Pope Dreams

Veteran sound editor Patrick Hogan turns writer/director for this labor of love, which is a fine-looking production filled with inspired performances. Newcomer Phillip Vaden is utterly convincing as 19-year-old Andy, an earnest young man working in his father’s (Stephen Tobolowsky) audio-video store while caring for his cancer-stricken mother (Julie Hagerty in a brave performance). Marnette Patterson matches Vaden in her role as a pretty co-ed trying to unnerve her composer father by dating a drummer in a heavy metal band (Andy also has been known to pound the skins). As for the “pope” in the title, Andy’s dream is to send his mother on a trip to the Vatican before it’s too late—but he has no money.

Shelf Talk: This 2006 production, not quite as post-modern as the like-minded Garden State, racked up 11 festival awards before finally getting some commercial consideration. The cast is a TV-friendly one: Patterson is known for turns in TV’s CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Charmed, while Noel Fisher, who plays a troubled friend, stars in The Riches. And Hagerty and Tobolowsky are reliable, recognizable performers. Position this versatile title as a coming-of-age film, a family drama and/or a low-key comedy.