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Review by Susan Granger
3½ stars out of 4
First, let me assure you that this imaginative adaptation of the late
Chris Fuhrman's novel has nothing to do with the Catholic Church's current
child-abuse scandals. Instead, it's a coming-of-age drama for adults who are hip
enough to recall their comic-book-influenced adolescence. The '70s story
revolves around two parochial school pals - Francis Doyle (Emile Hirsch) and Tom
Sullivan (Kieran Culkin) - who chafe under the strict, oppressive regime imposed
by zealous, peg-legged Sister Assumpta (Jodie Foster). Their families may be
dysfunctional but their imaginations know no bounds as Francis channels his
repressed rage into sketching a comic book with three superheroes, "The Atomic
Trinity," who battle the big, bad, motorcycle-riding Nunzilla in the kingdom of
Sorcerella. Francis also falls for troubled classmate Maggie Flynn (Jena
Malone), who's hiding a shameful secret. But it's mischievous Tim who believes
"Risk leads to greatness" and devises devilish pranks - like dumping Valiums in
the communion wine, swiping the school's prized statue of St. Agatha, and
concocting an ill-fated plot to capture a cougar from the Animal Forest to
terrify Sister Assumpta. And there's a chain-smoking priest (Vincent D'Onofrio)
who speaks in platitudes when he isn't swearing, "Jesus H. Christ!" ("What does
the H. stand for?" the boys ask.) Director Peter Care and writers Jeff Stockwell
& Michael Petroni adroitly mix realistic segments with "Spawn" creator Todd
McFarlane's vivid, fantasy "alter-ego" animation. On the Granger Movie Gauge of
1 to 10, "The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys" is a innovative, irreverent 8,
cleverly capturing the challenging, chaotic confusion of youth, reminiscent of
Francois Truffaut's "The 400 Blows" (1959). It's splendidly stylish, scary,
savvy story-telling.
Copyright © 2002 Susan Granger
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