Mr. Church

One morning Charlie Brooks (Coughlin) wakes up to find a man cooking breakfast in her kitchen.  His name is Mr. Church (Murphy) and he was hired by her mother's, Marie (McElhone), late ex Richard.  Marie has cancer and only has 6 months to live, but has not told Charlie.  Mr. Church will cook and take care of them for that time.  Charlie is icy to him until she tries the food and then she can't wait to see what will come next.

Six years later, Marie's body is starting to break down.  Mr. Church is still taking care of her and Charlie (Robertson) is a high school senior.  Charlie is still best friends with Poppy (Fry) and still in love with Owen (Samuel), but her relationships at home have changed.  She can barely handle being around her mother, unwilling to watch her die.  And her friendship with Mr. Church has grown, he is her confidant, but she still doesn't know anything about his life.  After prom, her mother dies, leaving Charlie alone.  But Mr. Church continues to care for her, as they mourn the loss of Marie.  She leaves everything but her books and friendship with Mr. Church and leaves for college, but when everything around her breaks down, where is home?


This is Eddie Murphy's first feature film in four years (his last film was 2012's A Thousand Words), and he returns with a serious film.  He delivers another excellent performance, in the vein of his Oscar nominated performance in Dreamgirls.  It isn't the performance you expect from Murphy, but it is wonderful and the best part of the film.

Despite Murphy's role in this film, it was not widely publicized.  In fact, I first discovered it through Redbox.  It debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2016, and was released in September 2016.

The story, written by Susan McMartin, is told through Charlie's eyes.  She is the voice-over narration and the audience only knows Mr. Church by the things he tells her, making him a bit of an enigma.  He is a fascinating character, but we don't know much about the character.  Britt Robertson is fine as Charlie, but she isn't the most interesting character... and I would rather learn more about Mr. Church and then explore his lasting friendship with her.  Without Murphy this would be just another lackluster film.

Mr. Church (2016) 104 minutes
Rating: PG-13 for thematic elements
Director: Bruce Beresford
Starring: Eddie Murphy as Mr. Henry Church
Britt Robertson as Charlie Brooks
Natascha McElhone as Marie Brooks
Xavier Samuel as Owen
Lucy Fry as Poppy
Christian Madsen as Eddie Larson
Mckenna Grace as Izzy Brooks
Natalie Coughlin as Young Charlie Brooks