Local Hero

Time Out by

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.

Salon by Charles Taylor

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

Chicago Reader by Dave Kehr

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

ReelViews by James Berardinelli

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

The New York Times by 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.

The New Yorker by Pauline Kael

The film has an original, feathery charm.

Chicago Sun-Times by 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.

Variety by 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.

Empire by William Thomas

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