32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Apropos, June 5, 2003
This review is from: Mass Appeal [VHS] (VHS Tape)
What better movie for a priest to review than 'Mass Appeal'? Directed by Glenn Jackson, and co-starring veteran actors Jack Lemmon and Charles Durning with relative newcomer Zeljko Ivanek, this story has influenced me in interesting ways.
Lemmon plays Father Farley, a jaded, settled Roman Catholic rector of a prominent parish, ultimately dis-satisfied with his lot in life but terrified nonetheless of losing it. Into this comfortable world steps an upstart seminarian Dolson (played by Ivanek), who has more principle than tact, and more passion than people skills.
The rector and the seminarian end up being placed together in a mentoring situation by the seminary dean, Mons. Burke (Durning), an autocratic moralist with strict rules on priestly formation. Various issues resound in the relationships of each of these characters with each other, the seminary, the congregation, and ultimately with their own destinies. Farley's issues with past abuse, Dolson's life on the wild side prior to seminary, and Burke's paranoia all enter the interplay of church politics and the discernment of a spiritual calling.
Farley is both irritated by and inspired by the seminarian. The seminarian takes a stand for honesty which costs him his appointment. The dean refuses to listen to anyone, including his friend Farley, and begins to question Farley's integrity as a priest as well.
Farley learns that it is never to late to hear a call, and that what he thought was his call in fact was a facade. Dolson finally realises that the in-your-face approach to public relations is not very pastoral, but his listening skills far exceed those around him, and he becomes trusted by Farley. Alas, the dean--what becomes of him? We never know.
Where God leads is a difficult question, with no easy answers, and we can spend much of our time following our version of that vocation without really ever touching the substance of it (as did Father Farley). We can be so overzealous for it that we might burn it out before it comes into being, rather like a forced hot-house flower that blooms prematurely and then dies too soon (similar to Dolson's experience).
This is an interesting film which brings up issues of polity, morality, reconciliation and redemption, themes that are far more prevalent in life than we would ordinarily think. This movie may not have mass appeal but can be enjoyed and, perhaps, give insight to all viewers, be they Roman Catholic, other denominations of Christian, of other religions, or even no religion at all.
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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Jack Lemmon at His Best!, February 7, 2008
In "Mass Appeal," Jack Lemmon gives one of the most thoughtful, thorough performances of his acting career. Given wonderful, wide-ranging support by young and spirited Zjelko Ivanec, the inimitable Charles Durning, and the underrated Louise Latham, his portrayal of a Catholic priest who has to face the failures of his own life to save the priesthood of another human being who happens to be gay is truly magnificent! "Mass Appeal" is one not-to-be-missed film. I only hope that it is restored to circulation soon.
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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Lemmon at his sourly best., July 5, 2001
This review is from: Mass Appeal [VHS] (VHS Tape)
Humphrey Bogart, Bing Crosby, Spencer Tracy, Montgomery Clift, Jack Lemmon--what do they have in common? All played priests, but no one more convincingly than Lemmon in this story about a popular, "bourgeois," crowd-pleasing conservative priest who is suddenly challenged by a young liberal seminarian representing honesty, forthrightness, and social change. The "message" primarily concerns the old dog, popular priest learning to change his ways, while the radical young seminarian also absorbs lessons about the real world and dealing with people. But forget about the story and its themes. As a movie, "Mass Appeal" is 3 stars; as a script 4; as a vehicle for one of the screen's most colorful, personable, irresistibly charismatic actors, it's 5 all the way. Here's proof positive: though the story calls for Lemmon to play the part of the rather "bad" guy--someone who lies and schmoozes and sugar-coats the Gospel in order to fill the offering plates each Sunday--it's his character and not the seminarian's who rivets our attention, maintains our interest, and inhabits our memories long after the film is over. The truth-telling, liberal, activist seminarian, on the other hand, is little more than a "generic" character cast from a late 1960s mold. The point is that neither of the parts is especially distinguished on the basis of the writing alone; rather, it's Lemmon's unique ability to give a "face" to his role that makes both his character as well as the film work.
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