#269: Almost Heroes

Release Date: May 29th, 1998

Format: Streaming (Tubi)

Written by: Boyd Hale, Mark Nutter, and Tom Wolfe

Directed by: Christopher Gues

1.5 Stars

From the moment of its release to theaters in the spring 1998, Almost Heroes seemed destined to become merely an underwhelming footnote in the career of its star, Chris Farley. Farley had died of a drug overdose the previous winter, and when combined with disappointing critic reviews and a stupid looking movie poster, Almost Heroes just seemed like too much of a bummer for many of his loyal fans.

Watching it tonight for the first time, I was hoping it was ready for a rediscovery. Maybe after almost 30 years, enough time had passed to appreciate this movie for more than just its rather melancholy notoriety. 

Unfortunately I think the critics had it right back in 1998. It’s not that Almost Heroes is distinctly bad, but rather it’s just sort of undercooked and misdirected, taking us from scene to scene following a group of explorers trying to beat Lewis and Clark to the Pacific Ocean.

The chemistry between Farley and Matthew Perry (who succumbed to his own drug overdose in 2023) is surprisingly cozy in the film, but you still wish it was David Spade instead. That’s sad to think about. There’s also lots of Farley schtick, some of it pretty tired, some of it still pretty damn funny.  

Watch the scenes where Farley is trying to steal eggs from an eagle’s nest. I was tearing up from laughing.

So although the end of his career was a disappointment, there were still moments where he was magically hilarious. The sad clown who wanted nothing more than to make us laugh.