The Jesus Rolls
THE JESUS ROLLS - Screen Media Films
With zero involvement or any blessing from the Coen Brothers the long-anticipated unofficial Big Lebowski spin-off, The Jesus Rolls, arrives with a muted release in the form of an American adaption of Bertrand Blier's Les Valseuses.
Directing and starring is John Turturro whose seventy-six-minute hitch-hike ride of Jesus Quintana is an entertaining but disconnected and wasted feature. The most significant criticism afforded to Turturro's film is that it does not explore anything of merit. Granted The Big Lebowski is a film that narratively speaking does not travel anywhere, but it explores themes of greed, lust, politics and friendship with comedic bravado.
The Jesus Rolls is nothing of the above. Not even simplified, the viewer is left to watch multiple threesomes that lead to repetitive awkwardness and regurgitated scenes of moving from one setting to another that are rinsed and repeated until exhaustion. That is it! There is simply nothing else here that entertains or incites a captivating arc worth watching.
Meaningless characters travel in and out with notable actors condescend into flat roles such as John Hamm, Pete Davidson, and Susan Sarandon who is the only notable bloated cameo that has a character with not only a profound role but a compelling and tragic character. It is just a shame that the film does not begin and end with that subtleness and emotional nuance.
THE JESUS ROLLS - Screen Media Films
Audrey Tautou and Bobby Cannavale are deeply wasted as the supporting cast. Deeply wasted is, in fact, an undeniable understatement when the screenplay at its fingertips is given an opportunity to explore more significant themes of sexual identity, gender politics and reformation. Instead, the film only remotely flirts with the idea to do so and goes for the cheap comedic sensations rather than the more profound meaning.
That being said, the whole point of this film and its inception, is to explore John Turturro's titular character Jesus Quintana, and audiences are going to be greatly disappointed. There is nothing remotely interesting here, regarding Jesus Quintana, in ninety minutes that Joel and Ethan Coen did not accomplish in one-hundred and twenty seconds.
Turturro's comedic bravado carries the film along and on multiple occasion is hilarious, but once again it is surface-level impact that is dragged on in a film that has an edit that is a total disconnect to itself. It goes absolutely nowhere, and not even in an ironic farcical fashion but solely due to the film having no real direction. Defining this feature as a film that has no real reason to exist and therefore disappoints more so. The potential in this project was oozing with opportunity. Alas, it is clear that the Coen's can adapt almost anything put to paper, but almost anyone cannot quite adapt the Coen’s. Here’s to waiting for the Tom Hanks helmed unofficial Ladykillers sequel…
THE JESUS ROLLS is released 28th February and March 20th in the U.S. and U.K.
