Mr. Church
2016, Drama, 1h 44m
33 Reviews 2,500+ RatingsYou might also like

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Movie Info
When a young girl and her dying mother are joined by a black male cook who comes to live with them, little do they know that their lives are about to change forever.
Cast & Crew
Eddie Murphy
Henry Joseph Church
Henry Joseph Church
Britt Robertson
Charlotte "Charlie" Brody
Charlotte "Charlie" Brody
Xavier Samuel
Owen
Owen
Natascha McElhone
Marie Brody
Marie Brody
Lucy Fry
Poppy
Poppy
Christian Madsen
Larson
Larson
Critic Reviews for Mr. Church
Audience Reviews for Mr. Church
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Oct 22, 2016This is a rare film in the sense that it is probably one of Eddie Murphy's best performances in a very, very long time. That says something. The story was enjoyable, heartfelt and heartwarming and I really enjoyed it.Ian W Super Reviewer
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Oct 05, 2016While Mr. Church might have initially been looked at as something of a return to quality movie-making for star Eddie Murphy it is more a return to the realm of inoffensive movie making than anything else. Mr. Church is certainly no Pluto Nash or Norbit...hell, it's not even Meet Dave (which I admittedly never finished), but it isn't the high-reaching piece of transcendent cinema that encapsulates all the major themes of one's life that illustrates mistakes made and identities redeemed that it seemed to want so badly to be in its trailers either. Rather, Mr. Church is a pleasant enough distraction about a kind-hearted man that is largely elevated by the credible performances of its two leads. Both Murphy and Britt Robertson (Tomorrowland) deliver the necessary sympathies to draw on audience emotions that keep us invested in the sometimes tedious story that strings us along for decades with large stretches where little to nothing happens or is revealed. Fortunately, it isn't really the narrative that is meant to drive Mr. Church though, but rather the core relationship that forms between Murphy's titular character and Robertson's Charlotte Brody which remains the reason we become and stay as invested as we do throughout the sometimes tepid 100-minute runtime. The film, which comes from TV writing veteran Susan McMartin in her first feature film credit, feels rather episodic as a result with director Bruce Beresford (Driving Miss Daisy, Double Jeopardy) doing little to add any filmmaking flairs as, at the age of seventy-six, seems to be on auto pilot. In that way, Mr. Church is very much a competently made and sometimes even emotionally affecting film, but most of the time it feels like a Hallmark movie that is emotionally manipulative for reasons of knowing it has little else to offer by way of connecting with its audience. It is a holiday Hallmark film that escaped the clutches of such a fate by appealing to talent such as Mr. Murphy by being a project not typically offered to the comedian and thus an opportunity after an intentional hiatus to do something different. Murphy, while doing his best to salvage this sappy if not occasionally comforting piece of melodrama can't rescue the project from total mediocrity, but he puts forth a valiant effort and that is duly noted. read the whole review at www.reviewsfromabed.comPhilip P Super Reviewer
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