Genres

Visitors Review

2012-05-25 11:19:01

Dark, Depressing

I heard the phrase G.D. more than in any other movie, which always turns me off. I didn't laugh once, although I admit that kids and teens would have found some parts funny. I didn't like how the movie turned communion into a perversion, and I didn't like any of the music played in the background. This is Hollywood's typical twist to a religious theme. Thankfully I saw the movie without having to buy it.

2012-05-24 21:13:45

inspirational movie

i was browsing the vhs tapes at my local video store and came across this title the first time i saw it i was hooked its one of those movies you can fall in love with there are big stars in the movie a lot of people don't know but the actor that played ceaser real name is malcolm danare he's from christine the movie and played more parts in the 1980s williams was something always playing with himself andrew mccarthy was good and the young kevin dillion was a riot in this movie i have the dvd no extras i dont know why this is an wonderful movie

nvidiagrafix 2012-05-24 17:29:45

If The Shoe Fits, Wear It

OK, so a couple reviewers thought this film was anti-Catholic, and withthat attitude couldn't see the film for what it was. A Comedy, withsome Drama, and actually a very very good film. Anti-Catholic?"Bullocks!" I say. If the shoe fits, wear it. I attended 12 years of Catholic school in southeastern Pennsylvania...and while this was a movie, with a fair amount of exaggeration (thinkPool scene), it was the best representation of those years that I'veever seen. My H.S. was co-ed, but my fathers was an all boys CatholicH.S. in Philly. His 1950's experience with Brothers was spot-on withthe movie. My experience in the 1970's in PA was with Nuns. The Nuns wehad in those days were identical to the Sisters shown in this movie.Full black and white attire, including flat-top headgear, and firmwhite covering across their forehead. Nicknamed Crows, Penguins, etc.(I do not mean to be disrespectful here, just saying...) The opening Church scene was as authentic as it was hilarious. The all-girls Mass Communion scene was genuine. As Altar Boys we servedreverently (or else), but our minds were all-American boy. One war story I'll share here: In 6th grade, one boy spit into the hairof a boy sitting in the pew in front of him during our weekly Friday09:00AM Mass. Sister V. didn't see that happen, but when she dealt withthe aftermath in the classroom 20 min's later, the boy that did it wasthrown over 2 rows of desks and landed in the isle beside my desk. Soabsolutely, corporal punishment was dealt out on an "as needed" or evenregular basis. You did not run home and tell your mother or father thata Nun hit you, BECAUSE your father would beat the tar out of you fordoing something, or being part of something, that required a Nun to hityou. True story. When quarterly Reports cards were handed out by our Parish Priest,you'd have thought God himself was coming to your classroom. And youbehaved accordingly, or risked the scorn of an angry Nun, which is farworse than the scorn of an angry woman. My compliments to the entire movie crew, writers, producers, actors,all. The Confessional scene is to die for, and that scene alone isworth the price of admission. The interaction between Michael Dunn andBrother Thaddeus was so good it took me back to my own early 70'scatholic school years. 5-Stars from this Altar boy :-) Lastly, just so you know I'm not some mincer with an Ax to grind, if Ihad to go to school again, I'd want to go through the same experiencesagain. Catholic School: Tough? Yes. Fair? Most of the time. Worthwhile? Absolutely. Enjoy the movie.

2012-05-24 00:52:25

I Love This Flick

I saw this movie so many times back in the day when it first came out on video. When I saw the DVD, I had to have it. This movie is so awesome and a blast to watch. Great cast and a great time.

2012-05-21 11:20:20

For Every Catholic School Student of the 50's, 60's!

This review is from: Heaven Help Us [VHS] (VHS Tape) This is a must for anyone who suffered through boy's or girl's Catholic Schools in the '50's and '60's. It is hilarious, I must have seen it ten times ... It is a 'classic' for all who have been there!

r-c-s 2012-05-20 18:40:40

nice, unpretentious, realistic school movie (no "Porky's" but more "back to the future")

