Almost Heroes (1998)

User Rating:

4.9/10   

Director:

Christopher Guest

Writers (WGA):

Mark Nutter (written by) &
Tom Wolfe (written by) ...
(more)

Release Date:

29 May 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Western

Tagline:

Almost History... Almost Legends... Mostly Ridiculous.

Plot:

A road comedy about 2 guys whose mission is to beat Lewis and Clark.

Plot Keywords:

Fear | Cult Favorite | Severed Ear | Slapstick | Bagpipes

Cast

Chris Farley	...	Bartholomew Hunt
Matthew Perry	...	Leslie Edwards
Bokeem Woodbine	...	Jonah
Barry Del Sherman	...	Sergeant
Robert Tittor	...	Priest
Franklin Cover	...	Nicholas Burr
David Packer	...	Bidwell
Eugene Levy	...	Guy Fontenot
Lisa Barbuscia	...	Shaquinna
Christian Clemenson	...	Father Girard
Steven M. Porter	...	Higgins
Patrick Cranshaw	...	Jackson (as Joseph Patrick Cranshaw)
Hamilton Camp	...	Pratt
Jonathan Joss	...	Bent Twig
George Aguilar	...	Chief Two Roads
Gregory Cruz	...	Iowa Indian (as Gregory Norman Cruz)
Lewis Arquette	...	Merchant
Don Lake	...	Elias
Brent Hinkley	...	Trapper
John Farley	...	Bartender
Kevin Dunn	...	Hidalgo
Tim DeKay	...	New Bartender
Keith Sellon-Wright	...	Merriweather Lewis
Scott Williamson	...	William Clark
David Barrera	...	Ferdinand
Jay Lacopo	...	Hector
Frank Salsedo	...	Old Indian (as Frank Sotonoma Salsedo)
Billy Daydoge	...	Strong Like Mountain (as Billy Daydodge)
T. Dan Hopkins	...	Running Puma
Axel Lindgren	...	Salmon Brave
Harry Shearer	...	Narrator
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jim Boulden	...	Puppeteer / Eagle + Bear
Maria Cina	...	Ballroom dancer
Gordon Hart	...	Ballroom Dancer
Stuart Rogers	...	Stunts
Dennis Ambriz	...	Head Buffalo Dancer (uncredited)
Scott Anderson	...	Conquistador #2 (uncredited)
Val Crawford	...	Bald Eagle (uncredited)
Daniel Passer	...	Salvador (uncredited)

Directed by
Christopher Guest

Writing credits (WGA)
Mark Nutter		(written by) &
Tom Wolfe		(written by) &
Boyd Hale		(written by)

Produced by
Denise Di Novi	....	producer
Mary Kane	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Jeffrey C.J. Vanston		(as Jeffery CJ Vanston)

Cinematography by
Adam Kimmel		(director of photography)
Kenneth MacMillan		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Ronald Roose

Casting by
Mary Gail Artz
Barbara Cohen

Production Design by
Joseph T. Garrity

Art Direction by
Pat Tagliaferro

Set Decoration by
Linda Allen

Costume Design by
Durinda Wood

Makeup Department
Angela Moos	....	makeup department head
Peter Owen	....	wig stylist
Cheri Ruff	....	hair stylist
Kate Shorter	....	key hair stylist
Julie Travis-Socash	....	makeup artist (as Julie Sogash)
Melissa A. Yonkey	....	key makeup stylist (as Melissa Yonkey)

Production Management
Mary Kane	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Pamela Cederquist	....	second second assistant director
Christian P. Della Penna	....	assistant director
Timothy Grant Engle	....	dga trainee (as Tim Engle)
Andrew M. Flinn	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Paige Bassett	....	construction coordinator (as E. Paige Bassett)
John Bloom	....	construction
Vern Crofoot	....	props
Tony Gardner	....	special props
Steve George	....	assistant property master (as Stephen H. George)
Brian Hall	....	construction
David E. Harshbarger	....	property master
Mervyn Johnson	....	construction coordinator (as Mervyn L. Johnson)
Thomas V. Johnson	....	stand-by painter (as Thomas Johnson)
Mark David Kersey	....	props
Teusa Koiwai	....	assistant property master
David Lombard	....	lead man
Valdemar Membrila	....	construction
Kurt Miller	....	carpenter
Sergio Ramos	....	construction
Michael Ruby	....	signwriter
Debi Shirk Tagliaferro	....	art department researcher
Mark Vena	....	storyboard artist
Kon Iliov	....	gangboss (uncredited)
Richard N. McGuire	....	carpenter (uncredited)

