Another Tap Dance... Enjoy! Some of you may know of the existence of Christopher Guest, a writer, actor (who most notably played Nigel Tufnel in This is Spinal Tap) and director known for hilarious mockumentaries (comedic fictional films shot with a documentary sensibility) such as Best in Show, For Your Consideration and Waiting for Guffman. What many of you may not realize, was that he also directed one, to my knowledge, non documentary style comedy: 1998s Almost Heroes, a humorous fictional account of two inept men (Played by Matthew Perry of TVs Friends, and Chris Farley of Saturday Night Live, Tommy Boy and Black Sheep fame) who set out on an odyssey of historical inaccuracies to beat Lewis and Clark to the Pacific Ocean. You may be asking yourself why I would bother writing about some obscure comedy from the 90s? The answer is this: Personally, I find this film hysterically funny and a widely original farce, and feel it is a very underappreciated film. So, lets journey down the road and find out why I think so highly of such a silly obscure film. THE STORY: Leslie Edwards (Perry) is a socialite who wants to leave his mark on history, so he devises a plan to beat Meriwether Lewis and William Clarks 1804 expedition to reach the Pacific Ocean. Unfortunately for Edwards, he is completely incompetent, so he decides to hire a tracker Bartholomew Hunt (Farley), a boozy ex army officer, to accompany him on his trek. They are joined by a ragtag group of men, including a French interpreter and guide (Played by Eugene Levy, American Pie, a frequent Guest collaborator), Jonah (Played by Bokeem Woodbine) Edwards slave, several uncouth individuals filling different roles throughout the trip, an Indian woman (Played by Lisa Barbuscia), and a geriatric (Played by Patrick Cranshaw, Blue from Old School, Bubble Boy). As they journey across the Great American West, they encounter several ridiculous obstacles, including bears, eagles, illiteracy, and and an insane, hair obsessed Spanish Conquistador (Played by Kevin Dunn). Will they make it to their destination, and achieve their goal of going down in history by beating Lewis and Clark to the Pacific? The answer is hilariously not that simple. THE PROS: The cast is terrific with Farley being, of course, the standout, and Perry compliments him well as the straight man. The other men in the voyage are also very good, particularly Levy and Higgins (Played by Steven M. Porter) a simpleton who has all kinds of ridiculous perils befall him upon their travels. The jokes, relying on set up and being very slap sticky and pratfall-ish in nature, are very funny and work more often than not, especially one involving Farleys character being chosen to retrieve an eagles egg to save the life of Perrys ill character. With such a humorous concept like this, what could possibly be wrong with it? THE CONS: While the movie is very funny, it is not very grand in scope, therefore it is not very memorable. The cast is great, but often rely on mugging to sell the jokes in various scenes. I also had a slight problem with the ending, which involves a chase with the Spanish Conquistador character toward their destination of the Pacific Ocean. While there are these problems, the movie has become somewhat of a guilty pleasure for me and I find myself often re watching it. So, even with these problems, how does everything stack up? CONSENSUS: While often not very memorable or consistently watched, I find this film an often hilarious satire on history that I can watch over and over again. It may not be one Guests more remembered films, but I find it right up there in humor with Guests 2000 mockumentary Best in Show, about a collection of eccentric dog show contestants and their pets. It may not be one of the most commercially successful films of the 1990s, but im glad I own it, and I find myself watching it often from time to time. On a sadder note, this was the last feature film for Chris Farley, who died of a drug overdose shortly before the film was released. I find this movie to be one of his best performances and equally sad that we lost such a great talent so short into his life. I highly recommend you seek out this little 90s gem and find out what all the hoopla is about for yourself. STAR RATING: 2 1/2 Stars out of 5 LETTER RATING: B- CONSUMER RATING: RENTAL, albeit a very High enthusiastic one Reviewed by Atticus C. Howell on 2/18/2014 Almost Heroes is owned by Warner Bros.
Posted on: Tue, 18 Feb 2014 20:58:09 +0000