This Review Reveals Minor Details About the Plot.
Too Big For His Britches
or Too Big To Fail
Plot Overview
With feet full
of vigor and mouth full of sass, Montana kid Stuart Long (Tenz McCall)
aspires to be the next Elvis as he cuts the rug at home to the tune
of "Too
Much Monkey Business." Later down the road at forty Stu (Mark Wahlberg)
is trading lip and blows with opponents in the ring as he's just finding his
stride at an age when most boxers think of retiring. His doctor, his mom
Kathleen (Jacki Weaver) and his failing body force the issue: he's not going
to be the next Ali. He goes to Hollywood to become a star, working
in a supermarket meat department waiting to be discovered. He
romantically pursues—“stalks”—a choice customer
Carmen (Teresa Ruiz) all the way to her church where he suddenly finds
religion. He falls into a coma after being bounced
around in a motorcycle accident, so he's not to be the next John
Wayne, and he might not even survive. A vision of Mary heals him and
inspires him to become a priest. The seminary's rector Monsignor Kelly
(Malcolm McDowell) has his doubts, but Stu is persuasive and he takes
him on under advisement. After Stu collapses during a pickup
basketball game, his doctor informs him he has a progressive muscle
disorder called inclusion body myositis. Monsignor Kelly with his eye on
the church's bottom line and his ear to the membership body
withdraws their support for this Stu's most ambitious endeavor.
Ideology
In his new circle of Catholic friends, Stu does a double take upon meeting a colored man named Ham. Ham tells him it's a Bible name, Ham being a son of Noah. Right. Here is a notorious Bible character whom Stu will emulate well enough but who seems to be missing from our lists of famous personages.
For those not settled in the sands of
time, I offer this remedial history lesson, with apologies to those
who don't need it. The biblical story is widely known of Adam &
Eve's temptation and fall in the Garden of Eden, how the woman ate
the forbidden fruit and gave it to her husband to eat (Gen. 3:6), God responding by increasing
the severity of the woman's childbirth pains (Gen. 3:16) and making man's toil onerous
(Gen. 3:17-19.) What is less well
known—except in places like the Bible Belt—is a redo of
sorts to ameliorate man's difficult labor. Noah's father Lamech had
(Gen. 5:29) “called his name
Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil
of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath cursed.”
They still had to follow the earlier template to get a reprieve. Instead
of the forbidden tree to be respected by the first couple, there was
old man Noah whose work break was to be respected by his three sons,
to wit: (Gen. 6:10) “And
Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.” They formed
themselves into two pairs: the eldest Japheth & Shem, and
the youngest Ham paired with his own son Canaan making the numbers
even. Noah fortified himself with wine before invoking blessings
on them, as later would Isaac do with savory venison before blessing
Esau. The (red) yakut wine of Turkey is a blend of four
grapes—actually two pairs—so the numbers correspond. In
the Genesis account of the Flood, is a mystery woman, the mother of
Ham. (Gen. 9:18-19) “And
the sons of Noah, that went forth of the ark, were Shem, and Ham,
and Japheth: and Ham is the father of Canaan. These are the three
sons of Noah: and of them was the whole earth overspread.” Let's
look again at Noah's story (Jasher 5:14-17):
And the Lord said unto Noah, Take unto thee a wife, and beget children, for I have seen thee righteous before me in this generation. And thou shalt raise up seed, and thy children with thee, in the midst of the earth; and Noah went and took a wife, and he chose Naamah the daughter of Enoch, and she was five hundred and eighty years old. And Noah was four hundred and ninety-eight years old, when he took Naamah for a wife. And Naamah conceived and bare a son, and he called his name Japheth, saying, God has enlarged me in the earth; and she conceived again and bare a son, and he called his name Shem, saying, God has made me a remnant, to raise up seed in the midst of the earth.
Shem and Japheth were full brothers, Ham was born at a later date (the youngest, see Gen. 9:24) perhaps from a different mother. Noah's wife was older than he was. Perhaps at 580+ years she was no longer able to bear children after the first two. She didn't have any more after the flood, even though it was a time to repopulate the earth. Maybe she stopped bearing before the flood. Ham could then have been stepbrother of the other two.
