Lucas (1986) Movie Review
Lucas (1986) Movie Review
Lucas is a very heartwarming movie that features amazing performances by almost everyone involved. It also happens to be the movie that I feel has depicted the adolescent experience most accurately. If you haven’t seen this movie, you’re really missing out. And I know a lot of people haven’t even heard of Lucas. If you’re wondering, “What? What the heck is this even about?”, let me tell you.
The story follows Lucas (Corey Haim), a 14-year-old boy who is so nerdy he spends his summer days hunting (but not collecting, mind you) insects. Even though he is underage, he attends high school because he is so smart. About halfway through the summer, Lucas meets a 16-year-old girl named Maggie (Kerri Green) who effectively changes his life. Lucas and Maggie become good friends over the rest of the summer, going on adventures and doing whatever they want. But eventually school starts, and that is when Lucas’s problems begin.
Lucas has only a few friends, almost none of them being very popular in school. However, one of the flashy athletic-type kids, Cappie (Charlie Sheen), is protective of Lucas when he is being bullied. Over a few weeks, Lucas and Maggie grow apart a little bit because Maggie is suddenly attracted to Cappie. Now Lucas desperately tries to get Maggie’s attention back to him. In a totally insane move, Lucas joins the school’s football team. During a game, he is brutally injured. When Lucas comes back from the hospital, he finds out they won the game because of him and now he is a hero.
Lucas is by no means a boring movie. It’s about an hour and a half, and it fits perfectly into the running time (although honestly I wouldn’t have minded just a little more).
What makes this movie so great is a.) the excellent performances and b.) Lucas’s persistence as a person without ever getting cliche. And it’s super realistic. Corey Haim gives what is definitely the best performance in his career (look at his filmography if you don’t believe me). I like Kerri Green in this movie more than in The Goonies. It’s just SO realistic and amazing. I love love love love love this movie. Charlie Sheen is also great here. Everyone always gives Corey Haim and Charlie Sheen such a hard time, but both of them were great in Lucas.
Another performance I found startlingly realistic is Winona Ryder’s character of Rina. Not many other movies I have seen even have this kind of character in them, and schools and camps and other places where kids are are littered with them, so I was glad to see that character.
Nothing in this movie is ugly, or annoying, or wrong, or frustrating, or stupid. Lucas firmly believes that Maggie is a perfect human being, and I firmly believe that this is a (near) perfect movie.
I’m not saying that this is a 100% film. There are a few forgettable scenes, and sometimes Lucas is not as relatable as you want him to be. But that doesn’t matter because this is just such an incredible film. I really think everyone can relate to Lucas at least a little bit. If you see this movie and think “I hate this, it is really bad,” then I know it is your opinion. But that is the wrong opinion.
You can really see that the director and writers and actors have poured out their hearts into Lucas. All of the young actors aren’t really just saying lines here. You can feel that they really understand all of their characters deeply. The dialogue is great, the characters are all extraordinary, and it’s such a powerful and moving film. I saw Lucas three days ago. I decided that I wasn’t going to write a review for it. But over those three days I just couldn’t stop thinking about it. This movie forced me to write a review on it because it’s so good.
It’s rated PG-13, but really, anyone in fifth grade or older should see this. It’s not like it’s an inappropriate movie, it’s just that I don’t think really little kids would understand it as much because they haven’t had experiences like this yet. If I haven’t convinced you to see Lucas yet, then I have failed to do what I set out to do when I started writing this review.
Safety Chart:
Violence: 4/10- Football violence. Lucas is beat up after a football game, and he has a bloody gash on his forehead. Bullies beat up and torment smaller kids. There is a discussion of how the school’s music teacher shot himself.
Language: 5/10- The f-word is used once. Other curses. Not too frequent.
Drinking/Smoking- 3.5/10- Kids are drunk. Lucas’s dad is an alcoholic.
Lucas is a fantastic movie. It’s made very well, and has a strong cast with strong performances, and you need to see it if you haven’t already. It has so much more depth and awesomeness than modern teen movies like Descendants. I would give that movie a D+. I would give Lucas an A+. In the end scene, I said to myself, “I love this movie.” Easily one of the best movies I’ve seen this year. It’s one of the best movies I’ve seen in my life.
