It is an article of faith among certain Protestants that every Catholic is tormented by sexual guilt, a guilt inculcated in them by priests who, because they have no sex life of their own, take an unhealthily prurient interest in everyone else's. The script for "Catholic Boys", as "Heaven Help Us" is generally known in Britain, would appear to have been written by a Protestant of this particular creed.
The film is set in St Basil's School, a strict Catholic boys' school in New York. The main character is the sixteen-year-old Michael Dunn, a new student at Saint Basil's, who has been sent to live with his grandparents upon the death of his parents. His grandmother is determined that Michael should eventually enter the priesthood, even though he shows little evidence of having a priestly vocation. The film follows the adventures of Michael, his non-Catholic girlfriend Danni, his classmates and the monks who teach them over the course of a school year. Among the other students are the fat, unpopular would-be intellectual Caesar and Ed Rooney, the foul-mouthed class bully. The three monks who play important roles in the film are the headmaster, Brother Thaddeus, Brother Timothy, a young novice, and Brother Constance, a "strict disciplinarian" (an expression which, in this context, is a euphemism for "sadistic bully").
Like most of his fellow Brat Packers (Emilio Estevez and Demi Moore being exceptions), Andrew McCarthy has rather faded from view in recent years. In the mid-eighties, however, he was regarded as a major star in the making, and this film makes good use of his clean-cut persona as the "good boy" Michael, who is strongly contrasted with Kevin Dillon's bad-boy Rooney. The three monks Thaddeus, Timothy and Constance are also well played, especially by Jay Patterson as the last.
Some Catholics have objected to the way in which their religion is portrayed in the film, and there certainly appear to be elements of satire at the expense of traditionalist Catholicism, especially its attitude towards sex. Perhaps the best clue to the film-makers' intentions lies in the date at which the action takes place; 1965. Ever since about 1980, a 1960s setting has frequently been cinematic shorthand for "clash between traditional values and trendy permissive ones". By the mid-sixties, a clash of this nature was taking place within the Catholic church itself following the Second Vatican Council, but the school remains a strongly traditionalist institution; Mass, for example, is still said in Latin rather than English. As the film progresses, however, we see that a version of the clash between tradition and progress is being played out even in St Basil's. After an incident in which Constance savagely thrashes several students for their part in a prank, we discover that his vicious sadism has appalled not only the liberal Brother Timothy but also Brother Thaddeus, who is far from liberal but is at least humane enough to realise that Constance's methods should have no place in the education of the young.
"Catholic Boys", is not, however, primarily a serious film about conservatism versus liberalism in the field of religious education. Indeed, it is not primarily a serious film at all, but a comedy, albeit one that has some satirical points to make. Indeed, it is the satirical scenes which are often the most amusing and memorable ones, particularly the ones set in the confessional which strengthened my long-held belief that the sacrament of confession is a rather ridiculous institution and that its abolition was one of the wiser moves of the Protestant Reformation. I also liked the scene where the boys are only allowed to attend a dance with pupils from a local girls' school after being treated to a hell-and-brimstone sermon on the sin of lust. (Or rather, the thin of lutht- the priest who delivers it speaks with a strong lisp). A highly amusing comedy, well worth watching. Those who saw it as anti-religious or anti-Catholic need to get a sense of humour. 7/10
The film is set in St Basil's School, a strict Catholic boys' school in New York. The main character is the sixteen-year-old Michael Dunn, a new student at Saint Basil's, who has been sent to live with his grandparents upon the death of his parents. His grandmother is determined that Michael should eventually enter the priesthood, even though he shows little evidence of having a priestly vocation. The film follows the adventures of Michael, his non-Catholic girlfriend Danni, his classmates and the monks who teach them over the course of a school year. Among the other students are the fat, unpopular would-be intellectual Caesar and Ed Rooney, the foul-mouthed class bully. The three monks who play important roles in the film are the headmaster, Brother Thaddeus, Brother Timothy, a young novice, and Brother Constance, a "strict disciplinarian" (an expression which, in this context, is a euphemism for "sadistic bully").
Like most of his fellow Brat Packers (Emilio Estevez and Demi Moore being exceptions), Andrew McCarthy has rather faded from view in recent years. In the mid-eighties, however, he was regarded as a major star in the making, and this film makes good use of his clean-cut persona as the "good boy" Michael, who is strongly contrasted with Kevin Dillon's bad-boy Rooney. The three monks Thaddeus, Timothy and Constance are also well played, especially by Jay Patterson as the last.
Some Catholics have objected to the way in which their religion is portrayed in the film, and there certainly appear to be elements of satire at the expense of traditionalist Catholicism, especially its attitude towards sex. Perhaps the best clue to the film-makers' intentions lies in the date at which the action takes place; 1965. Ever since about 1980, a 1960s setting has frequently been cinematic shorthand for "clash between traditional values and trendy permissive ones". By the mid-sixties, a clash of this nature was taking place within the Catholic church itself following the Second Vatican Council, but the school remains a strongly traditionalist institution; Mass, for example, is still said in Latin rather than English. As the film progresses, however, we see that a version of the clash between tradition and progress is being played out even in St Basil's. After an incident in which Constance savagely thrashes several students for their part in a prank, we discover that his vicious sadism has appalled not only the liberal Brother Timothy but also Brother Thaddeus, who is far from liberal but is at least humane enough to realise that Constance's methods should have no place in the education of the young.
"Catholic Boys", is not, however, primarily a serious film about conservatism versus liberalism in the field of religious education. Indeed, it is not primarily a serious film at all, but a comedy, albeit one that has some satirical points to make. Indeed, it is the satirical scenes which are often the most amusing and memorable ones, particularly the ones set in the confessional which strengthened my long-held belief that the sacrament of confession is a rather ridiculous institution and that its abolition was one of the wiser moves of the Protestant Reformation. I also liked the scene where the boys are only allowed to attend a dance with pupils from a local girls' school after being treated to a hell-and-brimstone sermon on the sin of lust. (Or rather, the thin of lutht- the priest who delivers it speaks with a strong lisp). A highly amusing comedy, well worth watching. Those who saw it as anti-religious or anti-Catholic need to get a sense of humour. 7/10