Local Hero

20th Century Fox | Release Date: February 17, 1983

CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION

83	METASCORE Universal acclaim based on 17 Critic Reviews

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

Watch Now

Buy on

Stream On

Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic score Publication By date

100

Roger Ebert

Here is a small film to treasure, a loving, funny, understated portrait of a small Scottish town and its encounter with a giant oil company. Read full review

100

EmpireWilliam Thomas

Life-affirming and often laugh-out-loud funny, this is feel-good movie-making par excellence. Read full review

100

TV Guide MagazineStaff (Not Credited)

Charming, whimsical, and practically perfect, Local Hero reminds us of the great pleasures that British comedy used to routinely provide. Read full review

100

The GuardianPeter Bradshaw

It has a claim to be the last movie with the authentic spirit of the Ealing comedies; although with a longer perspective we can also see how it’s also indirectly influenced by producer David Puttnam in its high-minded spirit of Anglo-American amity. Read full review

Todd McCarthy

While modest in intent and gentle in feel, Local Hero is loaded with wry, offbeat humor and is the sort of satisfying, personal picture that is becoming an increasingly rare commodity these days. Read full review

James Berardinelli

Local Hero is a fragment of cinematic whimsy - a genial dramatic comedy that defies both our expectations and those of the characters. Read full review

Bob Thomas

A delectable entertainment. [14 Mar 1983]

Bill Cosford

Local Hero is almost magical, it is so unexpected. It is whimsy raised a power or two by the skills of a filmmaker who looks at life slightly askew. He sees enchantment in small, off- center encounters, and gets the enchantment onto the screen. [05 Apr 1983, p.D5]

Janet Maslin

Local Hero is a funny movie, but it's more apt to induce chuckles than knee-slapping. Like Gregory's Girl, it demonstrates Mr. Forsyth's uncanny ability for making an audience sense that something magical is going on, even if that something isn't easily explained. Read full review

Charles Taylor

Local Hero is as sweet and loving as movies get. But it's also about as off-kilter as they get, too. Read full review

Staff (Not Credited)

Local Hero, which concerns the frustrations of a Texas oilman's attempts to buy up an idyllic Scottish village, ranks as a lyrical anti-urban comedy in the great tradition of films like I Know Where I'm Going and Whisky Galore!; and its essential triumph is to prove that comedy can still contain a gentle, almost mystical, aspect without necessarily being old-fashioned. Read full review

Rita Kempley

Local Hero is as gentle as Capra corn and as magical as the Misty Isles. An insightful, international commentary -- badly named, but beautifully drawn -- takes us roaming in the gloaming and questing among stars. [01 Apr 1983, p.19]

David Ansen

The gift of this charming, low-key excursion is more intangible, yet you may find that its surprisingly complex moods linger with a bittersweet afterglow. [28 Feb 1983, p.79]

Josh Larsen

If Local Hero is ultimately less complicated than its reputation might suggest, writer-director Bill Forsyth navigates the tale with a warmth and wry humor that wins you over, while the seaside vistas—captured by cinematographer Chris Menges—are ridiculously beautiful. Read full review

Dave Kehr

The thematics are rather cloying, but the mood—profoundly relaxed, bemused—eventually conquers. Read full review

Pauline Kael

The film has an original, feathery charm.

Jay Scott

Forsyth's trademark surprises are a little less fresh and a little more predictable than in Gregory's Girl: the entire enterprise, while not stale, is labored. [04 Mar 1983]