Dunn
(Andrew McCarthy) is a transfer student learning to fit in at an all-boys
Catholic school in the mid-‘60s. There,
he has to deal with a wiseass bully (Kevin Dillion) whom he eventually
befriends. When he’s not putting up with
the overbearing (not to mention abusive and sadistic) Brother Constance (Jay
Patterson), Dunn tries to make romance blossom with a tough-talking (but sweet)
girl (Mary Stuart Masterson) who works in a nearby diner.
Director
Michael Dinner (who went on to direct many episodes of Justified) does a good
job at setting the time and place. There
are a handful of funny moments that click, like when the students critique and
fine-tune each other’s sins just before going to confession. The movie is better when it’s capturing these
little character moments than when it begins leaning into the usual
Porky’s-style Teenage Sex Comedy shenanigans.
The
scenes that chronicle the abuse the students face at the hands of the vindictive
Brother are sort of clunky. The film can’t
decide if he’s the villain or a symbol of a bygone era of corporal
punishment. Because of that, he’s just
sort of there.
The
cast is solid through and through, which helps carry you over the bumpy
parts. McCarthy is good, if a bit bland
in the lead. That’s mostly because his
character is underwritten, but he does a fine job regardless. Dillon has the showier role as the brash
bully and equips himself nicely. John Heard
makes a memorable impression as the lone pleasant Brother and Donald Sutherland
has a few moments to shine as the stern headmaster. It’s also fun seeing Patrick Dempsey and
Stephen Geoffreys making their debuts as McCarthy’s friends. Wallace Shawn has a funny extended cameo too
as the Brother who gives a talk about lust just before a school dance.
AKA: Catholic Boys.
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