Saints Overload

When I was in high school, I watched "Boondock Saints" for the first time.

The ideas weren't revolutionary to me, but it was recommended by my college-aged brother, who was then cooler than anyone else I knew. The two leads were unreasonably attractive, the music was adrenaline inspiring, and the humor was just dirty enough to keep me amused without offending me.

Freshman year of college I spent a lot of nights awake til sunrise, and one of those nights, I watched "Boondock Saints" three times. I didn't sit through each one, but over about twelve hours, that movie played not once, not twice, but thrice! By the time the light broke through the shade, I could say every line along with the actors.

Four years of college went by, and I watched Troy Duffy's drunk-punk masterpiece countless times--both with others and alone. I laughed when Willem Dafoe impressed my friends with his screaming crime scene recreation. I shuddered when Ron Jeremy stepped on scream, and applauded when "Wyatt f---ing Earp" took out the baddies. The acting is convincing (though a tad amateurish), even if the stereotypes are worn to the bone. A couple of scenes are played to silly effect, but in the end, it's the feel of the movie that makes me love it.

Watching this movie makes me think of hanging out with my friends. I think of the McManus brothers as old pals, Agent Smecker as that kid I hung out with once a week, and of the Russian Mob as those drunks I tried to avoid walking back to my dorm at night. All of the memories of college seem to be summed up whenever I watch "Boondock Saints".

Perhaps that is why, on my last official day of college, I watched it again, three times in one night. I figured, I should end the way I started. The movie still feels like that comfortable jacket I refuse to throw out. It might be faded, and it might not be designer, but I like it, and its quirks are what make it mine.

"Boondock Saints" is something that makes sense to me, and to many of my friends. It contains the sort of vigilantism that people in this generation seem to find necessary. It asks questions that we find compelling, even if it's not really anything new. We like to think that the art we find is original, that the thoughts we have are unique. This is, to me, a generation of people who want what people told us to be true, without wanting to admit that we believe it possible. We are, I think, self-consciously cynical; naive but on the verge of understanding just how out-of-the-loop we are. At the same time, I think we are optimistic almost to the point of being stupid--optimistic that isn't sunny so much as being determined to change our situations. This in turn causes us to take extreme measures to improve our lives. For some people, this results in tragedy, for others, success. In this case, it results in a movie that almost gets us to an answer, but then backs down and lets the viewer decide.

For so many people who want answers, this may not be enough. But for a generation that desperately wants a choice, this movie does what it can to satisfy that need.
And for me?

For me, it's an old friend that I like to hang out with once in a while. We talk politics, listen to music, and then, we think carefully before shutting off and sleeping through the day.