{"id":13421,"date":"2021-03-03T15:32:54","date_gmt":"2021-03-03T20:32:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/?p=13421"},"modified":"2023-12-08T17:53:03","modified_gmt":"2023-12-08T22:53:03","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 with too many added standard plot points.\u00a0 This makes the film ho-hum and extremely cliched. 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 ordinary setups and by the numbers, follow-through over anything different or fresh.<\/p>\n

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

And since it\u2019s an indie shouldn\u2019t 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. 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. Rather, like actors clad in period clothing.<\/p>\n

The lead kid who plays Ralph (Adam Butcher) isn\u2019t 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 has 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 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. 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. 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 what direction the film was going in 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 with too many added standard plot points.\u00a0 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":[317,1919,49,192,41,215,211,2032],"tags":[318,1923,252,193,73,216,212,2037],"class_list":["post-13421","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2004-movie-reviews","category-campbell-scott","category-comedies","category-dramas","category-indiefilms","category-indie-comedies","category-indie-dramas","category-jennifer-tilly","tag-2004-movie-reviews","tag-campbell-scott","tag-comedies","tag-dramas-2","tag-independent-films","tag-indie-comedies","tag-indie-dramas","tag-jennifer-tilly"],"_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":11,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13421\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19571,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13421\/revisions\/19571"}],"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}]}}