John Turturro played Jesus in The Big Lebowski.
The Jesus Rolls
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| The Jesus Rolls | |
|---|---|
| Official poster | |
| Directed by | John Turturro |
| Screenplay by | John Turturro |
| Based on | Going Places by Bertrand Blier The Big Lebowski by Ethan Coen & Joel Coen |
| Produced by | Sidney Kimmel Robert Salerno Paul-Dominique Vacharasinthu John Penotti Fernando Sulichin |
| Starring | John TurturroBobby CannavaleAudrey TautouChristopher WalkenJon HammPete DavidsonSusan Sarandon |
| Cinematography | Frederick Elmes |
| Edited by | Simona Paggi |
| Music by | Émilie Simon |
| Production companies | Sidney Kimmel Entertainment New Element Tribus P Films[1] |
| Distributed by | Screen Media Films[2] |
| Release dates | October 16, 2019 (RFF)February 28, 2020 (United States) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $4.5 million[3] |
| Box office | $64,648[4] |
The Jesus Rolls is a 2020 American crime comedy film written by, directed by, and starring John Turturro. It doubles 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. Turturro reprises his Lebowski role of Jesus Quintana.
It was filmed in 2016 and premiered 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.
Contents
Plot[edit]
Jesus Quintana is released from prison, warned by the warden that one more “strike” will get him locked up permanently; the warden also thanks him for winning bowling tournaments for the prison. As he leaves prison, Quintana finds that friend Petey is waiting for him outside.
The duo go into town to look around, and, finding a classic muscle car, decide to steal it.
Quintana drives them to his mother’s house, where he discovers her having sex with a man, whom Quintana kicks out. He gives his mother some money, and they have dinner. Petey and Quintana then return the car to where it was parked, and the owner confronts them, pulling out a gun. (However, the owner’s girlfriend, Marie, recognizes Quintana.) Petey attempts to run away but is shot in the testicles, and Quintana beats up the owner. Petey, Quintana, and Marie take off in the car, then exchange it at a chop shop for another.
Quintana takes Petey to a doctor to get the bullet fragment extracted, and they learn it pierced only his scrotum. They decide to rob the doctor—while 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. The three then take off in the other car.
The trio stop at a store and buy some things[vague] before heading to a restaurant to eat, but Petey and Quintana flee, after seeing police nearby. They steal two bicycles, and are chased by farmers. Marie then leaves the restaurant, but is chased since she had not paid the bill. Petey and Quintana steal another car, driving to train tracks[vague] and boarding a train. As they get off the train, they watch a woman breast feed her infant at the train station.
Marie finds them there, and angrily confronts them for deserting her, before boarding a another train. They find a house to stay at, and Quintana washes Petey. Marie tells the two that Paul, the owner of the car, has sold it. Petey then has intercourse with Marie—while Quintana watches, cheering them on. She explains to them that she makes love indiscriminately, and has done so with thousands.
The next day, the three break into Paul’s beauty salon, stealing the money there. Marie suddenly loses control, and attacks the other two; they decide to tie her up, leaving her at the salon—and going bowling. At the bowling alley, Quintana dances with a woman, but she yells at him, and leaves.
They discover that Jean has a son, Jack, who is getting out of prison the next day; Petey and Quintana pick him up. The three of them go to a cabin in the woods where Marie is waiting, and they have breakfast together. Jack then engages in sex with Marie, while Quintana and Petey go fishing.
The group decide go to rob someone Jack knows.
 | This seems to imply, but does not say, they took their time deciding *which* friend to kill — or else that Jack concealed that it was a friend. Pray tell: which? may be confusing or unclear to readers. Please help clarify the seems to imply, but does not say, they took their time deciding *which* friend to kill — or else that Jack concealed that it was a friend. Pray tell: which?. There might be a discussion about this on the talk page. (March 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) |
Jack shoots the man, a corrections officer, who has nothing,[vague] and proceeds to stand around outside, while the other three take off; they steal another car and leave the city. At a gas station,[when?] Petey and Quintana read in a newspaper that they are wanted in the shooting of the officer; they steal a Smart car, and eventually[when?] pull over, for Marie to pee by a lake. At the side of the road, they find a muscle car belonging to some people who are on a boat at the lake. Quintana, Petey, and Marie steal the muscle, leaving the Smart[5] behind. Later, the car loses control as the foundation
| This Perhaps this is a translational false friend (linguistics), or a faux amie may be confusing or unclear to readers. Please help [[Wikipedia:Please clarify|clarify the Perhaps this is a translational false friend (linguistics), or a faux amie]]. There might be a discussion about this on the talk page. (March 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) |
comes loose. Despite Quintana’s attempts to stop it, the brakes jam, and they crash, after which they realize that this was earlier Paul’s but car, with a new paint- and body-job. (The story eventually reveals that the car had crashed because of the damage that had been inflicted upon it, earlier, at the chop shop.) With no options left—as the film ends—the trio start hitchhiking.
Cast[edit]
- John Turturro as Jesus Quintana
- Bobby Cannavale as Petey
- Audrey Tautou as Marie
- Pete Davidson as Jack Bersome
- Jon Hamm as Paul Dominique
- Susan Sarandon as Jean Bersome[6]
- Sônia Braga[7] as Mother
- Christopher Walken as the Warden
- J. B. Smoove as the Mechanic
- Tim Blake Nelson as Doctor
- Gloria Reuben as Lady Owner
- Michael Badalucco as 99 cent store Security Guard
- Nicolas Reyes and Tonino Baliardo as themselves
Production[edit]
The Coen brothers, who wrote, directed, and produced The Big Lebowski, stated on several occasions that they would never make a Lebowski sequel.[8] However, John Turturro expressed keen interest in reprising his role as Jesus at least since 2002.[9][10][11] Most of the development of the Jesus character came from Turturro as an actor, 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.[12]
In August 2016, it was announced that Turturro had been granted the right to use the character of Jesus by the Coens (who are not involved in the production), and had already started filming the spin-off, which he would write and direct. Filming locations included New York City and Los Angeles.[6] It was also announced the film would be a remake of the 1974 French film Going Places directed by Bertrand Blier, which was based on Blier’s own novel Les valseuses.[13][6] The working titles were 100 Minutes with Jesus and then Going Places.[1] The film was completed in 2017 and with its acquisition by Screen Media Films, the title was changed to The Jesus Rolls.[2]
The film was produced by Sidney Kimmel, John Penotti, Fernando Sulichin, Paul-Dominique Vacharsinthu, and Robert Salerno.[14]
Release[edit]
Its world premiere was at the Rome Film Festival on October 16, 2019.[15] It was theatrically released in Italy on October 17, 2019,[16][2] and in the United States on February 28, 2020, by Screen Media Films.[2][17]
Reception[edit]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 20%, based on 46 reviews, with an average rating of 4.1/10. 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.”[18] On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 44 out of 100, based on reviews from 13 critics, indicating “mixed or average reviews”.[19]
Deborah Young of The Hollywood Reporter wrote: “Though Turturro turned this small part into a memorable character for the Coens, Quintana is not so reliably funny here, especially headlining a whole film of very intermittent charm.”[20] Peter Debruge of Variety wrote: “In the end, the project doesn’t really work. The Coen brothers have a touch for the absurd, and a gift for dialogue, that’s lacking here, and without those two qualities, Jesus wears out his welcome relatively early in the journey.”[21]
