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NUMBERS
Box Office: $1,507,000
details...
CONSENSUS
The inter-cutting of animation by Spawn's creator, Todd McFarlane, doesn't always work, but the performances by the young actors capture the pains of growing up well.
CAST & CREW
Emile Hirsch, Kieran Culkin, Jena Malone
Directed by Peter Care
more...
SYNOPSIS
Set in the rural South in the 1970s in a Catholic school, four pre-teen boys (Kieran Culkin, Emile Hirsch, Jake Richardson, and Tyler Long) create a comic book called "The Atomic Trinity" to channel their creativity, imagination, and rebellious adolescent angst. more...
MPAA RATING
R, language, sexual content, and youth substance abuse
RUNTIME
1 hour, 45 minutes
RELEASE DATES
Theatrical: Jun 14, 2002
Video: Nov 5, 2002
RELEASE COMPANY
ThinkFilm
GENRE
Dramas, Drugs, Comic Book
OFFICIAL SITE
• The Official The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys Site
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PARENTS EVALUATION
TRAILER & MEDIA
TIDBITS
NEWS ARTICLES
LINKS
SUBMIT/EDIT ARTICLE
SUBMIT USER REVIEW
FORUM
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 "Though certainly original in form, Altar Boys requires a taste for Swamp Thing-type animation, doubled with a deafening score."
-- Erica Abeel, FILM JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL
 "The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys' take on adolescence feels painfully true."
-- Jason Anderson, EYE WEEKLY
"The animated subplot keenly depicts the inner struggles of our adolescent heroes - insecure, uncontrolled, and intense."
-- Jeanne Aufmuth, PALO ALTO WEEKLY
"Works as pretty contagious fun."
-- Joe Baltake, SACRAMENTO BEE
"Deeply-rendered, distinctly three-dimensional performances...make "Altar Boys" very engaging even though the story is never quite compelling enough to draw you in on its own."
-- Rob Blackwelder, SPLICEDWIRE
"Despite an overwrought ending, the film works as well as it does because of the performances."
-- Liz Braun, JAM! MOVIES
"The film's gamble to occasionally break up the live-action scenes with animated sequences pays off, as does its sensitive handling of some delicate subject matter."
-- Matt Brunson, CREATIVE LOAFING
"The film is painfully authentic, and the performances of the young players are utterly convincing."
-- Robert W. Butler, KANSAS CITY STAR
"Even though it is infused with the sensibility of a video director, it doesn't make for completely empty entertainment"
-- Jason Clark, MATINEE MAGAZINE
"There’s too much falseness to the second half, and what began as an intriguing look at youth fizzles into a dull, ridiculous attempt at heart-tugging."
-- David Cornelius, AMAZING COLOSSAL WEBSITE
"The animated sequences are well done and perfectly constructed to convey a sense of childhood imagination and creating adventure out of angst."
-- Criminy Pete, CRIMINYPETE.COM
"The film overcomes the regular minefield of coming-of-age cliches with potent doses of honesty and sensitivity."
-- Paul Doro, MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL
"What would have otherwise been a routine nostalgic coming-of-ager takes on a new, innovative form."
-- Annlee Ellingson, BOXOFFICE MAGAZINE
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"Ultimately feels empty and unsatisfying, like swallowing a Communion wafer without the wine."
-- Merle Bertrand, FILM THREAT
"Although fairly involving as far as it goes, the film doesn't end up having much that is fresh to say about growing up Catholic or, really, anything."
-- Jay Boyar, ORLANDO SENTINEL
"While McFarlane’s animation lifts the film firmly above the level of other coming-of-age films ... it’s also so jarring that it's hard to get back into the boys’ story."
-- Jeffrey Bruner, DES MOINES REGISTER
"A tour de force drama about the astonishingly pivotal role of imagination in the soulful development of two rowdy teenagers."
-- Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, SPIRITUALITY AND HEALTH
"Meant to reduce Blake's philosophy into a tragic coming-of-age saga punctuated by bursts of animator Todd McFarlane's superhero dystopia."
-- Walter Chaw, FILM FREAK CENTRAL
""The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys" has flaws, but it also has humor and heart and very talented young actors"
-- Laura Clifford, REELING REVIEWS
"A...cynical and serious look at teenage boys doing what they do best - being teenagers."
-- Ryan Cracknell, MOVIE VIEW
"If you're part of the ever-growing audience that's looking for more in your movies than the latest TV show brought to the big screen - check this out."
-- Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone, THEMOVIECHICKS.COM
"A thoughtful movie, a movie that is concerned with souls and risk and schemes and the consequences of one's actions."
-- Curtis Edmonds, TXREVIEWS.COM
"This is the best American movie about troubled teens since 1998's Whatever."
-- David Elliott, SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE
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FRESH 61%
Avg. Rating: 6.9/10 |
"While there are times when the film's reach exceeds its grasp, the production works more often than it doesn't."
-- James Berardinelli, JAMES BERARDINELLI'S REELVIEWS
"An uneven mix of dark satire and childhood awakening."
-- Duane Byrge, HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
"It tries too hard, and overreaches the logic of its own world."
-- Roger Ebert, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
"Care deftly captures the wonder and menace of growing up, but he never really embraces the joy of Fuhrman's destructive escapism or the grace-in-rebellion found by his characters."
-- Robert K. Elder, CHICAGO TRIBUNE
"An overstuffed compendium of teen-Catholic-movie dogma."
-- Owen Gleiberman, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
"No, The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys does not exist in a state of perfect grace. However, its sins are forgivably venial, because its virtues are palpably human."
-- Rick Groen, GLOBE AND MAIL
"The gentle comic treatment of adolescent sturm und drang should please fans of Chris Fuhrman's posthumously published cult novel."
-- J. Hoberman, VILLAGE VOICE
"This bracingly truthful antidote to Hollywood teenage movies that slather Clearasil over the blemishes of youth captures the combustible mixture of a chafing inner loneliness and desperate grandiosity that tend to characterize puberty."
-- Stephen Holden, NEW YORK TIMES
"Sharp, lively, funny and ultimately sobering film."
-- Ann Hornaday, WASHINGTON POST
"Steers refreshingly clear of the usual cliches."
-- Desson Howe, WASHINGTON POST
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"Offers laughs and insight into one of the toughest ages a kid can go through."
-- Marshall Fine, JOURNAL NEWS
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* Who are the Approved Tomatometer Critics?
* Mouse over a tomato icon for a publication's original rating. Original rating not available for every publication.
* In fairness to critics whose last name begins with a letter at the end of the alphabet, certain pages are sorted in reverse order, z-a.
* Certain "The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys" article data provided by the Movie Review Query Engine.
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mikecandance
| In my bedroom, you'll find: "Plates and cups from midnight snacking, taped episodes of the Golden Girls and a body pillow shaped like a catfish." |
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