The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys - Reception and Awards

Reception and Awards

The film has received fairly good praise for an independent film. The New York Times called it a "bracingly truthful" coming-of-age film from the directorial debut of Peter Care.3 According to critics, the film takes one back to those awkward stages in life, a place most are not too keen on returning to, with ease and compassion. However, the film does have its flaws, according to a New York Times reviewer who wrote that "the movie struggles to compare the boys' comic-book vision with William Blake's Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience., becoming its one glaringly off-key note."3

Roger Ebert gave the film two and a half stars, calling it "an honorable film with good intentions."4 Ebert goes on to say that the screenplay is trying too hard to impress and falls short of achieving the "emotional payoff" it is searching for.4

In 2002, the film and director Care won the award for Best New Filmmaker from the Boston Society of Film Critics. In 2003, the film won the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature.2

Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a rating of 77%, based on various critical reviews.