Heaven Help Us (1985) User Reviews

This Film is to Catholic School what Saved is to Protestant Christian School

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 26 April 2006]

A friend of mine who's an organist at a Catholic parish in New Jersey told me that the school used for the setting of Heaven Help Us is not to far from him in New Jersey. The area looks more like Brooklyn in 1965 than Brooklyn does. Having graduated a public high school in Brooklyn of that year, I can attest to that.

I can also attest to the fact that for people I knew in Catholic school at the time this movie really does hit the mark. Those who were taught by Brothers as they were here, told me that they ranged in character from idealistic John Heard to the sadistic Jay Patterson to father figure Donald Sutherland. And a few in between also with some issues.

One has to remember that this was the New York City of Robert Wagner in his last year as Mayor and with Wagner's blessing, Cardinal Spellman still had virtual carte blanche over his domain. Tommy Becket would have envied what he achieved over civil government. When you see those brothers invading that candy store, that's no exaggeration.

When I was a lad in Brooklyn, we had a candy store around the corner from a Catholic grade school. It was run by Mr. Lobenstein who was Jewish. Yet it was a refuge for the Catholic grade schoolers like the store that Mary Stuart Masterson is running for her Dad. The nuns would think nothing of going there to haul their charges back to class should they be late.

The nude swimming in the high school pool is no exaggeration. It's a boys school so presumably we all have nothing to hide. I did love Philip Bosco as the brother gym teacher telling the Catholic youth they had to get in shape to fight the Communists. This would have been standard dogma from Spellman. Of course some poor closeted gay kid would have been going completely out of his mind in that setting. And as we see in the end there was at least one.

The five student protagonists are Kevin Dillon, Andrew McCarthy, Malcolm Denare, Patrick Dempsey, and Stephen Geoffreys. Stephen Geoffreys the poor sexually frustrated kid who was constantly doing some self fulfillment left acting for a career in male porn. However it is the dynamic of the relationship between Kevin Dillon and Andrew McCarthy that drives the film. I met quite a few back in the day who were like both Dillon and McCarthy. Dillon is the school rebel, but McCarthy is the one who commits the ultimate act of defiance.

The best performance in the film is by Jay Patterson as Brother Constance. The only thing I can say is that the man had issues. I really can't say more, you have to see Heaven Help Us. The man on some level truly thought he was building character.

Last year the movie Saved came out and did for Protestant Christian schools what Heaven Help Us does for Catholic education. That's the best description I can give it.

Underrated

[winsfordtown · 8/10 · 31 October 2001]

This gentle, warm comedy set in a Catholic school in New York in 1965 seems to have been overlooked for a longtime. Maybe it got lost amongst the so called 'Brat Pack' movies of the mid eighties or maybe the name change to 'Catholic Boys' for it's UK release didn't help it's recognition. This is certainly a hidden gem with plenty of funny lines from Rooney (Dillon) and a nice understated romance between Michael (McCarthy) and Danni (Masterson) that doesn't get in the way of the plot.However most terrifying are the Brothers presence and their interpertation of the catholic religion. If their is a longer director's cut I would definatly like to see it on DVD. This film is certainly well worth a look at.

LUST!... is the Beast within!

[JasparLamarCrabb · 8/10 · 26 September 2010]

Director Michael Dinner's wildly unheralded film about life in a Catholic boy's school in Brooklyn circa 1965. Andrew McCarthy, in what is probably his best performance (and role), is the new kid at the school, which is run by strict principal Donald Sutherland and ruled with an iron paddle by psychotic Brother Jay Patterson . Kevin Dillon is the school bully and Malcolm Danare is Cesar, a woefully incompetent brain. The movie is full of great things, capturing the look and feel of the mid-1960s with a lot of great (mostly Motown) music. Dillon and Danare are very funny and the supporting cast features Patrick Dempsey, John Heard, and, in an almost sublime cameo, Wallace Shawn, who reminds the attendees of a school dance that LUST is the BEAST WITHIN! McCarthy has great chemistry with love interest Mary Stuart Masterson. The exceptional screenplay is by Charles Purpura, who, it's hard to believe, went on to write the Justine Bateman vehicle SATISFACTION.

