The Jesus Rolls

{{Infobox film

| name = The Jesus Rolls

| image = The Jesus Rolls poster.jpg

| caption = Official poster

| alt = A purple bowling ball, wearing a hairnet

| director = John Turturro

| producer = Sidney Kimmel
Robert Salerno
Paul-Dominique Vacharasinthu
John Penotti
Fernando Sulichin

| screenplay = John Turturro

| based_on = {{Based on|Going Places|Bertrand Blier}}
{{Based on|The Big Lebowski|Ethan Coen & Joel Coen}}

| starring = {{plainlist|

}}

| music = Émilie Simon

| cinematography = Frederick Elmes

| editing = Simona Paggi

| production_companies= Sidney Kimmel Entertainment
New Element
Tribus P Films{{cite web|last=Winfrey|first=Graham|date=August 22, 2016|title='Big Lebowski' Spinoff 'Going Places': First Photo of John Turturro as Jesus Revealed|website=IndieWire|url=http://www.indiewire.com/2016/08/big-lebowski-spinoff-going-places-photo-john-turturro-jesus-quintana-1201719006/|access-date=August 29, 2016|archive-date=August 25, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160825053546/http://www.indiewire.com/2016/08/big-lebowski-spinoff-going-places-photo-john-turturro-jesus-quintana-1201719006/|url-status=live}}

| distributor = Screen Media Films

| released = {{Film date|2019|10|16|RFF|2020|2|28|United States}}

| runtime = 85 minutes

| country = United States

| language = English

| budget = $4.5 million{{cite journal|url=https://esd.ny.gov/sites/default/files/FTC-Q1-2018-Report.pdf|title=FILM TAX CREDIT – Quarterly Report - Calendar Year 2018: First Quarter|website=New York State|page=7|date=March 31, 2018|access-date=July 8, 2020|archive-date=September 18, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180918075117/https://esd.ny.gov/sites/default/files/FTC-Q1-2018-Report.pdf|url-status=live}}

| gross = $64,648{{Cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl1153073665/weekly/|title=Come and See (1985)|website=Box Office Mojo|access-date=March 6, 2020|archive-date=July 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200716103532/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl1153073665/weekly/|url-status=live}}

}}

The Jesus Rolls is a 2019 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 sequel 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.

Plot

As Jesus Quintana is released from prison and is reminded by the warden that one more strike will get him locked up for good, he is also thanked for winning a bowling tournament for the prison.

Jesus's friend Petey picks him up and they go into town. Finding a classic muscle car, they steal it and drive to his mother's. She is having sex with a man who Quintana kicks out. He gives her some money and they have dinner. When Petey and Quintana return the car to where it was parked, the owner confronts them with a gun. His girlfriend Marie recognizes Quintana. As Petey runs away, the owner shoots him in the testicles, so Quintana beats him up.

Petey, Quintana, and Marie take off in the car and exchange it at a chop shop. Quintana takes Petey to a doctor to get the bullet fragment extracted. After they learn it only pierced the scrotum, they rob him. Marie stays behind and cuts the chop shop mechanic's hair. Petey and Quintana return and have him damage the muscle car's brakes and structural integrity. The trio then take off in the other car.

Stopping at a restaurant, Petey and Quintana take off upon seeing cops. They steal two bicycles and are chased by farmers. Marie leaves the restaurant and is chased for pulling a runner. Petey and Quintana steal another car, drive to train tracks and board a train. Getting off, they watch a woman breast feed her infant in a train station. Marie finds them there and angrily confronts them for deserting her, then the trio board another one.

They find a house where Quintana washes Petey's wound. Marie tells them that the owner of the car, Paul has sold it. Petey has sex with Marie while Quintana watches, cheering them on. Marie explains that she has had sex with thousands of people. When they break into Paul's beauty salon and steal the money, Marie freaks out and attacks them. They tie her up and leave her there. The pair go bowling, where Quintana dances with a woman, who yells at him and leaves.

The pair pick up recently released inmate Jean from a woman's prison, and they take her to buy clothes. At a restaurant on the beach, 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 pair flee and go back to the house from earlier, where Marie is waiting.

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

The four of them go to rob a corrections officer Jack knows, who he shoots and has nothing, and then hovers outside while the other three flee. They steal another car and leave the city. At a gas station, Petey and Quintana read in a newspaper, that they are 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 boating there.

