Hochstapler wider Willen

I watched this film on a whim: it was on late night TV, and my curiosity as to what else ER's Anthony Edwards was capable of got the better of me. And in a way I'm glad I did, as - for all its faults - "Hometown Boy..." is still worth a lazy Sunday afternoon's viewing. Which is not to say the film is a forgotten classic, or any other such cliché, but as far as TV movie versions of familiar misunderstanding-based tales go, this one is at least eminently likeable.

Edwards plays Boyd Geary - the hometown boy of the title, a med. school drop-out who returns to his childhood abode to visit his mother and break the news of his failure to keep up with his studies. Naturally circumstances conspire against his well-meaning intentions, and after many abortive attempts to reveal the truth he is coaxed into playing doctor to the delighted, ignorant town.

This conceit is drawn out with some nice touches, particularly the amusing group counselling scenes and Edwards' gloriously overbearing, potty mother. Geary's character is subtly fleshed out against a predominantly two-dimensional cast of parochial oddities, with his obvious discomfort at finding himself back among half-forgotten friends and acquaintances, and quiet enjoyment of the respect his deception secures adding some tactful sympathy to his predicament.

That said, "Hometown Boy..." never strays from the boundaries of (very) light entertainment, feeling in places more like an extended daytime soap than a movie. Nevertheless, the film is a spirited alternative to its big-budgeted counterparts - and just as worthy of switching off your brain for.