Lucas review

Odd, nerdy Lucas (a bespectacled Haim) befriends the new girl in town (Green) over the summer holidays, but when school starts she falls for the high-school jock (Charlie Sheen) and he becomes the target of bullies in this long-forgotten but well-worth-seeking-out teen drama.

It’s a funny, sad tale that isn’t bogged down by clichés (the high-school jock isn’t an asshole – although he steals the girl away from Lucas, he still protects the boy from bullies) and features terrific performances from the young cast, especially Haim, who sadly never lived up to the potential he shows here (he died in 2010). The movie also marked the big-screen debut of a fourteen-year-old Winona Ryder, playing a young girl who has feelings for Lucas herself.