Hunky Jesus (2025) Review

Director: Jennifer M. Kroot: 85 minutes.

Hello cinema lovers. There's a moment in Jennifer M. Kroot's documentary Hunky Jesus where Sister Roma of the Sisterhood of Perpetual Indulgence looks into the camera and says, "You don't own Jesus. You don't own Easter", a stylish confident stance from an LGBT+ activist/icon. This was the opening film of this year's BFI Flare festival, and a fine choice it was too.

Hunky Jesus revolves around the Sisterhood and their annual outdoor Easter event called the Hunky Jesus and Holy Mary contest. It's a chaotic and bonkers pagent that's been annoying and delighting people in equal measures for years. Director/ producer Kroot has talent, her previous works (The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin, To Be Takei) have shown a keen, dedicated eye.

The Sisterhood roots start in the late seventies, when Ken Bunch (Sister Vicious PHB) and a group of pals in Ohio acquired nun habits under the false cover story of a Sound of Music production. A brief spell as a drag troupe called the "Sugar Plum Fairies" followed.

The film quickly relocates to San Francisco, 1979. Bunch and several activists have created the Sisterhood and began to run wild in the Castro dressed as nuns. The early 80s arrive, and the sisters run right into the AIDS crisis. The film documents the Sisters consoling the victims of that awful time, showing up when nobody else would. Later scenes show the order performing a public exorcism of Pope John Paul II during his 1987 San Francisco visit. This was queer activism framed as high camp theatre.

One interesting reveal is that the Sisters' white face makeup isn't just an artistic choice. It's a safeguard. A way of letting the order go about their daily lives anonymously. It's a small detail, but it lets the viewer know about the risks and drawbacks of being a high-profile activist.

The footage of The hunky jesus event takes up a large amount of the runtime. Compered by the most visible member of the current order, Sister Roma. Watch out for The Haus of Jesus entry, a real highlight. Also, watch out for the close-up to that particular messiah's fantastic pert butt. A couple of pole dancers performing the death and resurrection of Christ is deliberately edgy.

The predictable right-wing response is shown. That's a good thing, but the documentary doesn't dwell on it as much as it should. Controversy is old news to the sisters; they shrug it off easily.

George Takei narrates the opening credits, adding fun and blasphemy to the proceedings. However, there are parts of the film where it panders a bit too much to the sisters. They are obviously fantastic, but the film shies away from a closer inspection of the order. How does their worldwide sisterhood really work? Who actually runs the organisation? Their difficult relationship with the Catholic Church. These questions are never deeply answered.

What the film gets right is showing the work the sisters do and their place in the world as queer vanguards. Scene Magazine recently interviewed Sister Roma about the order's values, read it here.

The Hunky Jesus contest isn't just about shock value. It's about highlighting communities that have always had to fight to exist. As the sisters say several times, their motto is "To promulgate universal joy and expiate stigmatic guilt". An admirable idea.

Placed beside several famous queer documentaries such as Paris is Burning (1990) and The Times of Harvey Milk (1984), this feature compares well. There's a genuine affection about the Sisterhood here. spend 85 minutes with the sisterhood, you won't regret it.