The Catechism Cataclysm

I just saw the movie at the SXSW film festival with my daughters. We loved it. Not only because it is delightfully weird but also because it's funny, very funny, even by "mumblecore" standards. (The director is a founding member of that movement. Google it if you've never heard of it.)

It's one of those daring little flicks that grabs religion by the balls and shakes it left and right until it pukes. And then there's the acting. Excellent, considering the uniqueness of the script and the irreverence of the subject matter. Father Billy will crack you up in just about every scene.

If you're into odd and peculiarly funny stuff, this movie is a must see. But if you're one of those folks who gets easily offended when artists mess around with religion or religious institutions, don't bother. This movie may kill you. Just consider this as a warning: The movie features a song called "God will f... you up". Now, that's irreverent. Keep an eye on this movie if it plays in a theater near you. I doubt it, but you'd never know. God works in mysterious ways. LBlancoNazoa

This film sat on my Netflix queue for a long time before I finally got around to watching it. Perhaps I should have waited longer. Then, perhaps, I would understand what it was all about. I know the film was supposed to be funny, but ultimately I think the joke was on me. In the film, an absurdly childish priest Father William, played by an unbelievably annoying Steve Little, is forced to take some time off by his superiors. He decides to contact his high school idol Robbie Shoemaker, played by Robert Longstreet, to take a little trip with him. Robbie agrees for no good reason. The two meander down a river on a raft purposelessly and seeming endlessly until you start praying for something, anything to happen. It does when two Japanese tourists and their black bodyguard show up. Sadly, what happens doesn't make any sense either. I have no idea what the filmmaker intended. Steve Little was simply too absurd for the film play as meaningful religious satire. I am giving the film three stars for the soundtrack. John R. Butler's sacrilegious ditty, Hand of the Almighty, is almost worth the price of admission.

I found this movie at my local library of all places. The cover caught my eye. I avoided it for awhile but eventually ran out of stuff to watch so I grabbed this. It's not the kind of movie that will have you laughing from start to finish but it has some good jokes and ideas in it. It's bizarre at times but I get it. It's kind of a stoner comedy. I'm surprised it's not more well known. In my eyes Stevie Little can do no wrong, so of course as soon as I saw he was in it, I had to watch it. He does his usual schtick. It's not amazing but worth a watch. The Japanese girls bit is really funny. It's not the kinda movie for everyone though.

I have it at 6/10.

I really wanted to laugh and I did at the first scene with the old lady with the gun and the narration by Father Billy telling a story to his parishioners. Unfortunately, it's all down hill from there.

The good father takes a vacation with a guy(Robbie) from his school days on a canoe down a river. Robbie had dated the priests sister many years earlier. While rafting they exchange stories which go nowhere and stop ashore to drink beer. Then two Asian women appear with a man they call Tom Sawyer and we quickly turn from comedy to science fiction. No need to give away the ending, suffice it to say that it is completely ridiculous. What could have been an interesting movie is just a waste of time.

It's sad when the most memorable part of a movie is the closing credits song (in this case, "God will F*** you Up", Hilarious) Steve Little is Not an actor, and his attempts in this movie are truly cringe-worthy. You start snickering not because he's funny, but because like a bad traffic accident, you can't look away. It's always a bad sign when you come across as potentially having Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, and his character manages it in this.

I caught this on Netflix, and that's the only reason I ever saw this train wreck of a movie, and trust me, you will not want to waste your time on it.