Researcher Mark DeWayne Combs posits that, “Although Jasher specifically references the births of Japheth and Shem, there is no such reference to the birth of Ham. … that Ham may have been much younger than his brothers and that he may have had a different mother” (389). Combs also observes, “Fathering a child, particularly a son, through a handmaiden or servant girl would not have been an uncommon or forbidden practice in that time period” (165). Historian Kenneth M. Stampp remarks that “Apologists for slavery traced the history of servitude back to the dawn of civilization and showed that it had always existed in some form until their own day” (14).
Come the deluge and the ark's passengers could well be a model for, (James 5:13) “Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.” There was undoubtedly a lot of distress on their voyage occasioning a lot of prayer, and their eventual landfall would have been accompanied by much celebration. As ordained minister Tom Dooley points out, “Such a long period of ark living must have been quite tiresome. No doubt Noah's family was thankful for their safety and provisions; however, one could imagine them becoming restless, ready to get their feet on dry land again” (59.)
When (Jasher 6:40-41) “they all went out from the ark, they went and returned every one to his way and to his place, and Noah and his sons dwelt in the land.” They'd been cooped up together long enough, so now they spread out somewhat according to some preestablished pecking order. God (Jasher 6:42) “said unto them, Be fruitful and fill all the earth; become strong.” To become strong meant, among other things, taking their needed meds when sick, along the lines of, (James 5:14) “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.” Children are always coming down with one thing or another. Here it seemed to be Canaan's turn whose elders would have been his father Ham & grandfather Noah. Oil in Bible times was a medication, (Luke 10:34) “bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine,” as was, (1Tim. 5:23) “Drink[ing] no longer water, but [to] use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities.” Grapes grow in the summer, but once they're fermented, the wine can be stored throughout the year. Noah got into the store while setting an example for a work break, establishing period(s) of escape from hard work per Lamech's saying. By chance or design it interfered—it had to inconvenience someone—with Ham's youngest son Canaan's need, and Ham could well have been the low-status brother from another mother.
Instead of the wily serpent we had Noah's wife as an on-the-spot agent, who since she isn't mentioned, did well incurring no rebuke. She would have made herself scarce giving Noah some space to relax when he started drinking. (1Tim. 2:9-10) “In like manner also, that women adorn themselves … (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.” Being a virtuous woman (Prov. 31:27) “She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.” She would not have let grass grow under her feet but would have gone straight to visit Ham to make adjustments regarding their diminished store of medicinal alcohol, like the homespun heroine in an Andrew Taylor novel:
Mrs Arabella was a woman of decision. Having made up her mind to do something, she did not postpone it and did not permit half-measures. The inoculation of the household was arranged the following day and put into practice on the day after. (175)
Ham showed up at Noah's tent shortly thereafter to check out the cause. He fell to temptation by mocking his dad to his two brothers, but they would have none of it. This is parallel to Eve earlier failing first then offering the fruit to Adam who accepted it, but here the older brothers did not go along with Ham, so we'd expect them to receive a blessing rather than a curse such as it was. The distribution of labor had to be readjusted to account for the new workers' holiday(s), and Ham for his insolence left himself and his family line open to taking up the slack. Depicted below is that scene rendered in a Civil War vintage woodcut, made after a drawing by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld (German painter, 1794–1872) from his archive, published in 1877.
The alternate image text by licensor iStock.com/Getty Images explains what happened here to Noah and his fermented grapes: “When he drank some of the wine, he got drunk and uncovered himself inside his tent. Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father's nakedness and told his two brothers who were outside. Shem and Japheth took a garment and placed it on their shoulders. Then they walked in backwards and covered up their father's nakedness. Their faces were turned the other way so they did not see their father's nakedness (Genesis 9:21-23).” They covered the old man to prevent him from catching a chill in the mountains as it was no longer summer. Ham's show of disrespect to their patriarch is like the mistreatment of a revered matriarch in a Seymour novel:
I don't think
she'll be pleased to know that her picture is now a source of amusement
throughout Naples. When she knows, and she soon will—it's
inevitable—that her daughter … is in part responsible
for her being photographed with bare thighs and most of her arse
on display, I believe she'll feel resentful towards you.
