User reviews

I have a serious bone to pick with the review entitled "Swing for the Fence, Hit a Single". This movie is top shelf precisely because it does not contain contrived performances from Dustin Hoffman or Sean Penn. No card counting, no mesmerizing mathematical tricks, no contrived slurred speech from Penn impatiently waiting for his next exorbitant paycheck. Despite the miserable rating assigned by its' author "The Story of Luke" has received higher ratings than "I am Sam".

The acting is precise, yet understated. Lou Taylor Pucci's performance is perfection. Seth Green does what he does best. Cary Elwes is, well, Cary Elwes. I strongly recommend this movie, you will not regret it.

I got surprised that the rate of this movie is below 6.

It was not so bad actually.

The actor of title role was playing good.

His way of speaking made me uncomfortable. because it made me feel the character's, Luke's anxiety.

I felt as if it was real.

The story is not so new. its old fashion theme. but it was as well-made as Perks of being a wallflower.

But after his geeky colleague appeared, it got boring a little bit.

in total, it was not so bad.

The story follows the main character Luke, who is an Autistic teenager whose objective is to find a job in order to woo a girl who he has set his sights on.

The film does have its holes and the way in which things work out gives false hope to the audience. In this sense, the film is set in a fantasy world with fantasy characters. The flip side to this is that the film sends out a positive message which was a relief. There are many places where the tone could have gone south and we would end up watching a tearjerker.

The ending was not happy but it was dealt with positively. I think that the positive feeling that the film tries to pass on would give a lot of hope to those who are facing similar circumstances. In today's complex society, one does not have to be mentally disabled to face social challenges.

I was lucky enough to see this film at the Maryland International Film Festival in Hagerstown MD. I am not sure how it qualified as international - maybe because it was filmed in Canada?? In any case this is a sweet story of a man who is trying to find his way in the world. He doesn't fit in because of his autism and being sheltered by his grandparents. Watching him progress through the movie was inspiring. I laughed quite a bit and even shed a tear near the end. I am not familiar with the actor who plays Luke but he did an incredible job. I wasn't expecting to see Seth Green and Cary Elwes in an independent movie at an international film fest but they both did a great job. Seth Greens character is a little hard to take at first because he is unkind to the lead. The movie has a great story that makes you feel better after you see. I recommend seeing it if you have the chance. It was mentioned at the festival that the film may get picked up for distribution which would be great. Very deserving.

Looked at the beginning, it was intended to give up, feel the actor's acting a bit exaggerated, but he is sensitive to the characteristics of the tension, attracted me, it is like me? Perhaps a lot of people are like this? Until I finished, it's a good story. Some of the details of the move: he is very serious, try to change himself, into the world, to maintain a simple belief, why should change it, you are so good. In reality, some of the plot is not going to happen, but in the movie. Luke is lovely, simple, harmless, direct, normal people who are very difficult to have such a feature, sad.

Ps: computer translation. Ha-ha

I'm not good in writing the reviews and actually this is my first so I do not go to write anything extra. To be honest when we found about this movie we didn't expect much from it. But what a nice surprise when we started to watch ... All I can say is that this was one of the best movies I've seen for past few months. We have really enjoyed every minute of it from start to end. The story blend perfectly all together, the fun, life, drama,... I don't understand why the movies like this are not better presented? To attract more people, to get more people to watch the pieces like this? This movie should get better promo... This is definitely worth to watch

Just finished watching this flick for the 2nd time and "Luke" and was still captivated.

I immediately got all the movies I could find with Lou in them and due to bad parts in bad movies he would always remain a bit part actor in flop movies...How Hollywood ignored this movie and Lou's performance is beyond me...

Could compare this flick to "Forrest Gump"...so have a box of tissues at hand.

I know I'll be watching this a 3rd time soon.

There's so much crap out there and its a mystery how some get financing The supporting cast does well to set the stage for Luke...

Good writing, editing, etc make this a very watchable flick...

SO, if you get the chance, pick of this flick and enjoy...you'll be glad you did.

Abandoned by his mother at a young age, and dropped off at his grandparents, Luke (Lou Taylor Pucci) is just like any other young man. He enjoys watching television, and is very good at certain hobbies. His aunt is eventually jealous of how just how good of a cook Luke is. Luke dreams of one day working a job, and living on his own. Just like any other young man, he also really wants to screw. But the difference is, Luke is still quite unsure what screwing means exactly.

The Story of Luke is unique to what you may expect from a comedy style, coming of age, tale. It is not about someone living through teenage years, or early twenties that keeps messing up, looking for mates to screw or generally making poor choices. Instead, it takes focus on a person who the world expects nothing from. Luke does not believe this is the case however, as he feels he does have an impact to make on the world, and just wants to be like everyone else.

The struggle of this young man to find a job, be able to live on his own, and to screw is going to be a lot more challenging for him. How so? Luke has autism. When his grandmother dies, and his grandfather (Kenneth Walsh) is eventually put in a home, Luke is forced to move in with his relatives Paul (Carry Elwes) and Cindy (Kristen Bauer). Before his grandfather passes away, he gives Luke some inspirational words of advice.

Get a job, live on your own, and screw. This sets Luke on a journey into becoming a proper man, boosting his confidence and being able to feel comfortable in his own skin. When he does find a job, you'll be introduced to his supervisor, played by Seth Green. You'll witness his first crush on a receptionist, played by Sabryn Rock. You'll even witness Luke muster up enough strength to come face to face with his mother for the first time in years.

