Mass Appeal is a 1984 American dramedy film directed by Glenn Jordan. The screenplay by Bill C. Davis is based on his 1980 play of the same title.
Plot
For years, as pastor of an affluent, suburban Roman Catholic parish, Father Tim Farley has maintained a close relationship with his congregation by delivering folksy homilies filled with practical advice and adehering to clerical policies without waver. One Sunday, his sermon is interrupted by seminarian Mark Dolson, who questions Farley's position on the ordination of women. The older priest charmingly sidesteps the young man but is annoyed that he was placed in an uncomfortable position. This is a man who relies on charm, harmless white lies, and inane jokes when interacting with his parishioners, and he always has been careful not to get involved in controversial issues.
Dolson defends two fellow seminarians who are expelled when they are suspected of engaging in a homosexual relationship, and after he is ordained a deacon, frustrated Monsignor Thomas Burke assigns him to Farley's parish in the hope the older man will inspire him to toe the line and become more complacent. Although in some ways conservative - he criticizes his sister Liz for her affair with a married man - the young man primarily is a liberal firebrand who is anxious to make changes in the church, while Farley prefers to lock himself in his study with a bottle of liquor and not make waves. The pastor tries to become a mentor to his new charge, but Dolson ignores the priest's efforts to teach him the necessity of tact when dealing with the congregation and enrages them when he delivers his first, highly critical sermon.
Questions as to why Dolson defended the gay seminarians arise, and he confides he spent two years frequently engaging in sexual relations with both men and women but now is ready to commit himself to celibacy. Farley urges him to keep quiet about his past, but the deacon reveals his secret to the monsignor as well, prompting him to expel Dolson from the seminary.
Farley realizes Dolson has a passion for the priesthood and promises to convince the congregation the church needs liberal thinkers who act from inspiration rather than always doing things by the book. As soon as he senses he is losing their support, however, he backs down in order to protect his own position. He visits Dolson at the seminary to bid him farewell, and the young man angrily confronts him with his betrayal, forcing him to rethink his position and do the right thing, even if it means the loss of his parish.
Cast
Critical reception
Janet Maslin of the New York Times compared the film to Educating Rita, although she found it to be "is less strident . . . and more prone to dry humor." She added, "The momentum of Mr. Davis's drama and the stars' intensity are enough to sustain interest, even when Glenn Jordan's television-style direction seems excessively bland. The casting of the two key roles works in the long run, but it initially seems a shade off. Father Farley, as written, is rather too self-satisfied and facile for the priesthood, qualities better emphasized in Milo O'Shea's stage performance than in Mr. Lemmon's on film, since the character's glibness comes too close to the actor's usual screen persona. And Mr. Ivanek, beginning on a note of intelligence and severity, later has moments of surprisingly callowness, even petulance. But the stars work together very effectively, making the story's progress believable as each of their characters evolves into a better man. Mass Appeal doesn't have to tug too hard at the audience's heartstrings to arrive at its simple and satisfying resolution." [2]
References
External links
