Heaven Help Us

After rewatching Radioland Murders the other day, I was reminded of what a talent Mary Stuart Masterson is. In the late 80's and early 90's, Masterson popped up in some of my favorite films of that era. Benny And Joon, Chances Are, Some Kind Of Wonderful, and At Close Range, to name just a few. And she always turned in a terrific and likable performance. She was even able to shine in some less than stellar movies like Married To It, Funny About Love, and Immediate Family. She has this winning combination of spunk and toughness, beauty and brains, and I miss seeing her grace the big screen. Today, I thought I would take a look back at the first role of hers that caught my eye, 1985's Heaven Help Us.

Set in 1965, a teenage boy, Andrew McCarthy, and his sister, Jennifer Dundas, move from Boston to Brooklyn to their grandparents home after their parents pass away. The grandparents make McCarthy attend a strict Catholic school in hopes that someday he will want to be a priest. He instantly makes friends with the school nerd, Malcolm Danare, and a kind but hip Brother/teacher, John Hurt. He also instantly butts heads with a sadistic Brother, Jay Patterson, earning him the respect of the school bully, Kevin Dillon, and his crew, Stephen Geoffreys and Patrick Dempsey. McCarthy also falls in love for the first time with a girl from his neighborhood, Masterson.

This is a sweet movie that has a nice mix of comedy and drama. The cast, that also includes Donald Sutherland, Wallace Shawn, Dana Barron, and Yeardley Smith, is top notch. Director Michael Dinner deftly handles the material.

Heaven Help Us is a terrific, coming of age piece as seen through Catholic eyes.

It's available on dvd.