(131)
Ham had put himself in jeopardy according to, (Prov. 30:17) “The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it.” Especially pertinent in this case is Noah's control over the animals including the raven (Gen. 8:7) and he is not unique, at least not in literature. Novelist Ted Bell writes of a chief inspector who “had been beaten to within an inch of his life and nearly pecked to death by countless killer ravens. All the while locked inside the cage of a Victorian aviary” (357.) There is even biblical precedent for it when some kids mocked a man of God for not having a covering of hair on his head and they got mauled by beasts. (2Kings 2:23-24) “And … as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head. And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.”
In this movie Stu studiously refuses
his mother's recommendations for a respectable job, not even the one
his father Bill Long (Mel Gibson) can get for him in construction,
which pays well. He is habitually snide with his dad, enough to make
one cringe. Stu's disobedience to his mother and mockery of his father
evoke recollection of Ham who did the same. If Ham somehow avoided
an eye-mauling by birds, Stu found his body mauled but good by: fighters
in the ring, vehicles on the road, and unaccustomed exertion on the court.
There's a parity of eye loss and servitude
given in (Exodus 21:26) “And if
a man smite the eye of his servant, or the eye of his maid, that it
perish; he shall let him go free for his eye's sake.” Ham and
his line—represented by Canaan in his lineage—could be
given servitude rather than mutilation. This would be in keeping with
the sentiment of Job in, (Job 31:7-8)
“If my step hath turned out of the way, and mine heart walked
after mine eyes, and if any blot hath cleaved to mine hands; Then
let me sow, and let another eat; yea, let my offspring be rooted
out.” In that woodcut-derived picture above we see Ham after
disregarding his mom's caution, checking up on his dad, getting carried
away by an eyeful of the dishabille inebriate, and gesturing with his hands
to his brothers. If he were to “sow, and another eat” and his
“offspring be rooted out,” that would mean becoming a
slave and his offspring being carried away in slavery. Okay.
The Bible's account leans towards the latter. (Gen. 9:24-27) “And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son [Ham] had done unto him. And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.” When Noah woke up, he blessed as a pair the lines of his two respectful sons and cursed Ham's line—pairing Ham with his youngest son Canaan as was Noah's wont to go by twos—giving them servitude to his other two sons'. (Jasher 73:35) “For the Lord our God gave Ham the son of Noah, and his children and all his seed, as slaves to the children of Shem and to the children of Japheth, and unto their seed after them for slaves, forever.”
Ham's youngest son Canaan is the particularly noted recipient of the punishment. Later when the Israelis invaded the promised land, the Canaanites were due for destruction, but the Gibeonite branch (the Hivites of Joshua 11:19 & Gen. 10:15-17) did a deal with Joshua who was the Jewish leader. They'd heard what happened to other Canaanite tribes, so they sent ambassadors dressed as if they'd come from a long journey (Joshua 9:3-6) and persuaded Joshua to make a league with this “distant” tribe. When it was discovered they'd tricked Joshua into sparing them, (Joshua 9:24-27) he made them bondmen, which was more to their liking. If this trick is indicative of the character of the original Canaan, he might well have been malingering to get out of his chores, which would also help explain Noah's hesitation to coddle him with wine. And when it came time to deal with the sin, it affected the whole line of Ham.
More germane to modern times is perhaps the lineage of Cush, Ham's oldest son (Gen. 10:6,) Cush meaning black in Hebrew, having settled in Africa, some of his to become in later years African-American slaves. Researcher Bodie Hodge confirms that, “As a general trend, Ham is the father of many peoples in Africa” (122). Dr. Ide adds, “Ham sired four sons: Cush (translates as ‘black’) … and Canaan the youngest” (62).