Many details set this movie a mile ahead of its competition. First, weshould be reminiscent of the fact the movie is from 1985. That was theperiod of the countless "academy", goliardic, school/dorm/frat moviescheering Reaganian America at its best of (roughly conservative/ upper)middle class fame days. We recall Porkies (Canada), Police Academy,Back to the future, Howard & countless others.The back cover of the VHS i got tries to describe it as one's usualsleazy/light/"funny" movie... "National lampoon's animal house getreligion -...- when the devoutly sadistic brother constance discoverswhat's being practised while he preaches! the irreverent antics theseunorthodox catholic boys get up to is enough to test the patience of asaint ".Nothing could be more far from the truth. This movie, althoughtechnically a B movie ( no soundtrack ala Top Gun, no exteriors, norinteriors; no fancy exotic locations ) is a world away from piquant,sleazy or slapstick juvenile movies. It has no "cheerleader" goingaround topless; no shower scenes teasing the soft core audience; no rowof pranks to be pulled; no cartoon characters ala LT Harris, as thatdescription lets believe (probably trying to set suckers up ).It is the realistic portrayal of catholic irish/Italian boys dealingwith a rigid and alas desuete educational system ( ex. theheart-throbbing speech father Abruzzi delivers at the opening of thedance party, finger pointing the dangers of lust and foretelling theexcruciating pains of hell for those who dare to taste the forbiddenfruit against the church's imparted teaching. Then you get friarsmaking sure boys&girls don't dance "too close" or "inappropriately" ).Mind you, private schools are/were expensive and we thus deal with theoffsprings of the upper middle catholic class, with short glimpses ofsociological reality. For example, before the swimming lesson, theinstructor (also a friar) talks about the need of keeping fit because"killing catholics" comes first in the commies' agenda.It is about teenage psychology ( actors at least look credible in theirrole, unlike others ). Take the opening scene when the headmaster teststhe newbie, making him short-circuit in seconds. Actors are upto themark.Overall a nice, enjoyable movie worth watching twice.

brian57039 2012-05-18 12:47:49

How can you call this a comedy?!! It's a sadism fest!

This is anything but a comedy!! This was meant to be a farce, a funnymovieabout 1960s era Catholic school. What I saw was a realistic depiction ofcruel, sadistic, and downright evil behavior. I'm talking about theclergyof the Catholic church!! They claim to be teaching the word of God;however, they are anything but "God"-ly. They are evil and seek tooppress,beat, maim, and ultimately destroy children by beating them verbally andespecially physically!! This was only a film, but this serves as apainfulreminder to anyone who dares try to stomach watching it depict real-liferelated scenarios of sadistic brethren, bully nuns, and sick priests whoseek to keep innocent children down and under their thumbs. I reallywouldhave liked to have seen a different outcome for the epitomy of sadisticbully brother: Jay Patterson's character. All that happens to him is heistransferred away by Donald Sutherland's character. I would have liked tohave seen the five boys (McCarthy, Geoffreys, Dempsey, Danare, and Dillon)gang up on brother Constance and beat the living hell out of him and maybeeven (as slowly and as painfully as possible)send him straight to where hebelonged! YES, there!!That low-down pig got far less than he deserved after he nearly killedMcCarthy by hitting him extremely hard in the face and eye. I wishMcCarthywould have done more damage to Constance than he did in retaliation. Iwould have liked to have seen him kick him and beat him several to manytimes in the torso area and really hurt him badly!!!! But no, all he gotwas transferred. That wouldn't fly today! For all you brethren andsistersin the Catholic clergy who pride yourselves on hurting children: Heedthis!You hurt children long and/or hard enough, you not only can get hurt indefense, but WILL more than likely!!!!

2012-05-18 04:48:41

Chick flick that is funny for guys too.

This review is from: Heaven Help Us (DVD) You know how kid movies (shrek, iceage) put in small inuendo for the adults to enjoy? Well, this movie is a good drama for women to watch, and has the inuendo that makes it especially funny for men. To the Star Trek fans, the Grand Negis has a talk to students about "not giving into their urges"

2012-05-16 11:54:09

Great Movie

Great Movie only bad thing is that the Soundtrack is impossible to find. There is some great music on there.

Michael O'Keefe 2012-05-16 07:36:31

Why is it so hard to practice what you preach?

