Rating:
Director: Peter Care
Producers: Jodie Foster, Meg LeFauve, Jay Shapiro
Writer: Jeff Stockwell
Director of Photography: Lance Acord
Cast: Kieran Culkin, Jena Malone, Emile Hirsch, Jodie Foster
| THE DANGEROUS LIVES OF ALTAR BOYS Rating: Director: Peter Care Producers: Jodie Foster, Meg LeFauve, Jay Shapiro Writer: Jeff Stockwell Director of Photography: Lance Acord Cast: Kieran Culkin, Jena Malone, Emile Hirsch, Jodie Foster |
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Review by: Joseph
Campbell
5/16/02
Given the frequency of priestly misdeeds in today's news, walking into the theatre to see The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys carried with it a fair level of apprehension. But surprisingly, the movie has little to do with the all-too-common debauchery seen within the ranks of the Catholic Church, and much to do with life, love, friendship and the rigors of adolescence. Based on the popular novel of the same title by Chris Fuhrman, the film follows the exploits of developing young minds as they come to question and resist the rigid, unfeeling pillars of religion and authority.
Frances (Emile Hirsch) and Tim (Kieran Culkin) are best friends, classmates and, yes, altar boys at St. Agatha's Catholic School. Though somewhat misguided, the two demonstrate intelligence and creativity in their extra-curricular misadventures, while showing the kind of brass most common to pubescent 14-year-old troublemakers.
Stuck in a dysfunctional, middle-class world, their forte is conjuring up lewd and outlandish comic-book fantasies that parallel their own angst-laden lives. Along with fellow wisecrackers Joey and Wade, the boys find their ultimate release in "The Atomic Trinity" (never mind that there are four of them) -- a series of explicit comic strips that, if found, would get them all expelled from St. Agatha's. Complementing the central action in the story, these strips are played out on screen in elaborate, action-packed animation sequences created by producer/artist Todd McFarlane of Spider-Man and Spawn fame.
The impetus behind our protagonists' creative flare is a shared-loathing of a frigid, one-legged nun, played by Jodie Foster who also produced, and the flaky, indifferent Father Casey (Vincent D'Onofrio). Both characters unwittingly become targets for the boys' excessive but hilarious pranks, and Sister Assumpta (Foster) takes her rightful place as the Atomic Trinity's archenemy in the comic strip. After repeated chastisement, the boys devise a magnum opus-type revenge plan to get back at the oppressive authority figures in their lives. Only through their top-secret scheme can their rebellious, superhero dreams be met with reality.
Add to the mix young Margie Flynn (Jena Malone), the object of Frances' burning crush, and her disturbing secret, some oppressive parents and a collection of eccentric characters, and the movie provides a thoroughly entertaining glimpse of innocence lost in the spirit of such classics as Stand By Me and TV's The Wonder Years (though it's decidedly more intense than the latter.) With the help of a solid script adaptation, the action in the story is realistically and tastefully conducted by director Peter Care, and McFarlane's intermittent cartoon shots are hard-edged and thrilling with a refreshing absence of CGI (computer generated imaging).
The performances in the movie are sound as well as believable, and the setting, a Southern town in the 1970s, is established skillfully with good outfits, haircuts and interior design. Foster and D'Onofrio give typically strong performances in strictly supporting roles. Unfortunately, their characters, along with every other adult character, are a bit under-developed and probably the most glaring weakness in the film. Then again, the lack of adult screen time probably contributes to the isolated, "us against the world" mentality taken on by Frances and Tim, and just about every other adolescent in the world.
Although its release was delayed at least
a year, The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys is well worth
the wait. It's written, directed and acted by people who obviously
cared about what they were doing, unlike many other teenage trash-boxes
we see being shamelessly expectorated onto movie screens in assembly-line
fashion, and will likely take a place near the top of the 2002
independent film heap. Though previously done in Savage Steve
Holland's Better Off Dead and One Crazy Summer,
the animated story line accompanying live action is clever and
sure to please young audiences and comic-book junkies. However,
the very adult themes and emotional nostalgia felt throughout
the film is sure to make an impression on any viewer with a heart.
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