Hero

Bernie LaPlante is a small-time thief, a bad father, and due in court. One night a plane crashes on a bridge. Grumbling all the way, Bernie goes in and pulls the passengers out, then loses a shoe and disappears. A television station goes looking for the hero. The man who comes forward is John Bubber, a homeless man who found the shoe. The subject is not heroism but the media manufacturing a hero. Bubber plays the part very well; the hero the public wants was never going to be someone like Bernie. The bitter part is that Bubber is a good man too. The form imitates American comedy of the thirties: fast dialogue, newsroom scenes, a mocking eye. Stephen Frears does it deliberately. It was released in Britain as Accidental Hero. It fell short of expectations at the American box office and remains among the least discussed films of Frears' Hollywood period, though what it says about the press and heroism has been cited more since. Dustin Hoffman plays Bernie, Andy Garcia plays Bubber and Geena Davis the reporter who breaks the story. Who it is for: viewers who like satirical Hollywood comedy and criticism of the media. Who it is not for: anyone wanting a likeable hero; Bernie really is insufferable throughout and the film does not fix that.