Local Hero (1983)

Knox Oil is developing oil rigs in the Atlantic off the coast of Scotland and needs a location for a refinery.  The tiny seaside town of Ferness looks to be ideal.  It is thus decided that "Mac" MacIntyre (Peter Reigert) is the man to send; after all, he's of Scottish descent.  In fact, he's of Hungarian descent and his ancestors chose the name because it sounded American to them.  Before he departs, Mac has a brief meeting with Felix Happer (Burt Lancaster), the owner of Knox Oil & Gas.  Oddly, Mr. Happer's biggest concern is the sky, especially around Virgo.  He wants regular reports from Mac.  He arrives in Scotland and is met by Danny Olsen (Peter Capaldi), a Knox Oil rep in the UK.  The pair make a brief stop at a Knox facility to learn about the proposed oil facility and meet Marina (Jenny Seagrove), the lovely assistant of Dr. Geddes.  Both Mac and Danny are smitten.  Then it is off to Ferness, where they meet Gordon Urquhart (Denis Lawson), who serves as hotelier, bartender, accountant, and local deal maker.  And then the story grinds to a halt.  Mac and Danny wander the beach and otherwise while away the time while Gordon negotiates with the residents.  All but one are eager to sell, but the one happens to own the beach!

Mac's life in Houston is not going well.  Though he is making good money, owns a Porsche, and is being entrusted with this important deal, his personal life is empty.  Before leaving, he made a couple efforts to get a date, but they fell through.  Once in Ferness, he is quite envious of Gordon's life, especially his wife, Stella.  While drunk, he suggested swapping lives, offering all he had in Texas for the comparatively modest life that Gordon had.  Back in Texas, he is clearly not happy to be home.

Felix Happer is an oddball.  He has a wacky shrink (Norman Chancer) who insults and berates him - it's therapy - and keeps doing so even after being fired.  His fascination with the stars outweighs his interest in oil, which is strange for the head of an oil company.

Danny Olsen speaks half a dozen languages, but not Gaelic.  That was mildly amusing; Capaldi is Scottish.  He is generally awkward and hopelessly in love with Marina.  When she unexpectedly emerges from the surf at Furness in SCUBA gear, he desperately pursues her.  The pair always meet on the beach, usually as she pops out of the water.  Is she a mermaid?  There are hints that she may be.  Huh.

Gordon Urquhart is the town fixer and general jack-of-all-trades.  He runs the hotel, waits the tables, stands in as bartender at the pub, plays the accordion in the local band, and keeps the accounts of everyone, including Victor, the Russian fisherman who makes regular visits.

Overall, the movie is slow paced and has a dearth of comedy.  The fish out of water theme only goes so far, especially since both Mac and Danny are soon enamored of Ferness.  It is humorous how eager the residents are to sell out their slice of heaven to the oil company while the buyers want to settle down in the village.  There is also the running gag of the motorcyclist who narrowly avoids running down the characters when the exit the hotel.  Despite getting 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, I found it to be just so-so.