Parents' Guide to Almost Heroes

Movie PG-13 1998 90 minutes
Almost Heroes movie poster: Chris Farley left, Matthew Perry center, as 1800s explorers, stand back-to-back under wooden pole with eagle and signs

Common Sense Media Review

JK Sooja By JK Sooja , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 13+

Violence, racist stereotypes in dated buddy comedy.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 13+?

Any Positive Content?

  • Almost Heroes Trailer
  • Almost Heroes movie: Chris Farley dressed like a fur trapper center left speaks to Matthew Perry right in coat with high red collar, shoulder tassel
  • Almost Heroes movie: Chris Farley with floppy blond hair center looks like a fur trapper
  • Almost Heroes movie: Scenic landscape view of a large river winding through wooded land on each side

Parent and Kid Reviews

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What's the Story?

In ALMOST HEROES, Leslie (Matthew Perry) is determined to beat Lewis and Clark to something for once. Enlisting Bartholomew (Chris Farley), they set out across the continent in search of glory. But they'll face various obstacles, animals, nature, and their own blind ambition on their adventure.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say : Not yet rated
Kids say : Not yet rated

One of Christopher Guest's worst directorial efforts, this '90s comedy is simply not good. In addition to the racism, the other big problem with Almost Heroes is that it just isn't funny. As Chris Farley's last film, this is unfortunate, as his legacy deserves a better send-off than this mess of a movie. Along with feeling very dated in terms of Native and Indigenous representation, the comedy on display also feels dated, and there's a feeling that it might have felt dated even in the '90s.

The majority of the comedy comes from the physical comedy of Farley, but he's oddly mismatched with Matthew Perry here, as Perry isn't the best straight man to Farley's goofiness. Further, one of the factors that made many of Farley's earlier characters lovable despite their idiocy was how they usually also had endearing and kind qualities underneath all the physical fall-down buffoonery. Here, however, Farley's Bartholomew is harder to love, as is Perry's self-involved and entitled Leslie.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about violence in comedies. Did any of the violence in Almost Heroes particularly bother you? How might the film's depiction of Native and Indigenous peoples and cultures be a kind of "violence"?

  • How do you feel about Native and Indigenous representation in popular media? Do you think it has gotten better, or is there still a lot of progress to be made?

  • Which character do you like better: Leslie or Bartholomew? Do you think they make a good comedy team? Why, or why not?

Movie Details

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Almost Heroes movie poster: Chris Farley left, Matthew Perry center, as 1800s explorers, stand back-to-back under wooden pole with eagle and signs

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