Review: "St. Roz" - DVD

Film And DVD Reviews by Phil Boatwright

FILM SYNOPSIS: St. Roz is a statue with miraculous weight-loss powers delivered unexpectedly to a poor parish church. Local women discover if you light a candle to this patron Saint of weight loss, you lose a pound. Judy, the overweight daughter of the weight-loss queen Minnie Barr, discovers with delight the statue's powers. The pounds shed off her. As word of this miracle spreads, women arrive from all over the world. Money pours into the church. The statue is an international sensation. The press goes crazy. But Minnie’s empire and the rest of the weight-loss industry go into free-fall as women abandon weight-loss and exercise clubs. Church and industry leaders conspire to remove the statue. An epic cat-and-mouse struggle ensues between the forces that want to protect St. Roz and those who are threatened by her.

St. Roz is led by Rachel Wilson (The Kennedys) as Judy and Victoria Snow (“Frances Hunter” on Paradise Falls) as the inimitable Minnie Barr. The film also features performances from Michael Lamport (The Adventures of TinTin), Jonathan Higgins (Flashpoint), Michelle Nolden (Saving Hope), Sarah Allen (Being Human), Tim Rozon (Wild Roses). The screenplay was written by noted children’s author Maryann Kovalski. New on DVD September 18, 2012 from Osiris Entertainment, the DVD is 78 minutes. Not rated.

REVIEW: Sometimes witty, sometimes irreverent, this boisterous comedy of manners deals with family relationships, forgiveness and seeking the substantial over the frivolous.

Some of the humor gets a bid bawdy, as when the lead, an aspiring writer, reads her short story to her writing class and we hear a stream of obscene words. This may have proved humorous had she been a person who doesn’t swear. But she does: everything from the f-word to the misuse of Christ’s name.

Though the film has little to do with real faith, the church priest is pictured in a good light, a real man of God. The women seeking a weight-loss miracle put money in the poor box before seeking the Saint’s mercy. The priest turns all the money over to charities to help the community.

Not rated, there are five or so obscenities and one misuse of Christ’s name, along with a stream of obscenities read from a short story.

Besides providing a monthly column for Baptist Press, he reviews films for www.previewonline.org. He also is a regular contributor to "The World and Everything In it," a weekly radio program from WORLD News Group, which also publishes WORLD Magazine.

For information about Phil Boatwright, go to moviereporter.com.

DEFINITIONS

Profanity – God’s name followed by a curse or the abusive use of Christ’s name

Obscenity – a swear word, indecent language

Expletive – minor curse words such as damn or hell

Crudity – vulgar, often coarse situations or dialogue dealing with bodily functions

Adult Subject Matter – situations or subjects unsuitable for or difficult to comprehend by children