On Saturday night, just before I was ready to turn off the television and go to bed, I took one last quick look through the guide and saw it. A movie I had not seen or thought about it twenty years. Maybe more. A movie that I had seen several times. We (meaning my Mother and I) used to rent it over and over. It was one of her favorites and it became one of mine too. A little movie that was lost in the midst of other 80's Brat Pack movies called "Heaven Help Us".
When I saw that HBO was showing it at midnight, I informed my husband to go to bed without me, because I was going to stay up and catch a long forgotten favorite of mine. As much as I quote Star Wars or The Warriors or even Tropic Thunder, I had forgotten that there was a time when I used to quote Heaven Help Us.
The movie is set in 1965, in an all-boys Catholic High School. This is why it was one of my mother's favorites. She was able to relate to the time period and going to an all-girls Catholic High School. She remembered it as a time where the old school nuns were still physical disciplinarians and younger, more "hip" nuns were coming in with new ideas on how to educate the children. She remembered the music. She remembered the anticipation of the Pope's visit to New York. She remembered the fear and the respect for the Catholic Church. She remembered being young and confused as most teenagers are. And this movie brought all that back for her.
We rented it several times from the little Mom and Pop Video Store around the corner from us in a time before Blockbuster took over the Mom and Pop Stores. In a time before Netflix took over Blockbuster. It was our go-to movie when there was nothing else in stock.
This is a simple movie of friendship and coming of age. It's about the respect and fear among the teachers (brothers) and students. Brother Constance is abusive and on an ego-trip from God. Brother Timothy likes baseball, smoking, and playing handball. Brother Thaddeus is the head of the school (St. Basil's) and tries to keep it all together.
But it's not about the Brothers. It's about the kids. Before there was Pretty in Pink, there was a young, wide eyed Andrew McCarthy who plays Dunn, the new kid.
Before there was McDreamy, there was an almost unrecognizable and very, very young Patrick Dempsey in a side role.
Before there was Entourage, there was Kevin Dillon as the tough kid and class clown who never knows when to shut his mouth and is always good for laughs.
And before there was Jack Bauer, there was Brother Thaddeus.
The soundtrack and score is great. The simplicity of the whole movie just really works. And there are some great lines ("To Whom, Brother!"). And it's a great little history lesson in the old school Catholic School. Yes, if they were caught chewing gum, they had to wear it on their nose. Yes, there was a clicker device that let the students know when to kneel and when to stand. Yes, there were abusive teachers that got away with it. Yes, there were understanding teachers who prevailed. Yes, if you were off school grounds, hanging in the soda shop, smoking and listening to Rock and Roll....the Church still ruled. My mother claimed all this was true and it made her love her school even more.
If you have HBO and it is still making it's rounds, check out "Heaven Help Us". I dare you to not get Kevin Dillon's "God Damn Boat/God Damn Bridge/ God Damn!" speech stuck in your head.
When I saw that HBO was showing it at midnight, I informed my husband to go to bed without me, because I was going to stay up and catch a long forgotten favorite of mine. As much as I quote Star Wars or The Warriors or even Tropic Thunder, I had forgotten that there was a time when I used to quote Heaven Help Us.
The movie is set in 1965, in an all-boys Catholic High School. This is why it was one of my mother's favorites. She was able to relate to the time period and going to an all-girls Catholic High School. She remembered it as a time where the old school nuns were still physical disciplinarians and younger, more "hip" nuns were coming in with new ideas on how to educate the children. She remembered the music. She remembered the anticipation of the Pope's visit to New York. She remembered the fear and the respect for the Catholic Church. She remembered being young and confused as most teenagers are. And this movie brought all that back for her.
We rented it several times from the little Mom and Pop Video Store around the corner from us in a time before Blockbuster took over the Mom and Pop Stores. In a time before Netflix took over Blockbuster. It was our go-to movie when there was nothing else in stock.
This is a simple movie of friendship and coming of age. It's about the respect and fear among the teachers (brothers) and students. Brother Constance is abusive and on an ego-trip from God. Brother Timothy likes baseball, smoking, and playing handball. Brother Thaddeus is the head of the school (St. Basil's) and tries to keep it all together.
But it's not about the Brothers. It's about the kids. Before there was Pretty in Pink, there was a young, wide eyed Andrew McCarthy who plays Dunn, the new kid.
Before there was McDreamy, there was an almost unrecognizable and very, very young Patrick Dempsey in a side role.
Before there was Entourage, there was Kevin Dillon as the tough kid and class clown who never knows when to shut his mouth and is always good for laughs.
And before there was Jack Bauer, there was Brother Thaddeus.
The soundtrack and score is great. The simplicity of the whole movie just really works. And there are some great lines ("To Whom, Brother!"). And it's a great little history lesson in the old school Catholic School. Yes, if they were caught chewing gum, they had to wear it on their nose. Yes, there was a clicker device that let the students know when to kneel and when to stand. Yes, there were abusive teachers that got away with it. Yes, there were understanding teachers who prevailed. Yes, if you were off school grounds, hanging in the soda shop, smoking and listening to Rock and Roll....the Church still ruled. My mother claimed all this was true and it made her love her school even more.
If you have HBO and it is still making it's rounds, check out "Heaven Help Us". I dare you to not get Kevin Dillon's "God Damn Boat/God Damn Bridge/ God Damn!" speech stuck in your head.
