Heaven Help Us

I have an English vhs of this and it goes by the title of Catholic Boys over here, I was surprised to see this was not available and dvd format, as it is one of those memorable 80's teen films. This is actually dubbed 'Animal House gets religious' on the video case, I think it couldn't be more wrong, although it does have its similarities, Catholic Boys has a real sensible feel to it, it also has its very funny moments, and a fantastic young cast. This is one of those films with lots of familiar faces who seemed to have vanished, Andrew McCarthy, Kevin Dillon, Patrick Dempsey and Malcom Danare, are all quite unknown figures nowadays, although their performances in this make you think they would have had their careers set up for life.

The great cast really sets the tone and their is a real togetherness from them, especially when the sadistic(?) brother Constance tries to get his way, it all comes good in the end and the movie left me very satisfied in the end, watch out for Stephen Geofferies character Williams who is always masturbating at every chance he gets, it seems fitting that he is now a star of the gay porn industry! I'd like to see this on dvd and even a comeback for the excellent Andrew McCarthy, and Kevin Dillon!

This movie depicts a time that has now become a part of history. St. Michael's School closed its doors earlier this year. The neighborhood which was populated by Irish and Italian kids is now primarily Latino and lower-income,who couldn't afford the rising tuition.

The situations, as portrayed, were actually quite realistic for an inner-city parochial school. Some might say the brutality toward the boys was extreme- but pretty close to the truth.

Actual scenes were used in the neighborhood. The building that housed the candy store is still there, empty and derelict.

The movie caught the aura of the era and is becoming a 'cult classic'

While I can't comment on the accuracy in which the "Catholic School for Boys" is depicted in this movie, having once been a teenage boy, I can attest to having known (or been) a kid who is represented by nearly every character in the movie. I identified most with Andrew McCarthy's character, but saw a little of myself in many of the other kids.

The movie is at times funny, touching, and intense. I believe it has been largely forgotten and was ignored even in its initial run. It is vastly underrated, and if you happen across it in the TV Guide or in the older titles at the video store, it is worth two hours of your life. Recommended.

As a Patrick Dempsey fan, I picked up this movie. Only, Dempsey is hardly in it, and barely has dialogue. It turned out to be a pretty funny little movie about the trials and tribulations of five Catholic School Boys at St. Basils in the 1960s.

Our central character is Michael Dunn (Andrew McCarthy), who is new to St. Basils and has yet to learn of it's sadistic rituals and largely paranoid and overbearing Brothers. Dunn makes friends with self-proclaimed genius, Caesar (Malcolm Danare) who's self-gratification can be quite annoying.

Dunn and Caesar eventually join forces with underachiever, Rudy (Kevin Dillon), quiet Corbet (a very young Patrick Dempsey), and the horny kid, Williams (Stephen Geoffreys). As such, the five of them get into their fair share of trouble and adolescent antics at St. Basils, which makes for some pretty funny sequences.

Mary Stuart Masterson costars as Dunn's girlfriend who runs the soda fountain, a sanctuary to the Catholic School students where they can smoke and cuss and whatever without fearing sanctions from the Brother. She's basically just a nice girl trying to get by and seems like a good match for Dunn.

Donald Sutherland plays the rather lackluster headmaster at the school. Wallace Shawn has a small role as the paranoid Brother who fears the potential of the horny student body (just listen to his dumb speech at the dance), and John Heard has a good part as the laidback Brother who seems to be the only buffer between the Brothers and the students.

Despite Andrew McCarthy being emphasized as the main character, the whole movie is really Rudy (Kevin Dillon)who has the bulk of funny dialogue and dumb ideas and without which, would probably be just another 'blah' movie. McCarthy's character alone is not all that interesting, and so they needed something to play off of that. And that's what Dillon's character is there for. And it works so well, he basically is the whole movie.

I recommend picking up this one if you get a chance, especially if you really like 80s movies.

This gentle, warm comedy set in a Catholic school in New York in 1965 seems to have been overlooked for a longtime. Maybe it got lost amongst the so called 'Brat Pack' movies of the mid eighties or maybe the name change to 'Catholic Boys' for it's UK release didn't help it's recognition. This is certainly a hidden gem with plenty of funny lines from Rooney (Dillon) and a nice understated romance between Michael (McCarthy) and Danni (Masterson) that doesn't get in the way of the plot.However most terrifying are the Brothers presence and their interpertation of the catholic religion. If their is a longer director's cut I would definatly like to see it on DVD. This film is certainly well worth a look at.