Quintana, Petey, and Marie steal the car, leaving the smart car behind. Later, it loses control as the foundation comes loose, the brakes jam and they crash. After which they realize it was Paul's car from earlier with a new paint and body job. It crashed due to the damage that was inflicted on it in the chop shop. So, they start to hitchhike.

Cast

{{castlist|

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{{cite web|last=Schmitz|first=Greg|date=August 19, 2016|title=Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly Reunite to Play Holmes and Watson, plus More Movie News|website=Rotten Tomatoes|url=https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/will-ferrell-and-john-c-reilly-reunite-to-play-holmes-and-watson-plus-more-movie-news/|access-date=August 29, 2016|archive-date=August 21, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160821173318/https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/will-ferrell-and-john-c-reilly-reunite-to-play-holmes-and-watson-plus-more-movie-news/|url-status=live}}
Sônia Braga{{cite magazine|last=Gettell|first=Oliver|date=August 18, 2016|title=John Turturro's sex farce Going Places gets rolling in New York|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|url=http://www.ew.com/article/2016/08/18/john-turturro-going-places-big-lebowski-spinoff|access-date=August 29, 2016|archive-date=August 25, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160825055206/http://www.ew.com/article/2016/08/18/john-turturro-going-places-big-lebowski-spinoff|url-status=live}} 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

The Coen brothers, who wrote, directed, and produced The Big Lebowski, stated on several occasions that they would never make a Lebowski sequel.{{cite web|last=Setoodeh|first=Ramin|date=February 3, 2016|title=The Coen Brothers Will Never Make a Sequel to 'The Big Lebowski'|work=Variety|url=https://variety.com/2016/film/news/big-lebowski-sequel-coen-brothers-1201694771/|access-date=August 20, 2016|archive-date=September 5, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160905105740/http://variety.com/2016/film/news/big-lebowski-sequel-coen-brothers-1201694771/|url-status=live}} However, John Turturro expressed keen interest in reprising his role as Jesus at least since 2002.{{cite web|title=The Greatest Film of All Time' 'Nobody Fs With Da Jesus!' The Feature!!!|date=November 11, 2002|work=Ain't It Cool News|url=http://legacy.aintitcool.com/node/13781|access-date=October 12, 2019|archive-date=October 13, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191013003743/http://legacy.aintitcool.com/node/13781|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last=O'Connell|first=Sean|title=John Turturro Says He'd Love To Do A Big Lebowski Spin-Off With Jesus Quintana|work=Cinema Blend|url=http://www.cinemablend.com/new/John-Turturro-Says-He-Love-Do-Big-Lebowski-Spin-Off-With-Jesus-Quintana-25463.html|date=June 29, 2011|access-date=August 29, 2016|archive-date=October 3, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161003142325/http://www.cinemablend.com/new/John-Turturro-Says-He-Love-Do-Big-Lebowski-Spin-Off-With-Jesus-Quintana-25463.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last=O'Neal|first=Sean|date=June 28, 2011|title=Random Roles: John Turturro|work=The A.V. Club|url=http://www.avclub.com/article/john-turturro-58178|access-date=August 20, 2016|archive-date=August 17, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817074356/http://www.avclub.com/article/john-turturro-58178|url-status=live}} 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.{{cite web|last=Lyman|first=Eric J.|date=June 22, 2014|title=Taormina Fest Honors John Turturro, Fox's Jim Gianopulos on Final Day|work=The Hollywood Reporter|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/taormina-fest-honors-john-turturro-713898|access-date=August 29, 2016|archive-date=August 25, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160825061627/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/taormina-fest-honors-john-turturro-713898|url-status=live}}

In August 2016, it was announced that Turturro had been granted the right to use the character of Jesus by the Coens (who were not involved in the production), and had already started filming the spin-off, which he wrote and directed. Filming locations included New York City and Los Angeles. The film was a remake of the 1974 French film Going Places directed by Bertrand Blier, which was based on Blier's own novel Going Places.{{cite web|last=McNary|first=Dave|date=August 18, 2016|title=John Turturro in Production on 'Big Lebowski' Spinoff 'Going Places'|work=Variety|url=https://variety.com/2016/film/news/big-lebowski-spinoff-john-turturro-going-places-1201840371/|access-date=December 11, 2017|archive-date=August 21, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160821055149/http://variety.com/2016/film/news/big-lebowski-spinoff-john-turturro-going-places-1201840371/|url-status=live}} The working titles were 100 Minutes with Jesus and then Going Places. The film was completed in 2017 and with its acquisition by Screen Media Films, the title was changed to The Jesus Rolls.

