A movie that's recently become a big hit on Netflix UK is Father Stu, which stars Mark Wahlberg as well as Mel Gibson, Jacki Weaver and Malcolm McDowell, and people are wondering whether it's true or not.
Father Stu tells the story of a washed-up man who was an amateur boxer, an aspiring actor and a grocery store worker, and life hasn't been going his way. That's until a motorcycle accident gives him a near-death experience which pushes him towards the church, and he eventually becomes one of most unlikely members of the priesthood.
As many people have guessed, Father Stu actually is based on a true story. The real figure Wahlberg plays was called Stuart Long, and the movie does a fairly good job at adapting his true life to the screen.
However Father Stu does change a few things, so here's what's true and what's not about the movie. Spoilers ensue.
Was Stu really a boxer?
When Father Stu begins, the main character has been trying his hand (if you'll pardon the pun) as an amateur boxer.
In real life, Stuart Long really was an amateur boxer. He began doing so in college and was a champion boxer, representing his home state of Montana in the Golden Gloves championship in 1985. This all ended when he broke his jaw in a fight.
Was Stu really estranged from his family?
One big issue for Stu in Father Stu is that he has a hostile relationship towards his family, due to their unhappiness towards faith because of the death of Stu's brother.
In real life, by all accounts, Stuart Long was actually close with his family, so this element seems added in to create a more dramatic movie. Long did really lose a brother though, to meningococcus when he was young.
Was Stu really an actor?
The movie Father Stu really begins its drama when Stu moves to California to break into the acting business. To support himself, he works in a grocery store.
In real life, Stu did in fact move to Los Angeles in order to become a big-name actor. He was partly successful, acting in a few projects as an extra or in commercials, but never as a star.
Father Stu is different from real life in a few ways. Firstly, Stuart Long supported himself with side jobs like a bartender or bouncer, not as a grocery store worker. By the time of his bike accident, he was a manager at an art museum. Secondly, and perhaps most importantly, Stu was 24 when he moved to LA, while Wahlberg, who plays him, is in his 50s.
Did Stu really have an illness?
Father Stu's story ends when the man dies, age 50, of the illness that's been afflicting him for some time: inclusion body myositis.
This is how the real-life Stuart Long passed away too, in 2014 in his hometown of Helena, Montana. As in the movie, he'd struggled with the degenerative disorder for some time, with friends helping him to continue his religious responsibilities despite his condition.