In the mid 60s, a group of free spirits find it hard as Hell to toe thelineat a very strict Catholic school. Strong willed and full of vinegar doesnota choir boy make. Besides there are times you just can not respectauthority. This well acted drama touches the emotions at times. Strongacting from the likes of Andrew McCarthy, Donald Sutherland, Kevin Dillon,John Heard, Mary Stuart Masterson and Jennifer Dundas. Some comedyincludedand well worth your time.

Ddey65 2012-05-12 17:59:41

The 1960's, not the '50's.

k-man-3 is wrong about this film. It took place in 1965, not thelate-1950's. Otherwise, the rest of his comment is a matter of opinion,which I can pretty much agree with.

MARTY PARTYMAN 2012-05-12 01:05:49

Such memories..such times. Ugh!!!

When I first watched this movie, chills went up and down my spinebecause they brought back memories of my years in Catholic School, backin the 60's. That movie hit the 'Nail on the Head' when it portrayedhow the 'Priest/Fathers/Brothers' treated us during our 'Sentence' inHigh School. We had one priest that resembled on of the actors, wherehe beats one of the students in the movie. Ole 'Father Markham'. Peoplelike him should of been a prison guard or drill instructor or acontract assassin for the C.I.A., instead of a priest. When this movie came out, I took my children to see it. They were stillpre-teens and I had threatened to send them to Catholic School if theydidn't behave. To this day, they still remember that, and laugh at mysoft attempts at disciplinary actions. Anyway, I just wanted to say that I really enjoyed this movies, beingthat I lived parts of it and 'was' just as 'bad' as some of thosestudents. Yet, when I attend my various High School reunions of manyyears..the 40th being the most recent..I wonder and look for that oneparticular 'priest' that we had, back in the Good Ole Days andwonder..where he is. I sure would like to see him again. Too bad! He would of been in hislate 70's or 80's, by now. Oh well!! I sure would of loved to of'kicked' his "walker" from under his feet.

carpbear-1 2012-05-09 11:17:40

Within the satire there are elements of truth

First: I'm not Catholic and I didn't attend a parochial school in NewYork City. I grew up in the Midwest and most of the Catholic andProtestant students attended the public school system.My partner of many years grew up Catholic, though is no longerpracticing -- and he's told me that what is depicted in the movie ispretty darned accurate even given the satire; and I've checked withother who grew up Catholic and they've said pretty much the same thing.So, for some of us -- this movie is a window into what life was like instrict, 1960s-style, just-barely-past-Vatican-II Catholicism.It's interesting to note that the ultra-conservative, fundamentalisttradition I grew up in during that time is not so terribly different inattitude from what the students in this movie (and real-life ) endured:the books we read, the movies we watched, the television programs wewatched, the friends we made were all prescribed by ourultra-fundamentalist pastor.I think the movie is very under-rated and well deserves to be viewed inits uncut version.

2012-05-09 03:22:50

"Heaven Help Us" aka "Catholic Boys"

This was a film that I remembered loving in my teens. I had thought it was impossible to get on DVD and so was delighted to find it on Amazon. I watched it for the first time in years the other day and I still love it!!! Definitely one to watch if you have never seen it! If you like Brat Pack movies you will love this one!

2012-05-01 16:38:21

Joining the DVD chorus

I agree with the other reviewers...why isn't this gem on DVD? This is a charming movie that's been underplayed. It's both funny and touching. If you haven't seen it yet, you're in for a treat. And if you went to Catholic school, you'll really appreciate this movie.

Wizard-8 2012-05-01 07:37:54

Good, but bites off more than it can chew

"Heaven Help Us" is a warm, funny, and insightful look at Catholic highschool life in the 60s. The cast is great, and I'm glad they cast actors whoactually look like teenagers, instead of actors in their 20s. I'm also gladthe movie had some serious moments, because it makes all the antics andevents all the more realistic.These serious moments are the best parts of the movie. Unfortunately, a lotof them seem undernourished - I have to agree with a writer of an earlieruser comment that this movie seems to have been cut down in the editingroom. As a result, many subplots seem unfinished or lacking detail, and thisincludes the characters of some of the Brothers.I enjoyed this movie a lot, but I would love to see a director's cut oneday.

2012-04-29 19:31:01

classic !

