Ralph

Every once in a while, a "feel good" movie pops up that surprises me. Always on the look-out for movies that my wife will watch, I picked this off the shelf and was simply delighted watching it. The story was better than the run of the mill tear-jerker and was made credible by the performance of young Mr. Butcher in the title role, the sweet and beautiful teenage Ms. Hope and the convincing performances of Campbell Scott and Gordon Pinsent as the priests with opposing views. To a pair of cradle Catholics like my wife and I who grew up in the 50s, the bittersweet romance of coming of age was very compelling. In short, this is a good film. Enough nostalgia to spark old memories for oldies like us and with enough sentiment not to be overly sentimental and maudlin. Check it out. You'll be glad you did.

Reminded me of two things -- one when I was in Catholic school, and two being a young teenager. Very few films combine religion with real people living real lives. Most films that seem to touch on anything concerning faith come off preachy. This one doesn't in the least. You can't help rooting for and liking the main character. The film is kinda like a family version of Rocky concerning a kid who runs the Boston Marathon to try and wake his coma ridden mother via a miracle. The miracle being a fourteen year old even running in the marathon yet alone trying to win it. The father/coach played by Cambell Scott assures him it would be one of the biggest miracles of all time!

Saint Ralph is a throwback to the wonderful films of the 1940's and 50's in which hope springs eternal, no matter the roadblocks that one may encounter along the way. However, it's never corny. It is a film with a lot of wry, gentle humor, especially for those who may have gone to parochial schools when they were staffed primarily by nuns, brothers, and priests. My wife tells me that all over the theater men of a certain age could be heard chuckling at the familiar scenes from their youth.

Lots of references pop into my head as I think about this film. I can't help but recall "Chariots of Fire", British schoolboy movies, and even "Catcher in the Rye." I believe this Canadian film could only have been made in an English-speaking Commonwealth country, possibly Britain, but certainly Canada or Australia. It's pretty definite, however, that this kind of film could never have been made in the U.S. There is a certain sensibility that we south of the Canadian border seem to have lost forever.

This movie is not perfect, but it certainly ranks as one of the most satisfying films I've seen in a very long time. The cast is uniformly good, the writing is spot on, and there is even a period of real suspense. I most heartily recommend this movie.

Clearly the best movie out this month (July/August 2005 - I've seen most of them). The easiest way to tell you about it is to compare it to similar movies, and the first that came to mind were Lucas (Corey Haim) and Rudy (Sean Astin). What Saint Ralph shares in common with these films is the extreme athletic determination, against all odds, of a spirited boy from a pathetic background. And it's the best of it's kind since Rudy (1993), at least, and in my opinion since Lucas (1986).

Ralph (Adam Butcher) is a naughty but naive 14-year-old boy, ready to take almost everything literally, now faced with the paradox of faith. His widowed mother is apparently dying in the hospital, and falls into a coma early in the story. A doctor says it will take a miracle to wake her.

Ralph is an interesting character, his even blend of pure and impure motives providing both the humor that make the film entertaining, and the realism that make it believable. His self-abuse in every sense defines the term, from the usual meaning to literally sanding his knees to pray in a pan of alcohol, the latter recommended by his girlfriend, who aspires to be a nun.

When his Catholic school's cross country coach says it would be a miracle if anyone on his team won the Boston Marathon, Ralph's literal mind seizes a fallacious opportunity. If he wins the Boston Marathon, it would be a miracle, and that's what his mother needs to survive. Most of the movie is about his training to run that race, both physical and spiritual, with the help of a priest (Campbell Scott), a nurse (Jennifer Tilly), and his girlfriend (Tamara Hope).

The blend of comedy and pathos is effective, the film kept entertaining by the comedy in the foreground, while the fact that Ralph's mother is dying keeps us interested in the outcome and rooting for the boy. Even if you don't like running or sports in general, the life at stake, or at least the boy's faith at stake, makes this race important.

There may be a bit too much sexual comedy for most parents to let small children see. For instance, after Ralph's caught in a venal sin in the swimming pool, that involved spying on the girl's locker room, he tells his mother "It was really an accident. The manufacture of the pool was faulty." The incident becomes a running joke, demonstrating Ralph's character trait of not caring what other people think. He later says they didn't really need to drain the pool (I'm not going to explain that, you've got to see it, but it was funny). But it's not as crude as other current comedies like The Wedding Crashers and The Bad News Bears.

I recommend Saint Ralph specifically to anyone who liked Lucas or Rudy, and generally to anyone old enough to take the humor maturely.

I'm not a catholic, certainly not a saint, and can hardly even call myself a jogger, but I found this movie wonderfully inspiring, witty and enjoyable from start to finish. I was thoroughly impressed with Adam Butcher's performance; he portrayed young Ralph's emotions (and the struggles of youth) so genuinely that he brought tears to my eyes during several scenes. A truly uplifting message in the film, brought home with brilliance. The producers were able to turn back the clock on Hamilton in a convincing way, with the appropriate prudishness of dress and behaviour for the private catholic school community in the mid-'50s. The sound track / score was excellent as well.