hyped garbage

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

An ultra-liberal, new-agey, feminist fantasy…but those are really the only people who would care for the subject matter of this mess (unfortunately for the studio, producers and investors involved in this flop). Loosely based on a 13th century joke and subsequent Protestant propaganda from the Reformation period, the story centers on the life of a woman in the Dark Ages who cross-dresses her way to becoming Pope. John Goodman (the only cast member anyone will recognize) proves yet again that he has no problems or pride in accepting bad scripts (anyone remember "King Ralph?). The entire story, dialog and underlying theme is excruciatingly contrived and predictable, and the good news for history is that like the actual subject matter, this film will not get so much as a foot-note.

I m sorry to comment against you but you should really check this out!Please search in w i k e p e d i a about a Greek literature man Emmanuel Rhoides. There is an age gap between the 2 persons and the story is completely similar. Do something for it. It is really shameful that people can claim pieces of art of their own since it does not belong to them.. I d like to enhance the Greek art and to let people know that the truth is hidden. The first edition of Pope Joan was published in 1886 and for sure this fact is true as long as this literature man was unchurched from the catholic and orthodox church. Please pay some attention to this review...it really worth it

Bet money it's true but the Church will never admit it. The Catholic Church is INFAMOUS for "hiding" truths (i.e. the pedophile priests they've hidden out for years). It's a shame that a woman had to go to those lengths to be able to serve God. It's a shame that women who want to serve cannot; but our churches in the United States are being staffed by priests from foreign countries (i.e. Mexico). This, I strongly believe, is a disservice to United States Catholics! My parish is served by a priest from Mexico and he is a very poor orator. The language barrier is significant and this is something that cannot be overcome by a few ESL classes.

"Pope Joan" is NOT an historical movie, it is a Fantasy movie like Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter. We live in a very sad times when garbage like this is taken as "historical" when in fact there has never been a "Pope Joan".The legend of "Pope Joan" was a bad attempt of political satire during the Middle Age made to attack the Catholic Church. The myth of "Pope Joan" was totally destroyed by historian David Blondel: the story that she was Pope "from 853 to 855" is so lame considering that from 847 to 855 there was already a Pope: Pope Leone IV. So she couldn't have been Pope during that period. Pope Leone IV died in 855, and after a couple of weeks he was succeeded by Pope Benedetto III.So if you go to watch this movie, keep in mind that you're watching NOT an historical movie, but a fantasy movie. They could've added to the cast Gandalf and Frodo for all that matters, since the whole story of Pope Joan is just a bad and lame satire used in the Middle Age to attack the Catholic Church.