Mass Appeal

source: Mass Appeal

Moviecut—Mass Appeal

Father Tim Farley (Jack Lemmon) is a well loved priest in his church. He is given a month to teach headstrong Mark Dolson (Zeljko Ivanek) on how to tone his anger down and become a priest. He finds out Mark had gay sex before he decided to enter the Church. Unfortunately homophobic Monsignor Thomas Burke (Charles Durning) finds out too and wants him thrown out. Farley wants to stand up for Mark...but can he without getting thrown out himself? Quite obviously this was a play but it still works. There's nothing great or flashy about the direction but it has a great script and two wonderful performances by Durning and especially Lemmon. I wish I could say the same about Ivanek but he comes across as too angry and stubborn--it seems reasonable that he shouldn't be a priest. Still the issue about how the Catholic church views homosexuality is dealt with in a intelligent manner. As a lapsed Catholic myself I applaud the film for pointing out how biased and ridiculous their view is. I again have to say how good Lemmon is--I don't think this man ever gave a bad performance and he's just perfect here. A few of his discussions with Ivanek are (purposely) very funny. The ending is sort of muted here. They didn't change it from the play but it doesn't hit as hard--they didn't want to depress the audience I guess. For whatever reason this was barely released in 1984. The studio was probably afraid of the Catholic church condemning it but that actually might have made it more popular! Look at "Hail Mary" or "Last Temptation of Christ". The very few reviews here show that it's still pretty unknown. That's a shame because it's a well-made and thoughtful comedy drama. Well worth catching. "Mark don't kick a**!" "It's better than kissing it."

Its a shame that so many people are disinclined to watch any film involving the Catholic Church that does not involve an outright attack at religions in general. This film has all the subtle presentation of a masterpiece and has some fantastic and pacey exchanges. The central characters, a pair of priests, could not possibly balance each other out more effectively. One is young and idealistic, the other is old and disenchanted. Like any good dialogue, however, the concluding synthesis is simply faultless. If you have ever enjoyed an older film, I urge you to take a look at this classic piece.

Great flick. It helps to know a bit of the history of St. Francis of Assisi and see the parallels between Mark and the life of that saint. Mark's depiction of his own sexuality and his abandonment of materialism and pleasure are very similar to the moment that Francis faced when he abandoned his life as a "party animal" and the world of his father in the town square of Assisi. This modern adaptation of that story is very well done. I have seen both the play and movie and have found both to be inspirational. I highly recommend this movie in that it speaks to challenging the Catholic Church from within the constraints of the priesthood. While Mark, sadly, was turned aside by the Church, Father Farley, played by Jack Lemmon, is changed forever through his association with Mark. Great performances by Jack Lemmon, Zeljko Ivanek as Mark Dolson and Charles Durning as Monsignor Thomas Burke.

There's a bit of a mess at the local town seminary. A young seminarian (a man studying to be a priest) thinks its OK for other male seminarians to have sexual relations with one another in their dorm rooms under the holy roof of the seminary. The same young, immature, and emotionally uncontrollable seminarian feels it's cool to burst into the Monsignor's office unannounced to spout his arrogant cultural and political viewpoints. Upon leaving, he makes the determination that it is also acceptable to physically knock over a priest in the Monsignor's outer office. If I were the Monsignor, all of these things would prompt me to immediately pack this young man's bags and boot him in the butt as I send him out the door. Of course, there wouldn't be a movie if we saw that, so we get to watch this boy (who eventually admits he has a homosexual past) throw tantrums and attend church services in which he publicly uses language like "hookers" and refers to the congregation as a "coughing lot" and "over-dressed scavengers". Jack Lemmon is wonderful as a personable priest named 'Father Farley', though the inhibited young actor portraying the seminarian is much less effective. Charles Durning is fine as 'Monsignor Burke', Louise Latham delivers a good performance as Farley's housekeeper, while Talia Balsam is pretty in the role as the seminarian's sister. An interesting plot, though somewhat incredulous written this way; the best thing about the film is that it shows the audience that the career of a priest is like any other career.... the priest has an office, telephones, file cabinets, an a full appointment book. And it is not a negative trait for the priest to enjoy a glass of wine, drive a Mercedes, or play golf, though the writer (Bill Davis) intended these things to be construed as 'faults'. Davis appears to have a problem with Catholics as he depicts most of them as emotionally distressed and devoid of scruples while he concomitantly interjects Jewish neologisms into his script. See this for Lemmon's performance and his hard-working character's life as one of the best priests in the diocese. Recommended

