Mass Appeal (1984)

I watched Mass Appeal (1984) earlier. I guess it’s been largely forgotten. There are no clips or trailers available on YouTube, and there’s no discussion of it on IMDb. But I happen to think it’s a very good film. I first saw it over 25 years ago when it first came out, and I’ve seen it a number of times since. I used to have a copy on VHS. Jack Lemmon plays Father Farley, a priest from an apparently affluent parish. He enjoys the perks--the nice gifts, invitations to dinner, convivial conversations with educated people--and he tries to get by on charm. His housekeeper, played by Louise Latham, seems like a pious stick in the mud at first, but she proves to be a loyal friend. Charles Durning plays Monsignor Burk, a pigheaded, small-minded, homophobic jerk who rules over the local seminary as if he were an absolute monarch. Zeljko Ivanek plays Mark Dolson, a headstrong seminarian who has a history of challenging authority, the status quo, and, as we discover, used to fool around with both men and women before deciding he wanted to become a priest. Great acting all around, and the writing is good--it’s poignant but also at times very funny. Ivanek also happened to be very pleasant to look at back in the early 80’s--very slim, cute, boyish face, and, since his character was a runner, he wore short shorts in a couple of scenes which showed off his deliciously long legs.