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.

Saw this film at the USA Film Festival in Dallas. It's a very well developed script, with believable characters, behaving in natural ways. In other words, it's an interesting story that's easy and enjoyable to watch. What more could one ask for in a world filled with mediocre writing, poorly directed and acted? The film has a terrific cast of newcomers and veterans, and is technically well made. The title can be a little misleading. It only refers to the fact the the son wants to send his ailing mom on a trip to Italy to see The Pope in-person. This is by no means a "religious" film. It's currently playing the festival circuit.I highly recommend it. Go see it, if it's showing near you...

Hogan crafts a sweet, yet also appropriately sad, tale of late teen desire. The principal actors work well together, with believable dialogue and tenable situations. The characters could have been stereotyped and overemotional, but Hogan and the ensemble infused them with enough sensitivity and humor to allow the pathos to appear naturally.All five of the main characters were firmly defined, and the actors performed with distinction, especially Vaden (Andy) and Patterson (Brady) They made their characters believable. A couple of the side characters were a bit cartoonish (the lyricist partner and Brady's boyfriend come to mind) but for the most part they supplemented the storyline without calling attention to themselves. On the plus side, the characters of the bar owner and Brady's girlfriend were very enjoyable and even stole their scenes.This film is recommended. It will probably get a PG-13 for language, but the salty dialogue did not seem superfluous for either the characters or the storyline. I'm not sure precisely who the intended audience will be - much of the humor seems aimed at 30 to 50 year olds looking back at being teenagers, rather than current teens - but it seems reasonable that it will appeal across a broad spectrum. A solid first effort for both director/ writer Hogan and producer Loh.