Thank God (no irony) that the producers of this film wisely decided to change it's title from the off-putting Jesus, MARY AND JOEY to the more enigmatic WELCOME BACK MISS MARY. An overtly religious film that does not discomfit by being heavy-handed, WELCOME BACK MISS MARY was written by the star, Vincent Pagano, and may well be the story of his own spiritual journey.
Mary (the lovely Marley Shelton) socially resurfaces after a long absence. As it turns out, the former "scary Mary" is now a cancer survivor, and attributes much of her recovery to her faith in God. She witnesses her faith by working with young cancer patients. Although Mary is Born Again, she wants to experience life in all its facets and fullness.
Vivacious, sexy and sweet, she captures the heart of Joey (Vincent Pagano), a local boy from a staunchly, energetically Italian family. Joey's colorful, riotous family is the exact opposite of Mary's, who are straitlaced to the point of painfulness.
As Joey's feelings for Mary grow, he adopts a kind of shrill religiosity that grates badly on his friends and family, and takes a Wall Street job offered to him by Mary's disapproving father, both to give the boy a leg up in life and to separate him from Mary. Made unhappy by his choices and the circumstances of his life, Joey experiences a crisis of faith.
Vincent Pagano' script is touching, funny and wistful, as well as being utterly sincere. Joey's (and Mary's) respective questions of faith are well-addressed here and never become leaden, not least of all because Mary lacks any pretentiousness or self-righteousness. She merely believes---questions the why, but has faith in the how of the universe.
This reviewer is generally not a fan of religious-based programming but enjoyed this film, so take that as a definite endorsement.
For a "little" film, WELCOME BACK MISS MARY has a stellar cast which includes Stacy Keach, Charles Durning, Olympia Dukakis, and of course the aforementioned Vincent Pagano and Marley Shelton.
Mary (the lovely Marley Shelton) socially resurfaces after a long absence. As it turns out, the former "scary Mary" is now a cancer survivor, and attributes much of her recovery to her faith in God. She witnesses her faith by working with young cancer patients. Although Mary is Born Again, she wants to experience life in all its facets and fullness.
Vivacious, sexy and sweet, she captures the heart of Joey (Vincent Pagano), a local boy from a staunchly, energetically Italian family. Joey's colorful, riotous family is the exact opposite of Mary's, who are straitlaced to the point of painfulness.
As Joey's feelings for Mary grow, he adopts a kind of shrill religiosity that grates badly on his friends and family, and takes a Wall Street job offered to him by Mary's disapproving father, both to give the boy a leg up in life and to separate him from Mary. Made unhappy by his choices and the circumstances of his life, Joey experiences a crisis of faith.
Vincent Pagano' script is touching, funny and wistful, as well as being utterly sincere. Joey's (and Mary's) respective questions of faith are well-addressed here and never become leaden, not least of all because Mary lacks any pretentiousness or self-righteousness. She merely believes---questions the why, but has faith in the how of the universe.
This reviewer is generally not a fan of religious-based programming but enjoyed this film, so take that as a definite endorsement.
For a "little" film, WELCOME BACK MISS MARY has a stellar cast which includes Stacy Keach, Charles Durning, Olympia Dukakis, and of course the aforementioned Vincent Pagano and Marley Shelton.