Almost Heroes Review
by Chuck Dowling (chuckd21 AT leading DOT net)October 10th, 1998
Almost Heroes (1998)
***1/2 out of *****
Cast: Chris Farley, Matthew Perry, Eugene Levy, Kevin Dunn, David Packer, Hamilton Camp, Christian Clemenson, Bokeem Woodbine, Harry Shearer
Written by: Mark Nutter, Tom Wolfe and Boyd Hale
Directed by: Christopher Guest
Running Time: 90 minutes
I guess when you go into a movie with very low expectations, it's more satisfying when the film turns out to be not so bad. That's the case with Chris Farley's last starring vehicle Almost Heroes. I expected a cross between Farley's disasterous Black Sheep and John Candy's final film, the similarly themed Wagons East. Thankfully, it turned out to be pretty funny, along the lines of such low-brow comedies like Kingpin and Dumb and Dumber.
The plot is a simple one: explorers Edwards and Hunt (Matthew Perry and Chris Farley) set out on a cross country expedition a few weeks after Lewis and Clark do, hoping to beat them to the Pacific Ocean. The plot really doesn't mean anything however, as Almost Heroes is mainly just a collection of sketches using the same locale. Each scene seems self contained, as there will be a set-up for a joke, then the execution of that scene's main joke, and then we proceed on to the next sketch. Previous scenes are rarely acknowledged.
Thankfully, most of the jokes and situations work. Highlights include a campfire story with a really bizarre punchline, and Farley's character searching for an eagle's egg. These moments and many others got laughs out of me, and still do whenever I think about them. Surprisingly though, it's Matthew Perry who's the real star of the film, as Farley seems more of a supporting character, simply providing reasons for upper-class Perry to react to his lower-class shenanigans. Eugene Levy is also good in his role, and I've always considered Levy to be an underrated comedic talent.
What does bother me is the film's final 10 minutes or so. The film just completely falls apart. Not only does Farley get carried off by an eagle (he holds onto the eagle's legs as it flies, yeah right) but it also re-writes history along with making the film's title meaningless. According to the end of the film, Edwards and Hunt BEAT Lewis and Clark to the Pacific Ocean! What the hell? Also, there's no dedication to Farley anywhere in the film's closing credits, something that I thought would be customary. [PG13]
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