The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys (***1/2)
review by Ken Gumbs

Comic books aren’t just for convention-attending Star Trek fans, or even your average pre-teen anymore. With
the success of X-Men and Spiderman, those simpler times are over. While Hollywood scrambles to buy the rights to The Incredible Hulk and Dare Devil and anything else they can get their hands on, the independent film world has their answer in The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys. Well...sort of.

Yeah, the superheroes in Altar Boys don’t have the mass appeal that previously named superheroes might have,
but that definitely doesn’t make this film any less enjoyable. Kieran Culkin throws the first of his excellent one-
two punch of independent cinema in 2002 (Igby Goes Down being the other). Kieran is no longer the little brother of Macaulay. Oh no, Kieran has evolved into a fine actor in his own right. He plays Tim, the mischievous leader of a band of comic book artists who have a knack of getting into trouble.

Best friend Francis, played by Emile Hiesch, is the perfect likeable character to Kieren’s crazy antics. Francis
seems less interested in pranks and more interested in being a serious comic book artist. When he’s not doodling in an infamous notebook, he’s salivating over supporting actress Jena Malone. Wow, that Malone girl is quite a nice little actress in her own right. While fellow young Hollywood actresses like Katie Holmes or Jennifer Love Hewitt seem happy raking in the big bucks with mediocre movies, neither can hold a candle to Malone.

With any superhero, there needs to be a super villain. In this case, Jodie Foster plays Sister Assumpta, a strict one-legged nun nicknamed ‘Nunzilla’ by the group of boys. Together the boy’s imaginary characters and Nunzilla do battle in comic book style animation throughout the film. This technique could very easily be overdone, but I take my hat off to director Peter Care and his ability to use these sequences to give further insight into the boys’ characters and keep the audience entertained at the same time.

When the boys aren’t dreaming away in their comic wonderland, they are going through some real issues. They decide to steal a panther and deliver it to the Nunzilla. Now the casual audience member might question the rational of these children, but unfortunately like many young people, they seem to get into trouble simply to keep their minds off their real lives. Incest, alcoholism, and moral sins are all questions that these young people are forced to deal with. While the comic animations make the film seem youth-oriented, the lives of these teens are tragic. Well-written, well-acted, and well, a really good movie.

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