84
Metascore
16 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertHere is a small film to treasure, a loving, funny, understated portrait of a small Scottish town and its encounter with a giant oil company.
- 100EmpireWilliam ThomasEmpireWilliam ThomasLife-affirming and often laugh-out-loud funny, this is feel-good movie-making par excellence.
- 100TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineCharming, whimsical, and practically perfect, Local Hero reminds us of the great pleasures that British comedy used to routinely provide.
- 90VarietyTodd McCarthyVarietyTodd McCarthyWhile 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.
- 88ReelViewsJames BerardinelliReelViewsJames BerardinelliLocal Hero is a fragment of cinematic whimsy - a genial dramatic comedy that defies both our expectations and those of the characters.
- 80The New York TimesJanet MaslinThe New York TimesJanet MaslinLocal 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.
- 80SalonCharles TaylorSalonCharles TaylorLocal Hero is as sweet and loving as movies get. But it's also about as off-kilter as they get, too.
- 80Time OutTime OutLocal 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.
- 70Chicago ReaderDave KehrChicago ReaderDave KehrThe thematics are rather cloying, but the mood—profoundly relaxed, bemused—eventually conquers.
- 70The New YorkerPauline KaelThe New YorkerPauline KaelThe film has an original, feathery charm.