Review of The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys (2002) by Jennifer U — 11 Apr 2010

The Todd McFarlane animated comic sequences are simply stunning. Very detailed, amazingly fluid, dynamic action, just fantastic.

Peter Care's adaptation of the book by Chris Fuhrman intersperse the animated scenes throughout a compelling and interesting, if not original, 1970s coming-of-age film set at a catholic school, and the surrounding suburbs. Care employs a clean, soft look with some excellent cinematography, but some of the edits were a bit sloppy, and the sound mixing was inconsistent. One minute, it'd be super quiet, the next really loud.

Emile Hirsch and Kieran Culkin play best friends, Francis and Tim, with the moving being from Francis' perspective; when he and Tim get into a fight, the next animated scene is solely his character, having been abandoned by his buddies, and his sort of girlfriend, the lovely Jena Malone, whom excels at the kind of role she has her (and the kind of role she plays in almost every other movie).

Jodie Foster as the "evil" Sister Assumpta, is surprisingly good, veering from dominating no-nonsense to tolerance and understanding in a believable fashion. Vincent D'Onofrio as the kindly, but unassertive, Father Casey is effective, but not great.

The music is excellent, with "Queens Of The Stone Age" lead guitarist contributing a good number of tracks, written specifically for this. It helps the driving sense of trouble the kids get themselves into.