Small Town Boy

"Small Town Boy" is a film that is frustrating to watch. This is because there is a kernel of a good story, but the writing really lets the audience down due to outrageous characters who just don't make any sense...and they frustrate as well.

Henry Armstrong (Stu Erwin) is a nice guy...too nice a guy. He has folks walking all over him because he cannot set up reasonable boundaries. In particular, his brother is a bum...and his mother, unreasonably, expects Henry to pay his bum brother to do nothing with his life. Because he's being bled dry by this duo, his prospects for marrying his sweetheart are bleak. However, when he finds a $1000 bill, his life is about to change....and not the way you'd expect.

As I mentioned, the characters in the story are poorly written. Henry's mother is supposed to be funny...but she comes off more like an over-the-top Disney villain than a real person. Subtle, she ain't! As for Henry, NO ONE is this much of a milquetoast...and it's frustrating to see so many people mistreat him without his ever complaining. He comes off more as an annoying putz than a nice guy. I really think having folks be less black/white and more realistic really would have helped the film. I think much of this is because the movie is a B-movie from Grand National...a company that almost always made third-rate films. A better company with higher standards would have rewritten the story to make it better. It's a shame because a competent company could have done a great job with this and Erwin is still a likable lead.