not as good as all the hype

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

A different way of telling a story

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

to be truthful, i only watched this film because Marnette Patterson was in it. i was pleased to find out it was really quite a good film.the film was sweet without being too syrupy or cloying and nicely directed and well acted. Marnette Patterson is always good, and it's nice to see her when she isn't being terrorized by giant bugs or having her eyes burnt out with a cigar by a vengeful ghost(i liked both those movies), the lead actor is believable and likable as was most of the cast. the main stand out here was Julie Hagerty as the dieing mother. the dieing martyr role can so often be over played to the point of embarrassing cliché, but Hagerty is believable emotionally and physically. she truly looks and behaves like she is genuinely sick. she's dieing from cancer caused by asbestos poisoning, which reminds us all that there are many other factors harmful to our health than just cigarettes.a really nice film and a good film for young people that isn't surrounded by a lot of hype. sort of an 'Napoleon Dynamite', except that it's more of a serious drama rather than laugh out loud comedy.

I saw this last night at the FAIF Film Festival in Los Angeles and thoroughly enjoyed it. I went to the theater not expecting to be so impressed and not knowing what I was going to see. The title is a little cheesy, although appropriate. The characters were lovable and believable. I haven't been so choked up at a movie in a LONG time. There were also great performances from relatively inexperienced actors, and some very cute/funny moments. All in all I would recommend it; if it is available I would like to purchase it. And I really hope it makes it to wide release! (As a side not I was sitting next to the main character and didn't even know until the lights cam up afterward

I was lucky enough to have seen this film at the Atlanta film festival this week, where members of the cast and crew stayed for a QA session. It's rare in this day and age to find a film that conjures tears without being cliché. It's also rare to see a portrait of male friendships that is so real, accurate and touching. No matter your age, orientation, family situation, gender- this film is sure to strike a chord within you. The main protagonist- a 23 year old from Lubbock- is an actor to watch. Film festival goers, this film has just started it's circuit. Buy tickets and enjoy- I hope this makes it into festivals like Toronto.

was lucky enough to see this film at the Newport Beach Film Festival, and I have to say that it was one of the best films I saw there this year. A good 'coming-of-age' film is hard to write, I think, because the conventions of storytelling lend themselves to practices which aren't reflected in our own life experiences. For example, it's tempting as a writer to tell a story where everything works out okay in the end, where all the loose ends are tied up in the places we would expect, or want, them to be. I think one of the things I liked the most about this movie was the fact that it didn't try to reconcile the irreconcilable, instead it gave us characters and situations we could actually care about because they reflect, at least a little, some part of ourselves. The resolutions in this film run the gamut from heartbreaking to happy, but none of them felt contrived or insincere.I'm a very tough critic of films, especially independent ones, because I've seen so many. I've been to too many film festivals, and more often than not I find myself distracted by the technical shortcomings of low-to-no-budget film-making. I'll be frank and say that this film was not technically flawless –in retrospect there were a few things that I felt took away from the film. Having said that, the aspects of the movie that were good were good enough to make me look past the film's shortcomings. It got the right things right: characters I liked and believed, a story that was satisfying, and an underlying message that didn't feel trite.If I could change anything about the movie, I would change the title. Based on the title "Pope Dreams" alone I would (and did!) make any number of assumptions about the film that aren't true. The title doesn't reflect the seriousness or gravity of the film, and it doesn't do justice to the comedy or humor either. This movie is better than its title suggests. The themes of the movie are powerful, and the title should reflect them. Ultimately the title of the film doesn't really make it better or worse, but it does do a great deal in terms of making the movie more accessible and marketable. I wouldn't be making a suggestion like this unless I really felt it would help bring more people to the audience, because I'd love to see more people check this movie out.Congratulations to the filmmakers, you've done a wonderful job and I was thoroughly entertained. A focus on story and character is what independent film-making is all about – I'm glad to see that someone remembered that.