The Jesus Rolls

The Jesus Rolls is a 2019 American crime comedy film written by, directed by and starring John Turturro, to double as a remake of the 1974 French film Going Places by Bertrand Blier, and as a spin-off to the 1998 cult film The Big Lebowski by the Coen brothers, in which Turturro reprises his role as Jesus Quintana.

The Jesus Rolls
Official poster
Directed byJohn Turturro
Produced bySidney Kimmel
Robert Salerno
Paul-Dominique Vacharasinthu
John Penotti
Fernando Sulichin
Screenplay byJohn Turturro
Based onGoing Places
by Bertrand Blier
The Big Lebowski
by Ethan Coen & Joel Coen
Starring
Music byÉmilie Simon
CinematographyFrederick Elmes
Edited bySimona Paggi
Production
companies
Sidney Kimmel Entertainment
New Element
Tribus P Films[1]
Distributed byScreen Media Films[2]
Release date
  • October 16, 2019 (2019-10-16) (RFF)
  • February 28, 2020 (2020-02-28) (United States)
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$4.5 million[3]
Box office$64,648[4]

Filmed in 2016, the film had its world premiere at the Rome Film Festival on October 16, 2019. It was released on February 28, 2020, by Screen Media Films. It was a box office bomb and received generally negative reviews from critics.

Plot

Jesus Quintana is released from prison. But first he is warned by the warden that one more strike will get him locked up for good. The warden also thanks him for winning bowling tournaments for the prison. His friend, Petey is waiting for him outside.

They go into town and look around. They find a classic muscle car and steal it. Quintana drives them to his mother's house. His mom is having sex with a man who Quintana kicks out. He gives her some money and they have dinner. Petey and Quintana return the car to where it was parked and the owner confronts them. He pulls a gun on them. His girlfriend, Marie recognizes Quintana. Petey runs away. The owner shoots Petey in the testicles and Quintana beats the owner up. Petey, Quintana, and Marie take off in the car. They exchange cars at a chop shop.

Quintana takes Petey to a doctor to get the bullet fragment extracted and learns it only pierced the scrotum. They rob the doctor. Marie stays behind and cuts the chop shop mechanic's hair. Petey and Quintana return and have the mechanic damage the muscle car's brakes and structural integrity. Petey, Quintana, and Marie take off in the other car.

They go to a store and buy some stuff and then go to a restaurant to eat. Petey and Quintana take off after seeing cops. They steal two bicycles and are chased by farmers. Marie leaves the restaurant and is chased for not paying the bill. Petey and Quintana steal another car, drive to train tracks, hop out, and board a train. They get off the train and watch a woman breast feed her infant in a train station.

Marie finds them there and angrily confronts them for deserting her. The three board another train. They find a house to stay at. Quintana washes Petey. Marie tells them that the owner of the car, Paul has sold it. Petey has sex with Marie while Quintana watches and cheers them on. Marie explains to them that she makes loves with everyone and has had sex with thousands.

They break into Paul's beauty salon and steal the money. Marie freaks out and attacks the other two. They tie her up and leave her at the salon. The two of them go bowling. Quintana dances with a woman at the bowling alley. She yells at him and leaves.

The two of them go to a woman's prison and pick up a recently released inmate, Jean. They take her to a store and she buys clothes. They go eat at a restaurant on the beach where Jean talks to the owner about her menstrual cycle. Then they head to a motel and Petey and Quintana have sex with Jean who then shoots and kills herself. The two of them flee and go to back to the house they were at earlier where Marie is waiting.

They discover that Jean has a son, Jack who is getting out of prison the next day. Petey and Quintana pick Jack up. The three of them go to a cabin in the woods where Marie is waiting and have breakfast. Jack has sex with Marie and Quintana and Petey go fishing.

The four of them go to rob someone Jack knows. Jack shoots the man, a corrections officer, who has nothing, and just continues to stand around outside while the other three take off. They steal another car and leave the city. At a gas station, Petey and Quintana read, in a newspaper, that they're wanted in the shooting of the officer. They steal a smart car and eventually pull over for Marie to pee by a lake. At the side of the road is a muscle car that belongs to people who are on a boat on the lake. Quintana, Petey, and Marie steal the muscle car and leave the smart car behind. Later the car loses control as the foundation comes loose. The brakes are jammed and they crash, after which they realize it was Paul's car from earlier with a new paint and body job. It crashed because of the damage that was inflicted on it by them at the chop shop. They start to hitchhike.