Funny, touching, and underrated

[KidRalph · 27 October 2004]

While I can't comment on the accuracy in which the "Catholic School for Boys" is depicted in this movie, having once been a teenage boy, I can attest to having known (or been) a kid who is represented by nearly every character in the movie. I identified most with Andrew McCarthy's character, but saw a little of myself in many of the other kids.

The movie is at times funny, touching, and intense. I believe it has been largely forgotten and was ignored even in its initial run. It is vastly underrated, and if you happen across it in the TV Guide or in the older titles at the video store, it is worth two hours of your life. Recommended.

good comedy!

[jaws! · 7/10 · 7 July 1999]

i rented the un-cut version of this movie. after it says bits of the edited version on comedy central. i watched the movie and liked it. it's a funny movie,and at times very funny. it's also entertaining. kevin dillon is most of the movie's humor. he is always saying funny wisecracks in this movie. all in all a good movie! i give heaven help us *** out of ****

The Thin of Lutht

[JamesHitchcock · 7/10 · 8 December 2008]

It is an article of faith among certain Protestants that every Catholic is tormented by sexual guilt, a guilt inculcated in them by priests who, because they have no sex life of their own, take an unhealthily prurient interest in everyone else's. The script for "Catholic Boys", as "Heaven Help Us" is generally known in Britain, would appear to have been written by a Protestant of this particular creed.

The film is set in St Basil's School, a strict Catholic boys' school in New York. The main character is the sixteen-year-old Michael Dunn, a new student at Saint Basil's, who has been sent to live with his grandparents upon the death of his parents. His grandmother is determined that Michael should eventually enter the priesthood, even though he shows little evidence of having a priestly vocation. The film follows the adventures of Michael, his non-Catholic girlfriend Danni, his classmates and the monks who teach them over the course of a school year. Among the other students are the fat, unpopular would-be intellectual Caesar and Ed Rooney, the foul-mouthed class bully. The three monks who play important roles in the film are the headmaster, Brother Thaddeus, Brother Timothy, a young novice, and Brother Constance, a "strict disciplinarian" (an expression which, in this context, is a euphemism for "sadistic bully").

Like most of his fellow Brat Packers (Emilio Estevez and Demi Moore being exceptions), Andrew McCarthy has rather faded from view in recent years. In the mid-eighties, however, he was regarded as a major star in the making, and this film makes good use of his clean-cut persona as the "good boy" Michael, who is strongly contrasted with Kevin Dillon's bad-boy Rooney. The three monks Thaddeus, Timothy and Constance are also well played, especially by Jay Patterson as the last.

Some Catholics have objected to the way in which their religion is portrayed in the film, and there certainly appear to be elements of satire at the expense of traditionalist Catholicism, especially its attitude towards sex. Perhaps the best clue to the film-makers' intentions lies in the date at which the action takes place; 1965. Ever since about 1980, a 1960s setting has frequently been cinematic shorthand for "clash between traditional values and trendy permissive ones". By the mid-sixties, a clash of this nature was taking place within the Catholic church itself following the Second Vatican Council, but the school remains a strongly traditionalist institution; Mass, for example, is still said in Latin rather than English. As the film progresses, however, we see that a version of the clash between tradition and progress is being played out even in St Basil's. After an incident in which Constance savagely thrashes several students for their part in a prank, we discover that his vicious sadism has appalled not only the liberal Brother Timothy but also Brother Thaddeus, who is far from liberal but is at least humane enough to realise that Constance's methods should have no place in the education of the young.

