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
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