The Good Catholic (Paul Shouberg, 2016) : USA

Reviewed by Martha Castaneda at Santa Barbara Film Festival 2017

I was raised a Catholic. I am almost three quarters of a century old and I have yet to meet a good catholic, myself included! So what is a good Catholic? This film explored this question in a entertaining and comical fashion. I truly enjoyed it. The main actor (Zachary Spicer) played his role to perfection. He was convinced that he was born to be priest and spread the word of god. He was convincing as he continually preached the good book to his audience.  He felt satisfied and enjoyed his life as a priest, that is until the inevitable happened. He was losing his faith, in more ways than one. He sought help from his peers , still he was not convinced or satisfied with their answers. The small town church in middle America in which he practiced fundamentally stayed the same but was drastically changing in his eyes. He was becoming indifferent. The world that he loved was falling apart.

The culprit was a lovely and energetic female (Wrenn Schmidt). She became his reason for living. Love conquers ALL! We are all humans that have our weaknesses and strengths. I found “The Good Catholic” so enjoyable because I was able to empathize and relate with the film. Finding happiness is the key to a positive and productive life. I think he found happiness.

There have been numerous films on this subject but “The Good Catholic” was done with finesse and good taste. Paul Shoulberg It is a great and humorous story, excellent acting and photography made it a must see film in my opinion.

I was once told that there are two subjects that are most successful if you want to produce a successful film. They are of course both engaging and relatable, sex and religion. Paul Shoulberg most definitely proves this.