Mark Dolson is an eager Catholic seminarian who throws himself-- body, mind, and emotion-- fully into everything he does. Father Tim Farley has fallen into a comfortable rut in his suburban parish, where he is loved and valued precisely because he doesn't make waves. Mark torments his teachers with unanswerable questions and unending intellectual debate. Father Farley relies on practiced clichés and vanilla humor to fill the air during the sermon slot of his morning services. When no other priest will take Mark on as a parish intern, the bishop gives him to Father Farley. The pairing of Zeljko Ivanek and Jack Lemmon is perfect in this character-driven film. The characters are multi-layered, and the issues they wrestle with are as pertinent now as they were in 1984.

Given all the revelations of sex abuse in the Catholic Church, Mass Appeal in its own way is as dated as Going My Way in its picture of the Catholic Church and its inner workings. Still the relationship of Jack Lemmon and Zeljko Ivanek isn't exactly Bing Crosby and Barry Fitzgerald. Playwright Bill C. Davis was hired to expand for the screen his two person play which 212 performances on Broadway in the 1981-82 season. It would hardly do to fill 100+ minutes of screen time with two priests just talking. Still the main focus is on popular parish priest Jack Lemmon and Zeljko Ivanek who is quite the oddball rebel at the seminary. The monsignor in charge of the seminary Charles Durning wants Lemmon to take this kid in hand and explain the facts of life to him otherwise his ambition to be a priest will never be fulfilled. But as these two go back and forth one starts to wonder who is changing who. On stage it worked to have the forces of repression as Ivanek sees them just be in the abstract. But for the screen Durning's role is critical in that the audience has to have the forces of oppression be personalized. Otherwise it would not have worked. What the issues are I won't reveal, but as I said the sex abuse scandals have really dated Mass Appeal. Still it's a fine film with great performances from Lemmon, Ivanek, and Durning.

Lemmon and Ivanek as exciting as priests with differing views in this entertaining film version of the early 80's play. Lemmon holds much of the court and his final monologue is fantastic. Loses a bit of the plays' luster, but still well made nonetheless.

Whether or not you are Catholic, "Mass Appeal" is an excellent film because it gets you to think. It may offend you--but it certainly will get you to think. Because of this, it's well worth seeing. The film begins with a priest (Jack Lemmon) having an unusual service. Instead of a pre-written sermon, he opens the floor to questions. The problem is, a young man (Zeljko Ivanek) asks some interesting questions about women in the priesthood--and the priest isn't prepared to actually answer any questions of substance. Later, Lemmon is called to the local seminary for a meeting--there are rumors two of the students might be gay. When he arrives, he sees the same young man who interrupted his meeting and realizes he's one of the seminary students. Ivanek further makes a nuisance of himself by defending the two accused students. In fact, the Monsignor (Charles Durning) is ready to keep Ivanek from the priesthood forever. But, despite the young man irritating him, Lemmon defends him--and is punished by Durning. The punishment--having to take this young seminarian under his wing as his new assistant. Unfortunately, things do NOT go smoothly--and all sorts of chaos occurs because the young man is too independent a thinker and he asks too many questions. The film will likely offend some Catholics. You can't get around that. The subjects of gay or female clergy clearly are not acceptable to many folks. However, even if you believe this to be true, I like how the film gets you to think and listen to other opinions. And, now that I think about it, it's a rare film because it makes you think. In addition to a thought-provoking script, the film also has some great acting and it's a film that doesn't underestimate the audience's intelligence. Well worth seeing regardless of your faith. By the way, one of the producers of the film was Joan Kroc. She was the wife of Ray Kroc (the founder of McDonald's) and owner of the San Diego Padres. It was her only foray into films.