Cast

Production

The Coen brothers, who wrote, directed, and produced The Big Lebowski, stated on several occasions that they would never make a Lebowski sequel.[7] However, John Turturro expressed keen interest in reprising his role as Jesus at least since 2002.[8][9][10] Despite not being one of the film's writers, most of Jesus' character came from Turturro's own ideas, which led the Coens to give him a bigger place in the film. In 2014, Turturro announced that he had requested permission from the Coens to use the character.[11]

In August 2016, it was announced that Turturro, after being granted the right to use the character of Jesus by the Coens (who are not involved in the production), had already started filming the spin-off, which he would also write and direct. Filming locations included New York City and Los Angeles.[5] It was also announced the film would be a remake of the 1974 French film Going Places directed by Bertrand Blier, which was itself based on his own novel Les valseuses.[12][5] The film was originally supposed to be titled 100 Minutes with Jesus before being re-titled Going Places.[1] With its acquisition by Screen Media Films, the film's title was changed again to The Jesus Rolls.[2]

The film was produced by Sidney Kimmel, John Penotti, Fernando Sulichin, Paul-Dominique Vacharsinthu and Robert Salerno.[13]

Release

It had its world premiere at the Rome Film Festival on October 16, 2019.[14] The film was theatrically released in Italy on October 17, 2019,[15][2] and in the United States on February 28, 2020 by Screen Media Films.[2][16]

Reception

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 21%, based on 43 reviews, with an average rating of 4.28/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "The Jesus Rolls limply into the gutter in its misguided attempt to belatedly explore the saga of a supporting character better left on the margins."[17] Metacritic calculated a weighted average score of 44 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[18]

References

  1. Winfrey, Graham (August 22, 2016). "'Big Lebowski' Spinoff 'Going Places': First Photo of John Turturro as Jesus Revealed". IndieWire. Archived from the original on August 25, 2016. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  2. Hipes, Patrick (March 13, 2020). "The Jesus Rolls". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on July 8, 2019. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
  3. "FILM TAX CREDIT – Quarterly Report - Calendar Year 2018: First Quarter" (PDF). New York State: 7. March 31, 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 18, 2018. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  4. "Come and See (1985)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on July 16, 2020. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
  5. Schmitz, Greg (August 19, 2016). "Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly Reunite to Play Holmes and Watson, plus More Movie News". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  6. Gettell, Oliver (August 18, 2016). "John Turturro's sex farce Going Places gets rolling in New York". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on August 25, 2016. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  7. Setoodeh, Ramin (February 3, 2016). "The Coen Brothers Will Never Make a Sequel to 'The Big Lebowski'". Variety. Archived from the original on September 5, 2016. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  8. "The Greatest Film of All Time' 'Nobody Fs With Da Jesus!' The Feature!!!". Ain't It Cool News. November 11, 2002. Archived from the original on October 13, 2019. Retrieved October 12, 2019.
  9. O'Connell, Sean (June 29, 2011). "John Turturro Says He'd Love To Do A Big Lebowski Spin-Off With Jesus Quintana". Cinema Blend. Archived from the original on October 3, 2016. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  10. O'Neal, Sean (June 28, 2011). "Random Roles: John Turturro". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  11. Lyman, Eric J. (June 22, 2014). "Taormina Fest Honors John Turturro, Fox's Jim Gianopulos on Final Day". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on August 25, 2016. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  12. McNary, Dave (August 18, 2016). "John Turturro in Production on 'Big Lebowski' Spinoff 'Going Places'". Variety. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  13. Macnab, Geoffrey. "Blue Finch buys 'Big Lebowski' spin-off 'The Jesus Rolls' for the UK (exclusive)". ScreenDaily. Archived from the original on November 12, 2019. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  14. Anderson, Ariston (October 4, 2019). "Rome Film Fest to Premiere John Turturro's Big Lebowski Spinoff 'The Jesus Rolls'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 6, 2019. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  15. "The Jesus Rolls: Svelata La Data D'Uscita Italiana del Sequal de il Grande Lebowski". Paramount Network (in Italian). September 11, 2019. Archived from the original on September 29, 2019. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  16. "The Jesus Rolls". IFC Center. Archived from the original on January 15, 2020. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
  17. "The Jesus Rolls (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Archived from the original on 13 August 2020. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  18. "The Jesus Rolls". Metacritic. CBS. Archived from the original on 5 September 2020. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
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