This review is from: Heaven Help Us (DVD) Funny as hell, i guess it's really funny if you grew up going to catholic school .. hehe

rickherrick77 2012-04-29 03:49:16

realistic comedy about Catholic school life

This is a realistic comedy about old fashioned Roman Catholiceducation. Some catholic schools did require daily mass, and thehilarious scene with the "clicker" actually happened many times. Thecorporal punishment scenes may have been brutal, but if anything, theyare less violent than the reality of those days. And if you arewondering about the "au naturel" swim class, yes, it was once commonpractice, and would have been required at Catholic schools, YMCAs, andmany public schools as well, at least for male students, in 1964.Summary: Dunne is a 16 year old from Boston who is sent down toBrooklyn after his parents die in a car accident. He and his sister aretaken in by his grandparents. His grandma is convinced that he willbecome a priest and maybe the Pope. Dunne is enrolled in strict St.Basil's Academy, a no-nonsense Catholic school run by tough Irishreligious brothers. Dunne is an excellent student who befriends boththe school nerd and a group of underachieving wise guys. Hisassociation with the wise guys results in a confrontation with aviolent brother. In the meantime, the honest and unaffected Dunne hastime for a romance with a local working girl. He also befriends ayoung, hip religious brother, later to play Kevin's dad on Home Alone.See this film; it could hardly be better.

boffins 2012-04-27 14:18:18

Thoroughly enjoyable and very underrated film.......

I have an English vhs of this and it goes by the title of CatholicBoysover here, I was surprised to see this was not available and dvd format, asit is one of those memorable 80's teen films.This is actually dubbed 'Animal House gets religious' on the video case, Ithink it couldn't be more wrong, although it does have its similarities,Catholic Boys has a real sensible feel to it, it also has its very funnymoments, and a fantastic young cast.This is one of those films with lots of familiar faces who seemed to havevanished, Andrew McCarthy, Kevin Dillon, Patrick Dempsey and Malcom Danare,are all quite unknown figures nowadays, although their performances in thismake you think they would have had their careers set up for life.The great cast really sets the tone and their is a real togetherness fromthem, especially when the sadistic(?) brother Constance tries to get hisway, it all comes good in the end and the movie left me very satisfied inthe end, watch out for Stephen Geofferies character Williams who is alwaysmasturbating at every chance he gets, it seems fitting that he is now a starof the gay porn industry!I'd like to see this on dvd and even a comeback for the excellent AndrewMcCarthy, and Kevin Dillon!

jimgavin84 2012-04-26 20:42:50

romantic comedy with religion as background

This is one of the all time classic teen romantic comedies. The castincludes Kevin Dillon, John Heard, and Donald Sutherland. I wondered ifthe severe physical punishment scenes and the required nude swimmingwere fictional, but apparently not in the world of 1960s Catholiceducation. Michael Dunn (Andrew McCarthy) is a sixteen year old orphanfrom Boston. He and his little sister "Boo" are sent to live withgrandparents. His parents had a dream of a vocation, and Grandma(unclear if paternal or maternal) tries to keep Michael on track forthe Catholic priesthood.(One presumes that he may have uncles orcousins who are priests.)Michael is sent to Saint Basil's School, astrictly disciplined all boys academy. Michael manages to bringtogether who disparate elements of the school- nerdy honor studentCaesar (Malcolm Danare, CHRISTINE) and the school bully, Rooney, playedby a young Kevin Dillon. Rooney calls everyone and everything a"faggot" but turns out to be a totally loyal friend to Michael. Michaelincurs the wrath of the mean Brother Constance, played perfectly by JayPatterson. Michael also romances his (possibly) first gal pal, a hardnosed, irreligious girl, Danni, who runs a soda shop and takes care ofher depressed father. After a confrontation with the St. Basilreligious brothers, who continually raid the shop (off of schoolgrounds and after school hours) Danni(Mary Stuart Masterson) suffershaving the store closed down by cops and being taken away by a socialworker. As revenge, the boys behead a statue of the saint (known as"the bas",) and this leads to leather strap spankings over a vaultinghorse, presumably Constance's preferred punishment for severewrongdoing. Constance is transferred(!) out of the school and the boysend up suspended for two weeks. Great movie, great story, greatsoundtrack- highly recommended. Also, check out Wallace Shawn (PRINCESSBRIDE) as Fr. Abruzzi, a priest who warns teenagers about "lust."