The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys (2002)
Directed by Peter Care
Written by Michael Petroni
Starring Kieran Culkin, Emile Hirsch, Jena Malone, Jodie Foster
Release Date June 14th, 2002
Published November 10th, 2002
What is your favorite childhood memory? For me it was making out with my first girlfriend Dawn. I was 12; she was 11 and every Tuesday her mother would bring her over while she played cards with my parents. Dawn and I would sneak off to a gorgeous spot right on the Mississippi River bank. The Dangerous Lives Of Altar Boys is one of those films that will make you nostalgic for your childhood, your first love, your best friends, and those moments that only you and those childhood friends will remember.
The film centers around four friends, Tim (Kieran Culkin), Francis (Emile Hirsch), Wade (Jake Richardson) and Joey (Tyler Long). The focus is on their love of comic books and their loathing of their catholic school teacher Sister Assumpta (Jodie Foster). The boys visualize themselves as comic book superheroes and their fantasies are played out in cartoon vignettes throughout the film. Things begin to change for the boys as Francis begins his first relationship with a girl, Margie, played by the lovely Jena Malone. As Francis and Margie's relationship grows, his friends’ sense they are losing their best friend, Tim especially feels he is losing his best friend.
As a way of reasserting their friendship, Tim gets an idea to take revenge on Sister Assumpta for all the trouble she has caused them. The elaborate plan calls for the guys to steal a cougar from a local zoo and unleash it in Sister Assumpta's office. Francis, Wade and Joey go along at first not realizing how serious Tim is about his over the top revenge scheme. In the meantime, Francis is dealing with Margie and her very serious home issues including alleged sexual abuse by her older brother who is a classmate of Francis.
The shocking details of the abuse would seem to be more than any teenager could deal with but Francis isn't an average teenager. Francis reacts to the many revelations from Margie at first like anyone would but his limitless kindness and gentle nature lead him to more philosophical conclusions than you would expect from someone his age. For the most part Francis retreats into his comic fantasies, incorporating his real life torments into his comic drawings and stories.
The film travels a twisted road of comedy and drama and is quite reminiscent of the movie Stand By Me in it's camaraderie between these four young guys and their ever quickening emotional growth. A tragedy near the end of the film makes sense emotionally and intellectually rather than seeming like a shallow heart string tug.
In the hands of a less skilled director, this material could have been a treacle mess. Veteran video director Peter Care, who has worked with the likes of REM, treads the line between smart comedy and drama very carefully. Care never allows his teenage characters to seem smarter than the adult types we get in so many other teen comedies and especially on TV.
Hirsch’s performance really made an impact on me. Looking like the younger brother of Adrien Grenier with his round soulful eyes and olive skin, Hirsch's look projects a budding intelligence necessary to make characters like Francis work. It is a great time for Independent film. My top ten end of the year list is likely to be dominated by them. Will The Dangerous Lives Of Altar Boys be on that list? We will see, it will surely come close.