"Catholic Boys", is not, however, primarily a serious film about conservatism versus liberalism in the field of religious education. Indeed, it is not primarily a serious film at all, but a comedy, albeit one that has some satirical points to make. Indeed, it is the satirical scenes which are often the most amusing and memorable ones, particularly the ones set in the confessional which strengthened my long-held belief that the sacrament of confession is a rather ridiculous institution and that its abolition was one of the wiser moves of the Protestant Reformation. I also liked the scene where the boys are only allowed to attend a dance with pupils from a local girls' school after being treated to a hell-and-brimstone sermon on the sin of lust. (Or rather, the thin of lutht- the priest who delivers it speaks with a strong lisp). A highly amusing comedy, well worth watching. Those who saw it as anti-religious or anti-Catholic need to get a sense of humour. 7/10

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

[boffins · 7/10 · 6 July 2002]

I have an English vhs of this and it goes by the title of Catholic Boys over here, I was surprised to see this was not available and dvd format, as it is one of those memorable 80's teen films. This is actually dubbed 'Animal House gets religious' on the video case, I think 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 funny moments, and a fantastic young cast. This is one of those films with lots of familiar faces who seemed to have vanished, Andrew McCarthy, Kevin Dillon, Patrick Dempsey and Malcom Danare, are all quite unknown figures nowadays, although their performances in this make 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 from them, especially when the sadistic(?) brother Constance tries to get his way, it all comes good in the end and the movie left me very satisfied in the end, watch out for Stephen Geofferies character Williams who is always masturbating at every chance he gets, it seems fitting that he is now a star of the gay porn industry! I'd like to see this on dvd and even a comeback for the excellent Andrew McCarthy, and Kevin Dillon!

Reflects that period of time

[Blkynboy · 9/10 · 11 November 2005]

This movie depicts a time that has now become a part of history. St. Michael's School closed its doors earlier this year. The neighborhood which was populated by Irish and Italian kids is now primarily Latino and lower-income,who couldn't afford the rising tuition.

The situations, as portrayed, were actually quite realistic for an inner-city parochial school. Some might say the brutality toward the boys was extreme- but pretty close to the truth.

Actual scenes were used in the neighborhood. The building that housed the candy store is still there, empty and derelict.

The movie caught the aura of the era and is becoming a 'cult classic'

Why is it so hard to practice what you preach?

[michaelRokeefe · 6/10 · 26 October 2001]

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

Spot-on depiction for the time

[pyattimac · 9/10 · 18 April 2021]

Watching this movie takes me back to my own experiences in a Catholic elementary school during the 1960's. My school was coed but the nuns were just as bad as the priests. One priest I recall making boys crawl around the auditorium on their hands and knees, or stand for prolonged periods with their noses pressed against a wall. Humiliation was a favorite tactic,also. Whoever wrote the screenplay knew the rituals very well- the opening sequence was exactly what we did every Friday afternoon. I loved the clicker trick- wish one of our kids had done that! When the whole school explodes into applause as Dunn decks Brother Clarence, it feels like victory. The soundtrack is wonderful...good ol' 60's R and B!

Classic Catholic School - Heaven Help Us

[arthur_tafero · 6/10 · 18 October 2019]

This film is a classic example of Catholic School in the not so good old days. The performances are right on and the production values are very good. The direction is crisp and the screenplay is practically perfect. And as bad as this one brother was in the film, the Saint Bonaventure School of West Paterson, New Jersey (now Woodland Park) had a nun that was FAR worse than this bully. Sister Aloysius of the Fourth Grade in 1957 physically abused one or more students on a DAILY basis. She beat poor Jeffrey Lovas on the head with her pointer and would break, on the average, about three rulers a week on other parts of his body. He later became the police chief of West Paterson. Several other victims of this sister were beaten with fists, kicked, and had their hair pulled at least once a week. She terrified the whole class for a year, but two years later, we all got our revenge on her because she was getting overweight and frail and could not hit us or catch us as easily as she did in the fourth grade. In the sixth grade, we would all laugh at her efforts and drive her to a frenzy, where she started huffing and puffing, and sweating after she plopped down in her chair with her ruler. During the final exams, she fell asleep and we all copied the best Science student's work on the exam. We all got caught because we all got 97 with the same wrong answer on all the papers. The parish made us take the test again, but the good part was they retired Aloysius after that incident. Sorry to go off on a rant, but this film reminded me of her.

I went to Catholic School...

[Boyo-2 · 8/10 · 16 July 2004]

..and I was an altar boy, and went to church every day, and confession..

