The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys (2002)

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

hyped garbage

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Great acting, solid direction and some inventive presentation-- the protagonists re-imagine their lives in terms of comic-book fantasies, and we are treated to some wonderful traditional animation thereof-- are just the start in this complex picture.The film follows a group of '60s Catholic schoolboys who hatch a plan to play a crazy prank on one of their hated teachers. The plan, of course, goes awry. What is interesting in this film-- besides watching Culkin, Hirsch and Foster working their usual magic-- is the complexity of theme going on behind the adolescent antics. The film looks at the purpose of fantasy, the meaning of faith, the dangers of testing boundaries, the unpleasantness of unfinished business, the nature of God and the question of how one interprets His authority. The question of original sin-- never clumsily and straightforwardly stated-- permeates the film, from Margie's awful revelations to Tim's mischief. The film's real genius is its ability to play with obviously religious ideas without really doing any preaching.Behind all this, of course, is the Viet Nam war. As America loses its post-WWII innocence at the end of the 1960s, and as the flower-power generation realises that breaking the boundaries that authority sets ultimately breaks much more, so the boys learn what happens when people want to take God's power. When Tim Sullivan tells his teacher that William Blake's poetry is written "simply enough for a child," she responds with "so are the instructions for a handgun."

I first encountered this film on a foreign TV channel and on an unknown language. However, i was attracted to the TV screen like a bee to honey. I can't really say why, but the film was just very, well, attracting. It has sort of a gloomy atmosphere, and the scenes which changed in front of my eyes were understandable even in a foreign language. It could be because i can relate with the story and the feelings that the boys are going through, but i believe that the reason is that it's just a terrific film. Of course IMDb helped me find the film :) and today it's one of my favorites films. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to see a good film, but is ready to see some real life on the screen. The story isn't sweet, nor particularly happy, but it's real and emotional.

"Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys" is very similar to "Stand By Me," with the nice addition of a non-stereotyped girl and a stereotyped nun (played by producer Jodie Foster) in the mix. Young love is shown the sweetest I've seen in a long time (oy, I'm still apologizing to a certain boy in my head when he was so sweet to me at that age and I didn't know how to handle it; oh well, I didn't have a script based on a book to follow.) Emile Hirsch and Jena Malone are marvelous, especially with the very serious sides of their lives, though the lousy parenting is only vaguely shown with shouting. While the gambits of their crew are a bit unbelievable as they try to put fantasy into their real lives, their fantasy comic life through Todd McFarlane animation is a lot of fun (I was a fan of McFarlane's HBO series "Spawn.") I've never seen a super-hero with such sensitive eyes! (originally written 6/23/2002)

it was a great idea and i watched it with few other mates and we all guessed that there would be more than one cougar in there. we thought it was a bit extreme that the guy had to die but i thought the funeral was well done. i thought the brother and the boyf hadnt finished up their fight properly but obviously a nose bleed finishes everything and what happened to the girl who saw the ghost, was that just to prove that she wasn't totally crazy? though she was a bit mucked up... i also thought the ending was bad and how many nuns do u know hu go around on motorbikes?!?! cute main guy though... p.s. does anyone know how to change ur username? i am fed up of johnny now! p.p.s hes still gorgeous though