Cheap Local Boys (DVD) (Ron Moler) Price

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Customer Reviews of Local Boys

It's in the details
Surfing is a metaphor for conflict in life, wrestling with nature, trying to control one's destiny amid the ebb and flow of turbulence...
Okay, that's heavy-handed hogwash. This movie isn't profound, and that's why I enjoyed it. The plot is generic, the dramatic events by-the-numbers, but the details are perfect. In a movie like this, you either get the chracters right or the film sinks into melodrantic contrivances that carry the emotional weight of a gulp of diet cola. This movie has a motherlode of engaging characters who add clout to a basic script. Mark Harmon's tormented widower is remote and unwilling to commit, the desire to care struggling to break through his pall of uncertainty. The older sibling conveys anger over the men who enter his mother's life, leave a trail of [stuff], and then disappear like last night's hangover. His performance is an endearing mixture of love, control, and insecurity. Skeeter, as played by Jeremy Sumpter, does an excellent job portraying a boy who wrestles with damaging feelings, desperately hungering for a father figure. He's the type of kid everyone would want as a son, thoughtful, perky, and good-humored. Sumpter is a natural here, outplaying even the veterans. The circle of friends manage to become distinct entities, caring for each other but making mistakes that we can relate to. There are no vulgar jokes or cruelty to others that seem to dominate idiot teen movies, yet I found myself laughing at humor that arises from the chracter's personalities. The dramatic parts work because I liked the people in the movie. They make great company. The script is subtle and sneaks up on you emotionally. Even though issues of depression, abusive adults, and paternal death are addressed, I never felt manipulated. The dialogue is well-handled abd enlightened. And the surfing scenes are intense, showing tricks I didn't think possible. Overall I would recommend this movie based on its sincerity and the good example is sets for human beings who are unsure about how decent humans should act and communicate with one another.

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Not a masterpiece, but enjoyed it anyway
The story is predictable, the writing sophomoric. Yet I still managed to enjoy it, and I appreciated the performances given by Mark Harmon and especially Jeremy Sumpter as "Skeet". Jeremy is an amazing young actor (check him out in "Frailty" if you haven't already) who brings a natural charm to his character -- he never seems forced or phony. Might even bring a tear to your eye in a couple scenes . ;) Mark Harmon is quite the pro at this kind of thing and a pleasure to watch. Same for most of the rest of the cast. As I said, this is not a masterpiece, but it's an OK little surf-oriented movie with nice cinematography and music, and a decent enough story to hold my interest.

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What DVD does best
"Local Boys" is a perfect example of what DVD does best: providing a showcase for a minor-league delight that had no chance at a big-screen release but deserves more than to be dumped on cable TV for just a few lucky insomniacs to catch on the late show. In short, it is a small gem of a film with a fine cast and promising director that tells a familiar, though moving and involving story. It also showcases a pair of promising young actors who appear on the brink of stardom and gives a couple of solid pros (and former "Chicago Hope" costars) a chance to stretch their acting chops and exhibit their own undeniable chemistry. And it may be the first surfing movie I have ever seen that actually deals with the teen surfing crowd in a realistic and non-exploitative manner by making its kids more than just brain-dead stoners obsessed with riding waves that would kill the world's best surfers.

Eric Christian Olsen and Jeremy Sumpter star as Randy and Skeet, brothers whose policeman father "died a hero" (as Randy likes to say) in the line of duty. Skeet wants to learn to surf, so Randy buys him a surfboard for his twelfth birthday. But like so many other well-meaning though self-centered older brothers, he buys one that is too big (that way he'll have a spare) and then leaves Skeet to learn on his own. When legendary surfer Jim Wesley (Mark Harmon) sees Skeet's pitiful attempts at riding a wave, he befriends the boy, buys him a suitable board, and offers to teach him the proper way to surf. Skeet and Jim become fast friends and Jim even begins a tentative relationship with the boys' mother (Stacey Edwards), much to Randy's displeasure. (Randy loathes Jim, sees him as a threat to his status as "man of the house" and refuses to cut him any slack.) But Jim has issues of his own to deal with, since his own wife and daughter were killed in a car crash a couple of years before. And then there's Skeet's unresolved emotional problems surrounding the death of his father to deal with as well--

"Local Boys" isn't exactly loaded with surprises since you can tell where everything is headed almost before the film starts. But it is done with taste and restraint and a refreshing lack of melodrama, except for a ridiculous suicide attempt late in the film by one of Randy's surfer buds (Guiseppe Andrews), whose father thinks is a lazy, pothead loser (which, incidentally, he is) and is forcing to join the Marines.

As for the brothers' relationship, it is tender and sweetly rendered, yet combative and utterly believable, thanks to the terrific performances of Olsen and Sumpter. Olsen, who bombed badly in the "Dumb and Dumber" sequel "When Harry Met Lloyd," makes Randy likeable even when he's acting like a spoiled jerk, mainly because he never lets the audience lose sight of how much he loves his brother and mother. He's convinced he's trying to protect them from being hurt by Jim, but in reality, he's protecting himself. As for Sumpter, he is simply amazing as Skeet, creating a character who is not a mini-adult but a believable, emotionally fragile pre-teen who idolizes his older brother, yet occasionally finds him a major league pain in the you-know-where. Couple this with his fine performance in Bill Paxton's "Frailty," and the result is a young actor of exceptional promise.

In addition, Harmon and Edwards, who co-starred as lovers on TV's "Chicago Hope," also score solidly and once again make a believable couple. Harmon, in fact, has developed into a reliable and solid character actor who manages to elevate every scene he's in, no matter how pedestrian. And he's 100% believable as a surfing legend. Unfortunately, Edwards, who was magnificent as the deaf "victim" in Neal LaBute's "In the Company of Men," is given little to do as the mother, but what she is given she does extremely well. And Andrews offers amusing support as the pothead friend.

Give credit to director Ron Moler, who does a creditable job on both the character-driven scenes and the surfing sequences, which are refreshingly believable in that they concentrate on surfers riding real waves instead of the ridiculous tidal waves of "Big Wednesday" and other recent surfing films. How refreshing that the director doesn't feel the need to thrill the audience with laughable computer-generated surfing sequences in which normal surfers become superhuman thrill-seekers. Moler also successfully captures the "look" of the Southern California beach scene and it's surrounding neighborhoods. As for the DVD itself, the presentation is crisp, the sound excellent and is presented in the original aspect ratio of 1:85:1.

In all, this one's a winner. Surfers can watch it without groaning, and non-surfers will find the story touching and the performances refreshingly good for a direct-to-video release.
Congratulations to one and all.