The film was produced by Sidney Kimmel, John Penotti, Fernando Sulichin, Paul-Dominique Vacharsinthu, and Robert Salerno.{{Cite web|title=Blue Finch buys 'Big Lebowski' spin-off 'The Jesus Rolls' for the UK (exclusive)|url=https://www.screendaily.com/news/blue-finch-buys-big-lebowski-spin-off-the-jesus-rolls-for-the-uk-exclusive/5144482.article|last=Macnab|first=Geoffrey|work=ScreenDaily|access-date=May 28, 2020|archive-date=November 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191112185847/https://www.screendaily.com/news/blue-finch-buys-big-lebowski-spin-off-the-jesus-rolls-for-the-uk-exclusive/5144482.article|url-status=live}}

Release

Its world premiere was at the Rome Film Festival on October 16, 2019.{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/rome-film-fest-premiere-john-turturros-big-lebowski-spinoff-jesus-rolls-1245490|title=Rome Film Fest to Premiere John Turturro's Big Lebowski Spinoff 'The Jesus Rolls'|website=The Hollywood Reporter|first=Ariston|last=Anderson|date=October 4, 2019|access-date=October 4, 2019|archive-date=October 6, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191006043056/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/rome-film-fest-premiere-john-turturros-big-lebowski-spinoff-jesus-rolls-1245490|url-status=live}} It was theatrically released in Italy on October 17, 2019,{{cite web|date=September 11, 2019|language=it|title=The Jesus Rolls: Svelata La Data D'Uscita Italiana del Sequal de il Grande Lebowski|work=Paramount Network|url=https://www.paramountnetwork.it/news/i05m4v/the-jesus-rolls-svelata-la-data-d-uscita-italiana-del-sequel-de-il-grande-lebowski|access-date=September 29, 2019|archive-date=September 29, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190929213334/https://www.paramountnetwork.it/news/i05m4v/the-jesus-rolls-svelata-la-data-d-uscita-italiana-del-sequel-de-il-grande-lebowski|url-status=live}} and in the United States on February 28, 2020, by Screen Media Films.{{cite web|last=Hipes|first=Patrick|title=The Jesus Rolls|url=https://deadline.com/2019/07/the-jesus-rolls-john-tururro-jesus-quintana-movie-release-date-screen-media-1202643024/|access-date=March 13, 2020|work=Deadline Hollywood|date=March 13, 2020|archive-date=July 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190708180845/https://deadline.com/2019/07/the-jesus-rolls-john-tururro-jesus-quintana-movie-release-date-screen-media-1202643024/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.ifccenter.com/films/the-jesus-rolls/|title=The Jesus Rolls|website=IFC Center|access-date=January 15, 2020|archive-date=January 15, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200115135417/http://www.ifccenter.com/films/the-jesus-rolls/|url-status=live}}

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of {{RT data|score}}, based on {{RT data|count}} reviews, with an average rating of {{RT data|average}}. 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."{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_jesus_rolls|title=The Jesus Rolls (2019)|website=Rotten Tomatoes|publisher=Fandango|access-date={{RT data|access date|df=dmy}}|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200813045734/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_jesus_rolls|archive-date=13 August 2020|url-status=live}} On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 44 out of 100, based on reviews from 14 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".{{cite web |title=The Jesus Rolls |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-jesus-rolls |website=Metacritic |publisher=CBS |access-date=1 September 2021 |archive-date=5 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200905044236/https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-jesus-rolls |url-status=live }}

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."{{cite web |date=17 October 2019 |last1=Young |first1=Deborah |title='The Jesus Rolls': Film Review {{!}} Rome 2019 |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/jesus-rolls-review-1247267/ |website=The Hollywood Reporter }}

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."{{cite web |date=17 October 2019 |last1=Debruge |first1=Peter |title=Rome Film Review: 'The Jesus Rolls' |url=https://variety.com/2019/film/reviews/the-jesus-rolls-review-john-turturro-1203373875/ |website=Variety }}