NathanielLee is a writer for The Hollywood Insider who focuses on writing feature and review articles. He is an aspiring filmmaker who specializes in the horror and surrealist genres as well as indie filmmaking. Nathaniel believes that film is a powerful tool that can be used to stir up and bring valuable change to the world through messages and internal meanings. He also believes in the mantra of the smaller the better and sincerely believes that entertainment with meager budgets has the power to alter society altogether. As a result, his views align with The Hollywood Insider’s mission statements concerning anti-gossip and positive journalism with a focus on improving the world through uplifting others instead of tearing them down. Nathaniel is currently applying to universities where he looks to study film.
Sep 15, 2022
Table of Contents
Photo: ‘Honk for Jesus, Save Your Soul’
‘Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.’ is a new film by the Ebo twins, specifically Adamma Ebo and Adanne Ebo. The film was written by both twins but was directed by Adamma Ebo. The film is also a full-length version of a short film with the same name that the Ebo twins made earlier in their careers. The film follows pastor Lee-Curtis Childs and Trinitie Childs during the aftermath of a massive scandal. This massive scandal caused the megachurch that Lee-Curtis preached at to close down. However, the film takes place months after that when the Childs’ are attempting to reopen their church and gain back their old congregation.
‘Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.’ is filmed in a mockumentary style: think things like ‘The Office,’ with some regular invisible camerawork worked in. This is quite a refreshing look and something that I quite enjoyed while watching the film. It adds a layer of originality to the work that is not seen in many films today.
This film is one which is billed as a dark comedy, and while I believe that this genre for the most part fits the film as a whole, I also believe that this film fits into the tragedy genre of filmmaking. This film looks at and examines televangelists in the church structure and how they take advantage of their congregations to get themselves fancy cars and other expensive items. This is a tragedy due to the number of people who are being taken advantage of and how much money is being wasted on these men and women who do not deserve it. Lee-Curtis Childs is a prime example of a pastor who fits into this televangelist archetype. This film and the character of Lee-Curtis Childs show the tragedy that is this end of the Christian church, namely, the pastors and other church leaders who take advantage of their good congregations.
‘Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.’ is also an example of a tragedy in terms of the marriage between Lee-Curtis and Trinitie Childs. Again and again, Trinitie Childs and her devotion to Lee-Curtis, even in the light of the scandal, are taken advantage of by Lee-Curtis. Her trust and love are abused and misconstrued constantly by Lee-Childs. This again proves that ‘Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.’ is more than just a dark comedy. In fact, it is much more. On top of being a dark comedy, it is also a very dark tragedy where we see the failings of marriage and the Christian church.
Other pros of ‘Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.’
One aspect of ‘Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.’ that cannot be understated is the film’s comedy. At times the film is absolutely hilarious. There were many times when the auditorium I was in simply exploded with laughter at some of the scenes in this film. Whether it is Lee-Curtis and Trinitie Childs singing along to explicit rap music in their car or something else, there are many times in this film where the comedy took over and was a huge hit.
Another aspect of ‘Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.’ that I enjoyed was the acting as a whole. Sterling K. Brown and Regina Hall are very committed to their performances and they most definitely deliver in this new film from the Ebo twins. Their characters are dynamic and each has their own personas and personalities that are very distinct from anything that the two have done before. Their performances are most definitely a stand-out piece of this film and I would not be surprised to see either Sterling K. Brown or Regina Hall’s names come up during awards season. This is quite simply how good these performances are. While watching the film I felt as if I was watching a real documentary. That is something which is very special and is a huge achievement for the Ebo twins, to who I give a lot of credit for the quality of the film which they managed to make.
The negatives of ‘Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.’
The only negative that I can think of for ‘Honk for Jesus’ was the inclusion of some invisible camerawork in the film to capture moments that the documentary crew would have been unable to capture. An example of this would be a shot inside of the Childs’ bedroom. You could tell when the shift would occur from strict mockumentary filmmaking to more traditional invisible camerawork because of a change in the film’s aspect ratio. I felt that the film would have been better if it stuck entirely with the mockumentary style as this would have given the film consistency throughout its short runtime. But this overall is a very minor complaint and I could also see how this choice by the Ebo’s could be a positive one.
Overall I very much enjoyed ‘Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.’ I felt as if the film did a great job balancing comedy with some very dark themes and was even a well-written tragedy on multiple fronts. Speaking of writing, credit has to be given to the Ebo twins who did a fantastic job with this film. I cannot wait to see what they make next. This film was no doubt carried by its writing and performances but that by no means means that other aspects of the film were not close to being just as strong. The comedy delivers at most points and the darker themes in the film really hit hard as the audience is forced to bear witness to the destruction of this marriage and this church. Overall, I would very much recommend that you check out ‘Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.’ It is a great dark comedy and tragedy and most definitely a highlight of the 2022 film season.
Make sure to check out ‘Clerks III,’ a new comedy film coming out in theaters soon.
Cast: Sterling K. Brown and Regina Hall
Director: Adamma Ebo
Writers: Adamma Ebo and Adanne Ebo
Producers: Sterling K. Brown, Regina Hall, and Adamma Ebo
By Nathaniel Lee
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NathanielLee is a writer for The Hollywood Insider who focuses on writing feature and review articles. He is an aspiring filmmaker who specializes in the horror and surrealist genres as well as indie filmmaking. Nathaniel believes that film is a powerful tool that can be used to stir up and bring valuable change to the world through messages and internal meanings. He also believes in the mantra of the smaller the better and sincerely believes that entertainment with meager budgets has the power to alter society altogether. As a result, his views align with The Hollywood Insider’s mission statements concerning anti-gossip and positive journalism with a focus on improving the world through uplifting others instead of tearing them down. Nathaniel is currently applying to universities where he looks to study film.
NathanielLee is a writer for The Hollywood Insider who focuses on writing feature and review articles. He is an aspiring filmmaker who specializes in the horror and surrealist genres as well as indie filmmaking. Nathaniel believes that film is a powerful tool that can be used to stir up and bring valuable change to the world through messages and internal meanings. He also believes in the mantra of the smaller the better and sincerely believes that entertainment with meager budgets has the power to alter society altogether. As a result, his views align with The Hollywood Insider’s mission statements concerning anti-gossip and positive journalism with a focus on improving the world through uplifting others instead of tearing them down. Nathaniel is currently applying to universities where he looks to study film.
NathanielLee is a writer for The Hollywood Insider who focuses on writing feature and review articles. He is an aspiring filmmaker who specializes in the horror and surrealist genres as well as indie filmmaking. Nathaniel believes that film is a powerful tool that can be used to stir up and bring valuable change to the world through messages and internal meanings. He also believes in the mantra of the smaller the better and sincerely believes that entertainment with meager budgets has the power to alter society altogether. As a result, his views align with The Hollywood Insider’s mission statements concerning anti-gossip and positive journalism with a focus on improving the world through uplifting others instead of tearing them down. Nathaniel is currently applying to universities where he looks to study film.
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