Review: Mockumentary 'Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.' Pales Next to Reality

Sterling K. Brown and Regina Hall produce and star in the 145-minute mockumentary-style film "Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul."

Charismatic pastor Lee-Curtis Childs (Brown) and his "first lady" wife Trinitie (Hall) ran the Southern Baptist megachurch Wander to Greater Paths until a sex scandal closed it down. Lee-Curtis had slept with young men, but Trinitie forgave him and stood by her man.

But now the couple is trying to figure out when and how to stage their comeback. They decide on Easter Sunday, starting with what they should wear. The Childs' still have their large church building with an indoor fountain and matching gold thrones, luxury car collection and decadent mansion, replete with a gigantic closet, where they look for his appropriate relaunch suit.

"Something about a pastor in Prada gives you chills," Trinitie says. But she has an affinity for church lady hats herself, so dressing the part is central to their identities, costumes for their pious brand. Trinitie shops at Bathsheba's Bonnets to find crowns that are "holy and sexy all at once."

Like any power player, Lee-Curtis looks down on his congregants, and berates the church's defectors: "What good are disciples if they're undisciplined?" he asks. The Sumpters, two former worshippers, have started their own church, Heaven's House, and are poaching parishioners, and are also opening on Easter. It's a slow stand-off, culminating with the Childs proselytizing on the side of the road, asking passersby to honk for Jesus. While there, Lee-Curtis warns against ego – edging God out – and forces Trinitie to wear mime whiteface for some reason.

Brown brings intensity and Hall offers ferocity, but the super-dry humor just doesn't work. The mockumentary film crew gimmick, under the direction of offscreen Anita, following every move, is tired. There certainly are plenty of real-life church scandals, but at this point they're beyond parody. Something on screen is less racy and shocking than what's happening in real life. And, as Lee-Curtis says, "Jesus was all about the shock factor."

"Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul." will be released September 2 in theaters and on Peacock.