We may just have to start a Bill Forsyth family video club. I planned to write about “Local Hero,” but watching that quiet, satisfying movie made me remember “Gregory’s Girl,” “Comfort & Joy” and “Housekeeping.”
We’ll get to those other worthies in coming months. If you want a quirky, beautiful movie about people living happily at the edge of the world, start with “Local Hero.”
Peter Riegert of “Animal House” fame plays MacIntyre, a real-estate buyer for a Texas oil company led by a loopy chairman Felix Happer (a delightful Burt Lancaster). Happer smells oil in an isolated Scottish fishing village, and sends MacIntyre out to buy the whole town and beachfront.
Without resorting to slapstick, “Local Hero” is a fish-out-of-water tale that reverses course more than once. Far from feeling bamboozled, the savvy townspeople can’t wait to take their millions. They are led by Urquhart (Denis Lawson), perhaps the smoothest and sexiest bed-and-breakfast owner in Scottish history.
Mac, meanwhile, falls in love with the scenery. Will commerce or companionship win out?
I’ve shown my kids movies like “Local Hero” and had to sit on them for the first half-hour – understated comedies seem slow to a generation trained on “Spider-
Man” and “Grand Theft Auto.” But your older kids will appreciate a glimpse at another way of life, where people are cool and self-assured without being worldly.
Each Tuesday, Michael Booth uncovers a movie gem for families in search of rewarding entertainment. Reach him at mbooth@denverpost.com; find the “Screen Team” blog at denverpostbloghouse.com.
“Local Hero”
Rated: PG for adult situations
Most appealing to: children 12 or
older