So watching this the other day brought some of that back to me. There were Brothers in the parish but nuns taught school.

As some other comments have suggested, this movie is unimaginable without Kevin Dillon. He's riotous, from beginning to end. He's given all the good lines and makes the most of them. You barely hear Patrick Dempsey's voice at all.

I was and am not an Andrew McCarthy fan, but he's very tolerable in this. Its the lead but the less showy part. His scenes with Mary Stuart Masterson don't exactly jump off the screen, but they are adequate to the movie.

Movie also gets some points from me for the Elvis references. The guys go to an Elvis movie after seeing the Pope (and get in trouble for it), plus the King is heard over the credits at the end. 8/10.

Classic

[tlharrison-59546 · 7/10 · 23 June 2020]

I grew up watching this quite a bit but no one ever seems to have heard of it. I got really excited when I saw that it was on Amazon - Cinemax. I love Andrew McCarthy and Patrick Dempsey was all set for my nostalgia wave. Sadly, Dempsey has maybe 3 or 4 lines in this movie. I don't remember his role being so minor. McCarthy was great in this. He is great at playing the quiet, introspective nice guy. This movie takes off pretty slowly but seems to pick up pace, only to end at the most random point and without tying up storylines. We are given a brief run-down of what happens to each guy in the following years but it lacks quite a bit in my opinion. As a kid, I loved this movie and thought it was great but as an adult, I was left saying "huh?". I enjoyed the scenes with Masterson and McCarthy. The best thing about this movie has got to be Caesar though. His lines and delivery are the best. Worst thing about this movie is the loose ends... and Rooney. That character is insufferable.

Heaven Help Us

[BandSAboutMovies · 5/10 · 6 September 2022]

Heaven Help Us was originally written in 1978 as a masters thesis by NYU student Charles Purpura who based it on his childhood in Catholic schools. Purpura soon dropped out of NYU and was fired from his job at a lithography shop for organizing a union. To make things worse, he was denied unemployment benefits because his nighttime screenwriting was considered potentially lucrative. He filed for bankruptcy, borrowed some money and left America for India. As for its director, Michael Dinner, he had once been a singer-songwriter and recording artist for Fantasy Records.

The film is an episodic story of the lives of Catholic boys in the at times brutal St. Basil's. Michael Dunn (Andrew McCarthy) and his sister Boo have been sent to Brooklyn to live with their Irish-Catholic grandparents, who want Michael to fulfill his parent's dream of him being a priest. He soon becomes friends with the overweight Caesar (Malcolm Danare) and has to deal with that student's personal nemesis, Ed Rooney (Kevin Dillon).

Complicating that priestly dream is a relationship with Danni (Mary Stuart Masterson) and the misadventures the boys get into once Caesar and Rooney become friends. This brings them into conflict with the discipline of Brother Constance (Jay Patterson) and the somewhat bemused brothers Thaddeus and Timothy (Donald Sutherland and John Heard). And hey - there's also Wallace Shawn as Father Abruzzi.

McCarthy said that he felt this was probably the best movie he made in the 80s even if only "about twelve people saw it."

Oh man -- Larry Bud Melman is in this!

realistic comedy about Catholic school life

[rickherrick77 · 8/10 · 23 January 2008]

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

Realistic film about 60s urban teens.

[sonya90028 · 9/10 · 8 July 2009]

This film takes place during the mid-60s in Brooklyn, at a fascist-like Catholic school for boys. The kids who attend this school, have to deal with ridiculously strict teachers, who are all church elders. The teachers walk around in long brown robes, and have haircuts like monks. Naturally, the boys find clever ways to rebel against their school's stifling regulations, and are constantly getting into mischief.

Back in the mid-60s corporal punishment was still common in all schools, not just Catholic ones. The difference in this film, is that the teachers try to use Catholic religious values, to justify their harsh punitive treatment of the students. One teacher in particular, is very sadistic whenever he wants to punish his pupils. He locks them in a closet, viciously whips their hands with a wooden paddle, slaps them, pulls their hair, ETC.

