10 Amazing Teen Movies You Might Have Missed
7. Lucas
Lucas is a remarkable movie about a nerdy but intelligent 14-year-old who is bullied in school but shows an inspirational optimism for life. Corey Haim plays the eponymous Lucas and we meet him during the school summer break. He meets Maggie (Kerri Green from The Goonies) who is new to the area and they befriend each other for the remainder of summer with Lucas quickly developing feelings for her.
When school returns, the close relationship Maggie and he has is threatened when Maggie develops a crush on Cappie (Charlie Sheen), the high school Quarterback. She becomes a Cheerleader to get closer to Cappie and he reciprocates her feelings.
The movie surprises in many ways. The expectations we have about the kind of character Cappie is going to be aren’t met: he is a likeable jock rather than an arrogant bully and protects Lucas both from his tormentors as well as in an emotional sense, showing a mature understanding of the need to handle Lucas’s feelings as he and Maggie grow closer. The closing act avoids the obvious clichés which you think are coming and the end is wonderfully uplifting in the right way.
The performances of all the cast are excellent, but Corey Haim is a stand-out and never lived up to the early promise he showed here. Winona Ryder also features in a screen debut as the likeable Rina.