This film was finished and over before I even knew it. I was so lost and invested into his journey that it left me wanting more. With that said, those words can mean either a positive or negative thing for a movie. The negative would be that the film did not deliver enough, and left it without a proper conclusion. On the contrary, the positive would be that the film was so good that you just did not it to be over. The Story of Luke was entertaining from beginning to end, and falls into the positive version of wanting more.

However, the ending may not satisfy everyone. It was realistic and far from fairy tale, but not unfulfilled. His journey was worth the ride, and it still concluded on a strong note. Many critics called this heart warming, and I am inclined to agree with them. It made you care about Luke. I actually cringed and felt bad when people said crude words to our struggling protagonist.

The acting was exceptional. Lou Taylor Pucci did his homework, and conducted himself in a manner a person with Autism would. I have a cousin who has it, and I witnessed a few similar, and key traits. It is no surprise that he was both nominated and won awards for this role. Seth Green is entertaining in his role, and so is Luke's family. No one brought this down with bad delivery of the greatly written dialogue, and everyone put significant effort into it.

The comedy elements in this film worked. It is respective, and does not make Autism a laughing stock in any way. The humour is well placed, and you'll be laughing with Luke, not at him. If you are in the mood for a character-driven, feel-good, film with immensely talented actors or actresses, look no further. Director Alonso Mayo worked with people suffering from Autism and Asperger Syndrome, and he used his knowledge to construct a powerful and motivating film that deserves your attention.

Watch it ASAP

The story takes a true perspective of an autistic mind highlighting the benefits of those with it. Society dictates the limits of those on the spectrum and this film discards those limitations replacing them with a new "lens" to view our limitations as challenges to overcome.

The leading actor portrays one side of the autism spectrum very well. Facial expressions or body language was typical of those on spectrum. The simplified view of complicated matters were researched well and written with tact.

While the story line is slow at first, it picks up and is worth the wait. Seth Green plays the role of supervisor on the autism spectrum with his typical comedy highlighting some of the humorous behaviors typical of those on the high functioning end.

Overall, this story gives a realistic view into one of the autistic worlds that affects so many now.

Films that tackle difficult subject matter, particularly mental or psychological issues, require a near-flawless performance from the leading role, and lackluster talent and delivery can kill these genres before they even hit the production room.

This movie is a prime example. Luke, our protagonist, possesses all the characteristics one might expect from a young autistic man living with his grandparents: he is neurotic, obsessive, doesn't like to be crowded (physically or in conversation), committed to ritual, etc. Unfortunately, viewers have been spoiled watching Dustin Hoffman and Sean Penn deliver the same character, but with incomparable form, and when a C-list actor takes the reins of a role like this, he better have the supporting cast, script, and director to back it all up. None of that was present.

The protagonist is quickly thrown to the wolves after he is forced out of the comfortable home he has known his whole life. Cary Elwes plays his uncle, but he struggles through the easiest role a 40-something can play: the typified stay-at-work dad who has grown apart from his plastic-faced-bitch-of-a-wife. As Luke is forced into a new living situation with his forgotten aunt and cousins, viewers sense the overplayed hostility toward Luke, which is clearly a result of the writers establishing early friction in order to execute the feel-good turnaround later. Simple apathy would have sufficed.

If that weren't contrived enough, the casting team brought in Seth Green to try and salvage Luke's scenes outside the home. As Luke's socially incapable temp manager, Green is clearly a much more experienced actor and is worth a few laughs. Still, as the plot develops he turns from Luke's superior to Luke's disciple, in a way, and considering the gap in acting talent, this plot strategy doesn't hold much water. Moreover, Green basically plays the same role he always does - a spoiled, red- head, loud-mouthed brat and self-possessed computer nerd. An actor better be talented if he's going to play the same role for two decades.

All in all, the acting keeps the viewer thinking to himself, "Wait a minute, people don't behave like this," and in the end it was probably the fault of the writers, as well as the director for letting it slide. There were few cinematographic tricks to make the film "artistic," so we're left with something trying to be autisitic. As too many films have shown us, doing autism is difficult, and when you fail, you fail hard.

The film gets 4 stars for tackling important subject matter and finishing with a positive note that viewers probably weren't expecting. However, 96 minutes can be better spent watching or doing something else.

I too saw this at the Maryland International Film Festival and I thought it was great. These are the types of films that I love to see in small festivals. The story was good and I thought Lou did a great job. Not to mention the fun with Seth Green. I am surprised that with all the other awards, that it didn't actually win anything at the MDIFF but it had good competition. To add to a previous review, the "International" part of Maryland International Film Festival stands for the fact that they will except films from anywhere in the world. Not that the film had to be made in more than one country. My first short film "Transient" which is not on IMDb, was part of the Official Selection.

The Story of Luke is a great movie depicting what it's like to feel like you don't fit in.

Even though the characters all seemed to be "over the top", I think that was intentional so it could depict some of the characters in exaggerated situations so we could get some humour out of situations that many people go through every day.

If they didn't portray the characters that way, I think the movie wouldn't have been half as funny or insightful to how the characters felt. It can be difficult to portray thoughts and emotions on screen, so this method works well once you understand it's doing that.

For instance, Seth Green's character seemed cruel and punishing until you realize it's exaggerated, DBC then you realize how hilarious it is that he himself was going through the same emotional struggles.

Overall this is a great movie once you get the stage being set for this story.