The Boy Who Could Fly (1986)

"An old-fashioned story of young love!'

This movie is a wonderful story of a friendship that develops between a sensitive girl and an autistic boy. The cast is very impressive but the actor that will impress you most is Lucy Deakins, despite the title of the film she is the lead. It not only the fact that she is radiantly beautiful, but she brings to her character,"Milly",a gentle melancholy that could melt the hardest of hearts. The relationships with "Eric", Jay Underwood, the "Boy" of the title and with the members of Milly's family are held together by Deakins' strong performance. A great film all around and probably the most heartwarming you will ever see! June 6, 2008

A good, old-fashioned story

This is one of those good-feel movies you remember watching as a teenager. Some parts are too "kiddie" for my liking (Fred Savage and the neighbours for instance) but I guess the movie makers wanted this to be a family movie...something for every one. The flying parts are just as good as the original Superman, amazing what they can do with a small budget. These movies beat the s.... out of the newer "digitally" animated Superman movies (surely there is a new franchise coming up!). Enjoy. September 23, 2007

Peter Pan may have competition!

Well, here's a film that got past me in the 1980's. This is a great pure fantasy and light romance film for the whole family. I myself have a very active dream state and often have dreams where I'm flying in my dreams or where I'm young again. It's a great escape from the harsh realities of this world and a great gift to have. So if you too, have dreams of flying and wish it would really happen to you, this film is for you!

Plot wise, this story is a no brainier. A young girl named Milly, played by Lucy Deakins, moves into a new neighborhood with her mom Charlene, played by Bonnie Bedelia, along with Lewis, her younger brother, played by Fred Savage. This was Fred Savage's first motion picture film which got his career started, for those of you who loved him in "The Wonder Years".

The family has lost their father and Charlene, their mother, is working to hold them together. The mother has to reintegrate back into the world of insurance having been away for 13 years from that type of work, while trying to wrestle with learning computers. Both brother and sister have to integrate into a new neighborhood and new school with its harsh realities. Lewis's main challenge, throughout the whole film, is to try and get past the bullies living down the street, just to finally get around the block, which he finally manages toward the end of the film. This may seem like no real challenge to you as an adult or if you have forgotten your own childhood, but I remember the bullies I grew up with and when kids are bigger than you, they can scare the bejeebers out of you if you are 7 or 8 years old.

I can also equate to the new neighborhood the family moves into, given my own parent's divorce and the number of schools we went through growing up while they fought against each other. It's no fun on the kids when the parents divorce, but in this case, its worse on the kids given they have lost their dad to death before the movie starts. The part were Lewis is out in the rain trying to dig for his army men, not wanting to quit, like he feels his father did, who died of cancer or suicide, started to bring tears to my eyes. What a great talent Fred Savage had and he was perfect for this movie.

Across from them lives a young boy, a savant or autistic kid named Eric, played by Jay Underwood, who has a secret ability he wants no one to know about for fear they might lock him up as a scientific curiosity, which is made clear at the end of the film. The boy does not speak until the end of the film, but is bright minded under his demeanor nevertheless. Jay was pretty cute when he played the role. Both Lucy and he make for a cute pair on screen.

The story is more a light love story between Jay's character, Eric, and Lucy's character, Milly, and I think Nick Castle does a convincing job pulling off the whole thing including the way it ends and why it must end the way it does.

Throughout the whole story you are asked the question whether this boy can really fly and don't find out until the very end if he really can. Fred Gwynne, who plays Eric's uncle an alcoholic, drinks because he thinks he has seen Eric fly, but tops it off to the fact he's getting old and losing his mind. Colleen Duhurst's character greatly adds to the chemistry of this film as Jay's teacher, who protects Jay from the state mental authorities; bringing the whole thing down to earth in their title roles. If some other review tells you how the film ends, I won't. You must see it and I think you will enjoy it if you ever wished as a kid to have the ability to fly.

This is a great film for the whole family. No violence or anyone killed. Just a beautiful story and a chance to escape the world as you watch it. It was films like this that made the golden years of the motion picture business, before the whole world went insane with all its violence on the big screen.

Also listen to the commentary audio with the film. It is very well done.
September 7, 2007

The Boy Who Could Fly

Cute little movie. I wanted this for my library. It is entertaining without sex, profanity and violence. June 11, 2007

Outstanding, uplifting, 80's fairytale!

Some argue that this film takes a wrong turn at the end, but then I guess that depends on your own personal outlook on life. In my opinion, this film is pure perfection from the first frame until the last. Truly a classic from the 80's and for all time.

- JM May 22, 2007

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