What The Jesus Rolls is About
The Jesus Rolls opens with Jesus Quintana walking out of prison—freshly released and ready to cause trouble. Within hours, he's paired up with Petey and Marie, two fellow misfits whose own brand of desperation makes them perfect partners for what unfolds as a freewheeling joyride through petty crime and unexpected romance. The film doesn't concern itself much with plot mechanics in the traditional sense; instead, it's a series of escalating misadventures that feel more like a character study wrapped in the clothes of a crime caper. You won't find a tightly wound three-act structure here. What you get is something looser, messier, and occasionally brilliant—but also occasionally frustrating.
Behind the Making of The Jesus Rolls
John Turturro didn't just star in The Jesus Rolls—he wrote and directed it too, which means this is very much a personal project, a labor of creative control that carries real risk. The film is technically a sequel to the Coen Brothers' 1998 cult classic The Big Lebowski, bringing back Turturro's unforgettable Jesus Quintana character (you know, the one with the bowling shoes and the monologue). But it's also a remake of Bertrand Blier's 1974 French film Going Places, a wild, anarchic comedy that itself was considered shocking for its time. That's a lot of DNA to juggle.
Turturro surrounded himself with genuinely talented collaborators. Bobby Cannavale, Audrey Tautou, and Jon Hamm anchor the supporting cast—serious actors taking swings at material that doesn't always deserve them. The film was produced by Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, New Element Media, and Tribus P Film, with a modest 85-minute runtime that suggests Turturro knew he needed to keep things snappy. On the critical front, the film landed with a thud: it currently sits at 4.4 on IMDb, which tells you something about how audiences received it. Awards recognition? Minimal. This wasn't the kind of project that was ever going to sweep festival circuits.
Why The Jesus Rolls Doesn't Quite Work—But Almost Does
Here's the thing about The Jesus Rolls: it's genuinely hard to hate, even when you're frustrated with it. Turturro's performance is committed and weirdly charismatic—he's clearly having fun inhabiting this character again, and that joy is occasionally contagious. Cannavale brings real vulnerability to Petey, and Tautou (best known for Amélie) does impressive work with a character that could've been a total throwaway. What's striking is how hard everyone's trying. The cast isn't phoning it in; they're just working with material that feels assembled rather than constructed.
And that's the core problem. Viewer feedback points to exactly this: the film plays less like a cohesive narrative and more like a collection of scenes, a montage of moments that don't quite cohere into something meaningful. You'll laugh—there are genuine laughs here—but you'll also find yourself checking the runtime, wondering if there's a destination or just a series of detours. The ambition is there. The execution is... uneven. It's a film that wants to be transgressive and anarchic like Going Places, but it's also trying to be a Big Lebowski sequel, and those two impulses don't always pull in the same direction. That tension is interesting, but it's not always resolved in ways that serve the story.
What's worth noting is that Turturro's previous directorial effort, The Name of the Rose, received far more critical warmth, which suggests he's capable of tighter storytelling. Here, he seems to have chosen sprawl over structure—a choice that's defensible artistically but doesn't always pay off entertainmentwise.
Where to Stream The Jesus Rolls Online
The Jesus Rolls is available across major OTT services, making it easy to access if you're curious about Turturro's vision (or just want to see what happens when a Big Lebowski character gets his own movie). Rather than hunting across platforms yourself, you can check the Where to Watch widget at the top of this page to see exactly which service has it right now—availability shifts regularly, and Movie OTT tracks those changes in real time. The 85-minute runtime makes it a manageable commitment: you can watch it on a weeknight without clearing your entire evening. Whether you'll want to finish it is another question entirely, but at least the time investment is modest.
Frequently asked questions
Q: Is The Jesus Rolls a sequel to The Big Lebowski?
Yes—it's technically a sequel that brings back John Turturro's Jesus Quintana character from the 1998 Coen Brothers film. However, it's also a remake of the 1974 French film Going Places, so it's blending two very different source materials.
Q: Who directed The Jesus Rolls?
John Turturro wrote, directed, and starred in the film. It's entirely his creative vision, which explains why it feels so personal—and why it's so divisive.
Q: What's the IMDb rating for The Jesus Rolls?
The film currently holds a 4.4 out of 10 on IMDb, reflecting mixed-to-negative audience reception. Critical response was similarly lukewarm.
Q: How long is The Jesus Rolls?
The film runs 85 minutes, making it a relatively brief watch compared to most crime comedies.
Q: Can I watch The Jesus Rolls on streaming?
Yes, The Jesus Rolls is available on major OTT platforms. Check the Where to Watch widget on this page to see which service currently has it in your region.
Final Thoughts on The Jesus Rolls
The Jesus Rolls is a film for a very specific audience: devoted Turturro fans, Big Lebowski completists, and people curious about how a director remakes a French New Wave crime comedy as a 1990s cult-film sequel. It's not for everyone—honestly, it's probably not for most people. But there's something admirable about a 70-something filmmaker swinging hard at a risky project, even if the swing doesn't connect cleanly. If you're in that niche audience, it's worth your time. Everyone else? Movie OTT has plenty of other options worth exploring first.