When a group of boys vandalize a statue, the sadistic teacher tries to paddle their behinds with a gigantic wooden paddle. This is the last straw for the boys, who are fed-up with being brutally disciplined by this teacher. And they decide to take matters into their own hands. This is a good film overall, about 60s teens. It was very realistic, in showing the life that urban teens led in that era. By showing how barbaric corporal punishment was back then, this movie can make the viewer glad that it's been abolished in schools nowadays.

I can only imagine how many kids who were in school in the 60s, have been psychologically damaged by getting beaten by their teachers. Since they had to cope with this, it's no wonder that most young people growing-up during the 60s, vehemently rebelled against authority.

Within the satire there are elements of truth

[carpbear-1 · 9/10 · 30 August 2009]

First: I'm not Catholic and I didn't attend a parochial school in New York City. I grew up in the Midwest and most of the Catholic and Protestant students attended the public school system.

My partner of many years grew up Catholic, though is no longer practicing -- and he's told me that what is depicted in the movie is pretty darned accurate even given the satire; and I've checked with other 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 in strict, 1960s-style, just-barely-past-Vatican-II Catholicism.

It's interesting to note that the ultra-conservative, fundamentalist tradition I grew up in during that time is not so terribly different in attitude from what the students in this movie (and real-life ) endured: the books we read, the movies we watched, the television programs we watched, the friends we made were all prescribed by our ultra-fundamentalist pastor.

I think the movie is very under-rated and well deserves to be viewed in its uncut version.

Heaven help me!

[BrettErikJohnson · 4/10 · 14 May 2002]

"Heaven Help Us" takes a supposedly comic look at a Catholic high school for boys in the '60s. Believe me...you've seen it all before. The boys get into a bit of mischief. The teachers rule their classrooms with a heavy hand. There is a scene where the boys confess their sins. There is another scene where the boys have a dance with the local Catholic high school girls. On and on. I'm getting bored just writing about it. If you're looking for a movie with a sharp wit or one that tells a romantic story, you'll have to look elsewhere. This one simply goes through the motions. 2/10

nice period nice; pro-catholic movie

[shabbona91 · 9/10 · 15 March 2008]

I disagree with previous reviewers who called this movie anti-catholic bigotry. I think the humor is in good fun, and the film is ultimately respectful of Catholic worship and traditions. I am catholic and I am not offended. I also think the corporal punishment scenes are quite real and not "over the top." The catholic high school I attended did allow slapping, punching, kneeling on cement, being in push up position, kicks in the butt, slams into lockers, and hard paddlings. Frankly I was glad I never had to take that scary stuff on the open palms; brothers who used paddles or straps were mercifully allowed to strike only the buttocks. We also had to swim nude, but after the first embarrassing freshman day it was no big deal. Virtually all boys at all schools had to use public showers, so why is nude swimming a big deal? A brief synopsis: Michael Dunn is a Boston teenager sent to live in Brooklyn. His chain-smoking grandmother has delusions about him being a priest someday, and he is sent to a rigid, stern Catholic boys academy. After befriending the school's brain and a group of non-academic goofballs, he ends up in trouble with the school's strictest teacher, the unethical Bro. Constance. Michael falls in love with a local girl, a truant who runs a soda fountain and takes care of her disabled father. The brothers shut down the shop, and the police take the girlfriend away. A hilarious prank is launched for revenge, and chaos ensues. This film succeeds on two levels: it is both a comment on Catholic education and an engrossing character study. You really come to love and root for the characters.

Catholic School never looked so cool

[george.schmidt · 4 April 2003]

HEAVEN HELP US (1985) *** Andrew McCarthy, Kevin Dillon, Mary Stuart Masterson, Malcolm Dunare, Patrick Dempsey, John Heard, Donald Sutherland, Wallace Shawn, Stephen Geoffreys. Nice coming-of-age comedy set in a Catholic boys' school in 1963 with some fine ensemble acting. Vintage soundtrack.

