“The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys” is not about pedophile priests, as the title might suggest. It’s a coming-of-age movie that’s sweet without being saccharine, which is a hard balance to strike, especially for first-time filmmakers. But director Peter Care and screenwriter Jeff Stockwell have done it.

In adapting the novel of the same name from Chris Fuhrman who died of cancer in 1991 before the book was published Stockwell creates a completely accurate depiction of the awkwardness of adolescence, and the mischief teens get into as they hurtle toward adulthood. It plays like a ’70s version of “Stand By Me,” without the gooey, feel-good platitudes.

Kieran Culkin (Macaulay’s younger brother) and newcomer Emile Hirsch co-star as Tim and Francis, best friends and altar boys in a small Southern town. They escape the oppression of their Catholic school existence through subversive comic drawings and alcohol-induced pranks.

But Francis is distracted by his crush on Margie (Jena Malone), a beautiful but mysterious girl who tried to commit suicide. Margie’s presence threatens to divide the friends, especially when she gets in the way of a scheme Tim devises to frighten Sister Assumpta (Jodie Foster, who’s also a producer). The stern nun with a prosthetic leg resembles the Wicked Witch of the West as she tools around town on her scooter.

Aside from Sister Assumpta and Father Casey (Vincent D’Onofrio), a chain-smoking slacker priest who doubles as the soccer coach, the adults are pretty much nonexistent. We get glimpses into the silence of Francis’ home life, and the nonstop shouting of Tim’s.

But that’s fine; this is a movie about the teens, and the actors playing them are uniformly excellent especially 17-year-old Hirsch. This is his first feature film, and he’s a real find.