{"id":13421,"date":"2021-03-03T15:32:54","date_gmt":"2021-03-03T20:32:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/?p=13421"},"modified":"2026-07-03T18:55:22","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T22:55:22","slug":"saint-ralph-2004","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/?p=13421","title":{"rendered":"Saint Ralph-2004"},"content":{"rendered":"

Saint Ralph-2004<\/strong><\/p>\n

Director Michael McGowan<\/strong><\/p>\n

Starring Adam Butcher, Campbell Scott<\/strong><\/p>\n

Scott’s Review #1,118<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Reviewed March 3, 2021<\/p>\n

Grade: C<\/strong><\/p>\n

Saint Ralph (2004) is an indie drama that is overly sentimental and includes too many standard plot points.<\/p>\n

This makes the film ho-hum and extremely cliched.<\/p>\n

It feels like the attempt was to create a major studio film in independent clothes, but without the grit afforded most indies.<\/p>\n

There are plenty of standard setups and by-the-numbers follow-through, rather than anything different or fresh.<\/p>\n

The film is too charming, safe, and feel-good for my tastes. Maybe there are just too many similar movies made, so it doesn’t stand out very well.<\/p>\n

And since it’s an indie, shouldn’t it strive for more edginess?<\/p>\n

The message is meant to inspire, and in a way it does, but that only goes so far.<\/p>\n

Saint Ralph is a story of a young man triumphing over insurmountable odds- wonderful but unrealistic.<\/p>\n

The religious elements of faith, miracles, and the Catholic high school are lost on me, but some may champion those elements better.<\/p>\n

I did enjoy the 1950s time period and its share of decade trimmings and set pieces, yet too often they feel stagey, and any authenticity doesn’t feel fresh.<\/p>\n

Rather, like actors clad in period clothing.<\/p>\n

The lead kid who plays Ralph (Adam Butcher) isn’t impressive enough, though Campbell Scott, who plays a priest with more wisdom than he probably should have, is the best thing about Saint Ralph.<\/p>\n

If I’m being harsh, it’s unintentional, but Saint Ralph is a film I’ve forgotten about a day or so after seeing it. I like a film that sticks with me and makes me think about, and Saint Ralph just ain’t it.<\/p>\n

It’s classified as a tear-jerker, and I didn’t shed one.<\/p>\n

Ralph is a troubled kid. His father died in World War II, and his mother lies ill in a coma. He smokes and masturbates, resulting in adult intervention by way of strict Father Fitzpatrick (Gordon Pinsent) and kindly Father Hibbert (Campbell Scott).<\/p>\n

He is encouraged to run in the upcoming Boston Marathon, and he trains mightily with the right encouragement.<\/p>\n

He feels that if he trains hard and wins the marathon, his mother will be granted a miracle by God, wake up from her coma, and live happily ever after.<\/p>\n

I won’t spoil the ending, but the conclusion will satisfy pious audiences.<\/p>\n

I embrace films that feature a character championing certain hardships, and Saint Ralph does contain a youthful innocence and earnestness that holds some appeal.<\/p>\n

I felt myself rooting for him to overcome his problems. No kid deserves those hardships.<\/p>\n

The weakness is that I felt manipulated. Since the intention was to root for Ralph, it was clear where the film was headed, and the predictability was at an all-time high.<\/p>\n

The training sequences are reminiscent of any sports film. Think of a young Rocky Balboa training for an upcoming fight. And the saccharine ending is riddled with predictability.<\/p>\n

Saint Ralph (2004) will ruffle no feathers and only appeal to mainstream audiences seeking safe cinema. Most people will not remember it very well.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Saint Ralph-2004 Director Michael McGowan Starring Adam Butcher, Campbell Scott Scott’s Review #1,118 Reviewed March 3, 2021 Grade: C Saint Ralph (2004) is an indie drama that is overly sentimental and includes too many standard plot points. This makes the film ho-hum and extremely cliched. It feels like the attempt was to create a major … Continue reading Saint Ralph-2004<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[317,49,192,41,215,211,398,11613],"tags":[11939,1923,11940,2037,11938],"class_list":["post-13421","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2004-movie-reviews","category-comedies","category-dramas","category-indiefilms","category-indie-comedies","category-indie-dramas","category-religious-films","category-tearjerkers","tag-adam-butcher","tag-campbell-scott","tag-gordon-pinsent","tag-jennifer-tilly","tag-michael-mcgowan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13421","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13421"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13421\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23693,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13421\/revisions\/23693"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13421"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13421"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13421"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}