School Days - "Heaven Help US"

[mme0528 · 10/10 · 1 June 2013]

I am a C&E (Christmas and Easter)Catholic and survivor of 12 years of Catholic education. With an entry like that, one might think I'm about to flame the Church and the education it provided me. Nothing could be farther from the truth. I loved my 12 years, the first eight in the hands of the Benedictine Sisters and the last four in those of the Augustinian Fathers. They both did right by me and my three older sisters (who had the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet for their high school years). We were from working to lower middle class backgrounds, and all matriculated at good universities from which we all graduated. We couldn't have done that without the fine start those first 12 years gave us. We all also came of age in the 60s and in my case, early-70s.

Having said all that, ad having gone to a well known all boys high school in a major west coast city from 1970 to 1974, I will happily confirm that pretty much everything I saw in this film rang true. We didn't have swimming, but if we had, I have no doubt that it might have been in the nude. Otherwise, we had our share of jerks as teachers, both religious and lay, that we had to navigate, but it is amazing what having some hurdle like that to overcome will do for the "esprit de corps" of the entire student body. These people, and the lengths to which we went to get over on them, became the stuff of legend, and because they often were employed as teachers well beyond their usefulness, they became legends across more than one generation. In fact, they became a kind of whetstone upon which our characters were honed; usually with success.

Personally, if I were to do it all over again, I wouldn't change a thing, and one of my great regrets is that I couldn't do for my children what my parents sacrificed to do for all of us. However, the tuition these days has skyrocketed to a layer of the stratosphere where my parents never dreamed of treading. That annual tuition is more than what most public universities are charging these days. Hell, my parents never even made in a year what the schools are now charging for one year. I am managing to put my three through college and consider that I am fortunate to be able to do that. Anyway, it was a great time to be alive, and a great experience that I will cherish to the day I die.

Catholic Boys

[susan-broadbent2 · 10/10 · 11 November 2006]

As a Catholic with Catholic parents, my mother spoke of vindictive and may i say it nuns who prayed on terrorising young impressionable girls and boys in the 40's and 50's, even my cousins in the 60's and 70's. I didn't have a bad experience of nuns but from what i heard the Brothers in the film were exactly like the nuns my family were subjected to. I have watched this film a number of times and every time i feel for the boys in the film. I loved it and thought it was well acted and actually showed how the Brothers and nuns etc are starved of affection and take out there frustrations on the impressionable young people in there care..its quite sad and funny but so watchable. I would recommend any parent thinking of sending their children to to this kind of environment should be made to watch this film, its an excellent and brilliantly acted film. I cant fault the film in any way and all i can say is watch it with an open mind, be open to the innocence of the time its set in and be swept away with the story..its quite magical and took my breath away. I would recommend this film to anyone. Especially as Andrew McCarthys in it.

Way too anti Catholic and blasphemic

[nlangella1 · 1/10 · 1 October 2014]

One of the worst, if not, the worst films I have ever seen. Just nothing but a film made by some ingrates who try to use comedy and humor by making fun of the Catholic Faith. Some scenes with Rooney and Williams weren't even funny. Rooney was a low life, idiotic bully. As for Williams, he was a lustful student who played with himself every 5 seconds. He was caught masturbating in public while sitting in a cafeteria full of male students. He also had the "brilliant" idea to faint/jerk off while serving the communion wafers to the girls who attended the female school the virgin martyrs. The girls were not right for tempting Williams into lust while receiving Euchirist. But who decides to drop on the altar and jerk off? Seriously? The writers must of had sick minds.

Good, but bites off more than it can chew

[Wizard-8 · 26 August 1999]

"Heaven Help Us" is a warm, funny, and insightful look at Catholic high school life in the 60s. The cast is great, and I'm glad they cast actors who actually look like teenagers, instead of actors in their 20s. I'm also glad the movie had some serious moments, because it makes all the antics and events all the more realistic.

These serious moments are the best parts of the movie. Unfortunately, a lot of them seem undernourished - I have to agree with a writer of an earlier user comment that this movie seems to have been cut down in the editing room. As a result, many subplots seem unfinished or lacking detail, and this includes the characters of some of the Brothers.

I enjoyed this movie a lot, but I would love to see a director's cut one day.