I saw The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys yesturday, and I must say, it was a GREAT movie. Very Stand By Me esque, and thankfully, had nothing at all to do with molestation of little boys by priests.
They never specify what time period it takes place, but judging from all the cars and kitchen settings, I’m guessing it was some point in the 1970s. It’s a nice little story about four friends who are working on a comic book while attending Catholic school, and just trying to figure out life while partaking in insane little adventures. The opening sequence is just great. One of the best aspects of it, in my opinion was the use of a cartoon about the “Atomic Trio” that would pop in and out of the storyline periodically. Usually in most movies, when they cut to animation, it’s simply just to have fun or do something bizzare and silly (i.e. Natural Born Killers and Tank Girl), but these little cartoon intervals were well developed and helped demonstrate a lot of the main character’s emotions and anxieties about his current situation (when his friends and he argued, the characters fought; the more challenging life started to become, the more difficult the battle for the Trio became). Having done my own comics in the past as a high school kid, I managed to relate to this a great deal and found it very powerful and a great storytelling device.
And Jodie Foster plays a nun with a wooden leg.
Overall, a great movie I suggest for everyone to see. Anyone else see it?