Hero (1992 film)
| Hero | |
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 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Stephen Frears |
| Produced by | Laura Ziskin |
| Written by | Laura Ziskin Alvin Sargent David Webb Peoples |
| Starring | Dustin Hoffman Geena Davis Andy García |
| Music by | George Fenton |
| Cinematography | Oliver Stapleton |
| Editing by | Mick Audsley |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
| Release date(s) |
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| Running time | 117 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $42 million |
| Box office | $66.5 million |
Hero (also known as Accidental Hero) is a comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Frears and starring Dustin Hoffman, Geena Davis, Andy García, Chevy Chase, and Joan Cusack. It was released in the United States on October 2, 1992.
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Plot[edit]
Bernie LaPlante is a pickpocket and petty criminal who anonymously rescues survivors of a plane crash, losing a shoe in the process. He later meets a homeless Vietnam veteran, John Bubber, and gives him his remaining shoe. The media cries out for the hero to come forward, and when Bernie can't due to incarceration, John uses the single shoe to take credit for the act. Bernie tries to tell people that John is a fake, but the media has sensationalized the heroic Bubber, and everyone wants to believe in him rather than Bernie.
TV reporter Gale Gayley, one of the crash survivors, considers herself to be in John's debt and soon grooms his public image. She finds herself falling in love with him even though she has questions about his authenticity, and he finds himself in an ethical dilemma since his lies are inspirational to countless people. Meanwhile, Bernie tries to bond with his son who is enamored with John. But he is trapped by his own character, unable to convince anyone of the truth. And he feels that if his son is going to idolize anyone, perhaps John is the better choice.
Meanwhile, Gale finds out from a detective that her credit cards were recovered (although at first, she denied, saying that they all burned in the crash), and is revealed that they were accidentally stolen by Bernie, drawing accusations that he might be attempting to blackmail John. Gale and her cameraman, Chucky break into Bernie's apartment room with the help of Bernie's landlord, Winston, who unlocked the door from the outside. While searching for evidence to incarcerate Bernie once again, Gale finds her stolen Silver Mic Award that she won in New York City moments before the crash. When Bernie enters his room and runs into Gale, they get into a brief argument, but Winston interupts them and says that John is going to jump from a high rise skyscraper. Gale heads to the building to see John, as he will only talk to her and nobody else, and brings Bernie with her as well. On the way to the scene, Gale continues the argument and threatens to have Bernie prosecuted by the full extent of the law if John leaps to his death, and tells him to do something about it. In addition, she says that he will apologize to John for attempted black mail; otherwise, Gale will expose the truth to the public of what Bernie did if he hesitates to apologize. When they arrive, Bernie goes out on the ledge himself with John, where Bernie hatches a scheme to milk the media attention for all it's worth. Ultimately they agree that the world needs a hero, and John is the only one people will accept. Bernie actually gets dizzy and falls and holds onto the ledge, and John pulls him up to safety. When she sees Bernie with dirt on his face Gale realizes it was Bernie who saved her when she sees him., after the incident is over, a suspicious Gale confronts Bernie again, but this time, she asks him if he was the one that saved her life from the crash. Bernie, knowing that everyone will believe in John rather than himself, says he didn't do it, persuading her to believe that John really save her life. When Bernie's family is televised, Gale tells him to tell his son about his courageous act at the crash, as she already realizes the truth, John agrees to play the part, and Bernie stays out of the spotlight. Realizing that his son already idolizes him, Bernie decides to tell him the true story of the crash while at the zoo. After he does so, a lady cries out that her daughter has fallen into the lion's cage. Bernie's son looks at him with expectant eyes, to which he sighs, slips off his shoes, and tells him to watch them.
Cast[edit]
- Dustin Hoffman as Bernard "Bernie" LaPlante
- Geena Davis as Gale Gayley
- Andy Garcia as John Bubber
- Joan Cusack as Evelyn
- Kevin J. O'Connor as Chucky
- Maury Chaykin as Winston
- Stephen Tobolowsky as James Wallace
- Christian Clemenson as Conklin
- Tom Arnold as Chick
- Cady Huffman as Flight Attendant Leslie
- James Madio as Joey
- Martin Starr as Allen in Coma
- Jeff Garlin as News Vendor
- Chevy Chase as Deke - Channel 4 News Director (Uncredited)
Influences[edit]
Hail the Conquering Hero (1944) is a film on a similar theme by Preston Sturges. Many reviewers referred to the obvious similarities between Hero and Sturges' screwball comedy works.
Reception[edit]
The film was met with generally positive reviews.[1]
American Film Institute recognition:
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains:
- Bernie Laplante - Nominated Hero[2]
Home media[edit]
The film debuted at No.3 in home media market.[3]
References[edit]
- ^ [1]
- ^ AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains Nominees
- ^ Hunt, Dennis (1993-05-14). "National Video Rentals : Star Power Pushes 'Hero' Up Chart". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2011-01-01.
External links[edit]
- Hero at the Internet Movie Database
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