Heaven Help Us (1985)

This is an astonishing documentary that will wring your heart while it bends your mind

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

OK, so a couple reviewers thought this film was anti-Catholic, and with that attitude couldn't see the film for what it was. A Comedy, with some Drama, and actually a very very good film. Anti-Catholic? "Bullocks!" I say. If the shoe fits, wear it. I attended 12 years of Catholic school in southeastern Pennsylvania... and while this was a movie, with a fair amount of exaggeration (think Pool scene), it was the best representation of those years that I've ever seen. My H.S. was co-ed, but my fathers was an all boys Catholic H.S. in Philly. His 1950's experience with Brothers was spot-on with the movie. My experience in the 1970's in PA was with Nuns. The Nuns we had in those days were identical to the Sisters shown in this movie. Full black and white attire, including flat-top headgear, and firm white covering across their forehead. Nicknamed Crows, Penguins, etc. (I do not mean to be disrespectful here, just saying...) The opening Church scene was as authentic as it was hilarious. The all- girls Mass Communion scene was genuine. As Altar Boys we served reverently (or else), but our minds were all-American boy. One war story I'll share here: In 6th grade, one boy spit into the hair of a boy sitting in the pew in front of him during our weekly Friday 09:00AM Mass. Sister V. didn't see that happen, but when she dealt with the aftermath in the classroom 20 min's later, the boy that did it was thrown over 2 rows of desks and landed in the isle beside my desk. So absolutely, corporal punishment was dealt out on an "as needed" or even regular basis. You did not run home and tell your mother or father that a Nun hit you, BECAUSE your father would beat the tar out of you for doing something, or being part of something, that required a Nun to hit you. True story. When quarterly Reports cards were handed out by our Parish Priest, you'd have thought God himself was coming to your classroom. And you behaved accordingly, or risked the scorn of an angry Nun, which is far worse than the scorn of an angry woman. My compliments to the entire movie crew, writers, producers, actors, all. The Confessional scene is to die for, and that scene alone is worth the price of admission. The interaction between Michael Dunn and Brother Thaddeus was so good it took me back to my own early 70's catholic school years. 5-Stars from this Altar boy :-) Lastly, just so you know I'm not some mincer with an Ax to grind, if I had to go to school again, I'd want to go through the same experiences again. Catholic School: Tough? Yes. Fair? Most of the time. Worth while? Absolutely. Enjoy the movie.

This is a realistic comedy about old fashioned Roman Catholic education. Some catholic schools did require daily mass, and the hilarious scene with the "clicker" actually happened many times. The corporal punishment scenes may have been brutal, but if anything, they are less violent than the reality of those days. And if you are wondering about the "au naturel" swim class, yes, it was once common practice, and would have been required at Catholic schools, YMCAs, and many public schools as well, at least for male students, in 1964. Summary: Dunne is a 16 year old from Boston who is sent down to Brooklyn after his parents die in a car accident. He and his sister are taken in by his grandparents. His grandma is convinced that he will become a priest and maybe the Pope. Dunne is enrolled in strict St. Basil's Academy, a no-nonsense Catholic school run by tough Irish religious brothers. Dunne is an excellent student who befriends both the school nerd and a group of underachieving wise guys. His association with the wise guys results in a confrontation with a violent brother. In the meantime, the honest and unaffected Dunne has time for a romance with a local working girl. He also befriends a young, hip religious brother, later to play Kevin's dad on Home Alone. See this film; it could hardly be better.

I liked a lot of scenes in this film.The drawbridge opening and closing on Rooney's(Kevin Dillons character)dad's new car while trying to score with Janine after getting her drunk is my favorite.This movie does address serious subjects,violence towards schoolchildren,the church's responsibility to remove adults with inability to control abusive behaviour which I sure wish the church had done in the 60's,70's,etc to have prevented acts of pedophilia that came to attention later on and the effects of melancholia(not sure I spelled that right).But it is a comedy and though I only went to catholic school in Philadelphia for 8 years(66-74) it sure did make me laugh at many scenes.Donald Sutherland at the end saying "I always hated that statue" after cleaning bird droppings off the statue having been the standard punishment at St Basils is such a surprise near the end that it shows there were good people teaching at Catholic schools and it was not all abuse and punishment(he suspends them for knocking the head of the statue) and when the kids realize they're off school for two weeks they jump for joy.It is a favorite movie of mine.

Sixteen-year-old Michael Dunn (Andrew McCarthy) has just arrived in Brooklyn and has started at a new school, St. Basil's for Boys. While at Saint Basils he confronts Caesar (Malcolm Danare) the school nerd, Rooney (Kevin Dillon) the school bully, and Brother Constance (Jay Patterson) the violent teacher. Somehow Dunn manages to become friends with Caesar and Rooney all the while Rooney calling Caesar a faggot. All the while they collide with the girls school and the violent Brother Constance. It is truly a bunch of teens being against authority (what else is new) and trying to have a good time. But soon Dunn's life turns when he falls in love with the local tomboy Danni (Mary Stuart Masterson) and a new defiance comes within the boys causing an uproar between the faculty. The students soon have an ally of their own in the faculty in Father Timothy (John Heard) and helps the boys to come-of-age. The movie is very dark and tells of the a very bad era in Catholic teaching (priests smacking students, banging heads against blackboards, and paddling) and gives a sense of how students aren't powerless. Each character is developed throughout the film and the plot is heavy with points of emotion and depression.Heaven Help Us. Starring: Andrew McCarthy, Malcolm Danare, Kevin Dillon, Mary Stuart Masterson, Donald Southerland, and John Heard.4 out of 5 Stars.