Themes: First Love, Kids in Trouble, High School Life
Main Cast: Kieran Culkin, Jena Malone, Emile Hirsch, Vincent D'Onofrio, Jodie Foster
Release Year: 2002
Country: US
Run Time: 105 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys brings Chris Fuhrman's well-received, posthumously published teen novel to the screen. Set in the 1970s, the film concerns two rebellious Catholic schoolboys -- bashful, pensive Francis (Emile Hirsch) and whip-smart, impulsive Tim (Kieran Culkin) -- who spend their free time pulling elaborate pranks and creating a comic book featuring themselves and their friends, Wade (Jake Richardson) and Joey (Tyler Long), as superheroes. Their alter egos are brought to life in animated sequences by Spawn creator Todd McFarlane. Their grim, strict, one-legged teacher, Sister Assumpta (Jodie Foster), is drawn as a motorcycle-riding supervillain. Vincent D'Onofrio plays the more easygoing Father Casey. Egged on by Tim, Francis admits that he has a crush on Margie Flynn (Jena Malone). Tim encourages Francis to pursue Margie, at one point even sending her a mash note and signing his friend's name. Francis and Margie eventually begin seeing each other. But when Margie reveals a terrible, painful secret to Francis, it sets off a chain of events that leads to tragedy. The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys marks the feature debut of director Peter Care. It was screened at several festivals, including the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. The film sparked a small controversy at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival, where it was rejected, allegedly in retaliation for producer Foster's decision to forego heading up the fest's jury in order to replace Nicole Kidman in Panic Room. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
Review
The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys throws together live action and animation, lighthearted teen romance and serious family trauma, and raucous comedy and heavy, melodramatic tragedy. It's an intriguing mixture that doesn't quite gel. The film is at its best when it focuses on the simple joys of teens hanging out. In showing the four altar boys of the title fine-tuning their comic book characters or just thinking up more elaborate ways to get into trouble, director Peter Care and screenwriters Jeff Stockwell and Michael Petroni, abetted by a talented young cast, capture the perfect naturalistic tone. This is also true of the scenes in which Francis (Emile Hirsch) and Margie (Jena Malone) timidly explore their budding romance. The animation sequences by Todd McFarlane (Spawn) are sometimes jarringly bombastic, but they do capture a distinctly adolescent penchant for turning the real troubles of the world into dark, but manageable fantasy. The filmmakers chose to discard novelist Chris Fuhrman's specificity about the locale (the book takes place in Savannah), presumably to make the story more universal. This was a blunder, as the vagueness about where and when the film is set makes it less effective storytelling. There's also an awkwardness in the way the film will veer suddenly into tragedy, and some viewers will find the boys' exploits, particularly in the film's dramatic climax, more than a little hard to swallow. But the film is still fairly strong. Cinematographer Lance Acord (Buffalo 66, Being John Malkovich) does good work. Hirsch, Malone, and Kieran Culkin deliver creditable performances, and Jodie Foster and Vincent D'Onofrio lend excellent support. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
Todd McFarlane - Animator, Laray Mayfield - Casting, Tim Harbert - Co-producer, Marie France - Costume Designer, Scott Cameron - First Assistant Director, Peter Care - Director, Chris Peppe - Editor, Pen Densham - Executive Producer, John K. Watson - Executive Producer, Graham King - Executive Producer, David A. Jones - Executive Producer, Marco Beltrami - Composer (Music Score), Joshua Homme - Composer (Music Score), Gideon Ponte - Production Designer, Lance Acord - Cinematographer, Jodie Foster - Producer, Meg LeFauve - Producer, Jay Shapiro - Producer, Carl Rudisill - Sound/Sound Designer, Michael Petroni - Screenwriter, Jeff Stockwell - Screenwriter, Eric Radomski - Animation Producer, Terry Fitzgerald - Animation Producer, Chris Fuhrman - Book Author
