.
