Day 206: "Welcome to St. Basil's"

I was feeling in the mood for a comedy today, and decided to go with a small film from 1985: Heaven HelpUs.  Telling the story of a year in the lives of five Catholic high school boys in Brooklyn in 1965, the audience is shown how brutal and hypocritical the education they received was.  Oh, and this is a comedy…quite a good one, too.  Dunn is the new kid to the school and is quickly indoctrinated to the way things work, both by the Catholic Brothers and his fellow students.   An orphan, living with his grandparents and his sister, Dunn has, unfortunately, had his future planned out for him in the form of the priesthood.  He begins to make friends with the local tough guy, the genius, the “self-abuser”, and the tough guy’s lookout, and through these friendships sees the world through his own viewpoint for the first time.

A very young Andrew McCarthy plays Dunn.  His performance shows a kid both naïve and, at times, world weary.  Unfortunately for McCarthy, his roles seem to be limited to this type of character.  Kevin Dillon is the resident tough, Rooney.  This is by far his best role, and it came very early in his career.  The Catholic Brothers are played by Donald Sutherland as the Headmaster, John Heard as Brother Timothy (the cool one), and Jay Patterson as the sadistic tool who makes everyone’s life hell.  A very, very young Mary Stuart Masterson and Patrick Dempsey also make appearances.

This is actually a really good movie.  I laughed out loud several times and was impressed with the acting and story.  Very similar in style to Avalon and Diner, Heaven Help us was a really pleasant surprise.  Give it a shot if you're in the mood for something different.  7.75/10.

See you tomorrow, and GO WATCH A MOVIE!!