Set in Brooklyn, 1965, Michael Dunn, played by Andrew McCarthy (Weekend at Bernie's), comes to St. Basil's school to learn to be a priest; however, he has his doubts about such a path. He soon befriends a handful of misfits at the school, and eventually falls for a young girl named Sam, played by Mary Stuart Masterson (Fried Green Tomatoes).

The picture wastes no time to show how rough some teachers at such a school can be. It also establishes how Dunn is only enduring such crap to please his grandmother, but he is torn many times. He knows suck treatment is wrong, but he's just trying to get through it and leave. His struggle is very well captured by McCarthy's unspoken performance.

The picture's greatest strength is its characters. Every character is well rounded with inner and outer motivation expressed in very inevitable ways.

McCarthy does well, as does Masterson. Kevin Dillon (The Doors) plays smart a** Rooney who is always looking to rebel, but not until it's going to get him in serious trouble. Dillon was the weakest link of the cast, however.

I honestly can't think of a weak aspect to this picture. It follows an order of inevitability, which I love.

Overall, I think "Heaven Help Us" is a long forgotten 1980s movie which should be dusted off and dropped into the DVD player. You can find it for a reasonable price also. Over time, the movie has become one of my favorite lesser known light hearted dramas from that decade, and NOT a comedy, which is the section you'll find it in.