Christ
on the way to his crucifixion needed someone to help him carry
the cross, so (Matt. 27:32) “they
found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his
cross.” Cyrene a city of northern Africa (modern day Iran) was
where dwelt descendants of Ham, one of whom was compelled to involuntary
servitude by the Romans, descendants of Japheth, to bear the cross
of Christ a Semite descendant of Shem. In “Father Stu”
his fellow priest-in-training stumbles at his prison ministry delivery
and Stu helps him bear that cross.
Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) in his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” replying to eight Alabama clergymen, “paused … to answer criticism of my work and ideas … Since I feel that you are men of genuine goodwill and your criticisms are sincerely set forth.” MLK complains to them of “when your first name becomes ‘nigger’.” However, we read (Acts 13:1) “Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger.” Here Simeon a teacher/prophet was called Niger—meaning black in Latin—as if that were his first name. It was a term of respect. Later in his letter MLK lauds, “the tireless efforts and persistent work of men willing to be coworkers with God”—like prophets, teachers, etc. He ends his letter with an apology: “If I have said anything in this letter that is an overstatement of the truth and is indicative of an unreasonable impatience, I beg you to forgive me.” Stu for all his faults became a respected worker for The Lord elevating with him others of humble origins.
Production Values
“” (2022) was based on true events. It was directed by Mel Gibson's long term partner Rosalind Ross. It was written for the screen by Rosalind Ross. It stars Mark Wahlberg, Mel Gibson and Jacki Weaver. The cast was excellent. Noteworthy is Gibson as Stu's dissolute father. Wahlberg put on weight to portray the progress of Stu's disease. The dialogue seemed forced, which I attribute to punctilious regard for historical accuracy, but what do I know?
MPAA rated it R for language throughout. It had excellent direction and beautiful photography. Photos of the real Stu and his family are shown alternating with the first ending credits. The second post credit scene seems to illustrate, (Matt. 11:12) “the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.” It has a runtime of 2 hours 4 minutes.
Review Conclusion w/a Christian's Recommendation
“Father Stu” is another faith based movie, but this one with a philosophy geared towards Catholics & a racy dialogue suitable for sailors. Not everyone will be pleased with the balance it strikes, but kudos to the writer and actors for trying. For what it's worth, Mary was a humble apparition. I tend to find bio pics long and boring, but I've seen worse. You can probably guess if this one will be worth your while.
Movie Ratings
Action factor: Decent action scenes. Suitability For Children: Not Suitable for Children of Any Age. Special effects: Well done special effects. Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day. Suspense: A few suspenseful moments. Overall movie rating: Three and a half stars out of five.
Works Cited
Scripture quoted from the King James Version. Pub. 1611, rev. 1769, 1873. Print. Software.
The Book of Jasher. Translated from the Hebrew into English (1840). Photo lithographic reprint of exact edition published by J.H. Parry & Co., Salt Lake City: 1887. Muskogee, OK: Artisan Pub., 1988. Print, Web.
Bell, Ted. Patriot. Copyright © 2015 by Theodore A. Bell. New York: HarperCollins Publishers. Print.
Combs, Mark DeWayne. End the Beginning. USA: Splinter in the Mind's Eye Pub., 2014. Print.
Dooley, Tom. The True Story of Noah's Ark. Copyright © 2003 by Tom Dooley. Green Forest, AR: New Leaf Pub., 2016. Print.
Hodge, Bodie. Tower of Babel: The Cultural History of Our Ancestors. Green Forest, AR: New Leaf Pub., 2013. Print.
Ide, Arthur Frederick. Noah & the Ark: The Influence of Sex, Homophobia and Heterosexism in the Flood Story and its Writing. Las Colinas: Monument Press, 1992. Print.
King Jr., Martin Luther. Letter From Birmingham Jail. 1963. Print.
Seymour, Gerald. The Collaborator. Copyright © 2009 Gerald Seymour. New York: The Overlook Press, 2011. Print.
Stampp, Kenneth M., Professor of American History at the University
of California (Berkeley).
The Peculiar Institution: Slavery in the
Ante-Bellum South. Vintage Books, 1955. Print.
Taylor, Andrew. The Scent of Death. Copyright © Andrew Taylor 2013. London: HarperCollinsPublishers. Print.
bibles.n7nz.org