Average Rating: 6.3/10
Reviews Counted: 67
Fresh: 42 | Rotten: 25
Saint Ralph is an amiable tear-jerker that walks a fine line between being inspirational and being hokum.
Average Rating: 6.1/10
Critic Reviews: 24
Fresh: 15 | Rotten: 9
Saint Ralph is an amiable tear-jerker that walks a fine line between being inspirational and being hokum.
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Average Rating: 3.9/5
User Ratings: 5,774
A young man with big dreams sets out to do the seemingly impossible in this bittersweet comedy drama. Ralph Walker (Adam Butcher) is a 14-year-old boy growing up in Hamilton, Ontario, in 1954. Ralph is convinced he's cut out to do something remarkable some day, but he hasn't quite decided what, and at the moment he has other things to worry about. Ralph's father has recently died, as have his grandparents, and his mother (Shauna MacDonald) is severely ill and in the hospital, leaving the boy to
Aug 5, 2005 Limited
Dec 13, 2005
$0.7M
IDP
All Critics (71) | Top Critics (24) | Fresh (44) | Rotten (26) | DVD (7)
Canadian writer-director Michael McGowan has packed it so full of earnestness that viewers end up jogging along.
Funny, touching and uplifting.
It's worth seeking out this bittersweet comedy with its emotionally resonant story and stellar performances.
It's hard to dislike schmaltz as mild as Saint Ralph, but let's try: The film is as bland as a communion wafer, sentimental as a Christmas homily, and predictable as the liturgy.
What began as a too familiar coming-of-age story set in an all-boys Catholic school steadily morphs into something arguably as familiar but more satisfying -- a triumphant sports tale.
Your interest is bound to fade long before Ralph does.
What writer-director Michael McGowan has pulled off is a bit of a miracle.
For the jaded moviegoer, here's a little film that just might restore your faith -- in movies and a whole lot more.
A likable little underdog-triumphs drama from Canada... This is a case where my idealistic side won out over my cynical side.
Like the title character, this film is small, but big in many ways.
Butcher carries the film well, interpreting Ralph as a tangle of mixed-up yearnings tempered with an indomitable drive.
The comic aspects of this comedy-drama are overly broad and forced, while the supposedly dramatic ones are cloying and treacly.
This wincingly earnest comedy-drama could rival the maple tree as Canada's leading producer of sap.
A hooey-slathered film that combines the Catholic school humor of 'Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?' with the rah-rah uplift of an underdog sports story.
An overly convenient plot is the main con in Ralph, which includes a devastating fire, an assist from a celebrity and at least one miracle, all of which show up exactly when the plot needs help moving forward.
Ralph may be more a sinner than a saint, and his movie may be a little cheesy, but who cares - I thoroughly enjoyed following him on his quest.
...a small, straightforward story that has its heart in the right place, even if its hokey sentimentality keeps it from reaching the finish line.
Full of wit, candor, and love abounding. One of my absolute favorites.
December 13, 2008Super Reviewer
Lovely, touching film of hope and faith. Wonderful performances.
September 22, 2007
Super Reviewer
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