Sound Department
George Berndt	....	adr supervisor
Andrew Bock	....	assistant sound editor
Lawrence L. Commans	....	boom operator (as Mark Commans)
Mark Commans	....	boom operator
Gary Gegan	....	sound re-recording mixer
Allan Hartz	....	dialogue editor (as Allen Hartz)
Ellen Heuer	....	foley artist
Matthew Iadarola	....	sound re-recording mixer
David Jobe	....	foley mixer
Jonathan Klein	....	foley editor
Kevin Kubota	....	cable
James Moriana	....	foley artist
Bob Newlan	....	dialogue editor
Mark Pappas	....	foley artist
Mark Steinbeck	....	cable
Hamilton Sterling	....	supervising sound editor
John Joseph Thomas	....	sound effects editor
Mark Weingarten	....	production sound mixer

Special Effects by
Charles Belardinelli	....	special effects coordinator (as Charles 'O.C.' Belardinelli)
Thomas L. Bellissimo	....	special effects coordinator (as Tommy 'Brooklyn' Bellissimo)
Carole Cowley	....	special effects associate producer
Jerry Donegan	....	special effects technician (as Jerry Donegan Jr.)
Johnny Franco III	....	special effects technician
Johnny Franklin	....	special effects technician
Jim Greenall	....	animatronic designer and fabricator: bear and eagle
Doug Hudson	....	puppeteer
Malia Thompson	....	special effects assistant
Shannon J. Thompson	....	special effects key (as Shannon Thompson)

Visual Effects by
Scott Dougherty	....	visual effects producer: Cinesite
Rocco Gioffre	....	matte artist
Karen Klein	....	rotoscope artist
Brad Kuehn	....	visual effects supervisor
Vincent Lavares	....	technical assistant supervisor: Cinesite
Dan Levitan	....	compositor
Bob Lyss	....	digital compositor
Mark Michaels	....	composite supevisor
Kimberly K. Nelson	....	visual effects coordinator
Cristin Pescosolido	....	match move supervisor
Thomas Randell	....	visual effects
Carl Seibert	....	visual effects producer
Tony Sgueglia	....	data operations supervisor
Carole Cowley	....	visual effects production coordinator: Cinesite (uncredited)
Tiffany Smith	....	visual effects production assistant: Cinesite (uncredited)

Stunts
Pete Antico	....	stunts (as Peter Antico)
Frankie Avina	....	stunts
David Lain Baker	....	stunts (as David Baker)
Tony Lee Boggs	....	stunts (as Tony Boggs)
Brian Brown	....	stunts
David Christian	....	stunts (as David Paul Christian)
Jeff Danoff	....	stunts
Mark De Alessandro	....	stunts (as Mark D'Alessandro)
Michael Anthony George	....	stunts
Randall Shiro Ideishi	....	stunts (as Randall S. Ideishi)
Max Kleven	....	stunt coordinator
Jeff Langton	....	stunts
Robert LaPoint	....	stunts (as Bob La Point)
David Lea	....	stunts (as Dave Lea)
Eric Lee	....	stunts
David Leitch	....	stunts (as David M. Leitch)
Steve Martinez	....	stunts
Eddie Matthews	....	stunts
Billy Morts	....	stunts
Jason Newman	....	stunts
Chris Palermo	....	stunts (as Christopher A. Palermo)
Stuart Edmond Rodgers	....	stunts (as Stewart Edmond Rogers)
Victor Simakov	....	stunts
Desi Singh	....	stunts
Chad Stahelski	....	stunts
Philip Tan	....	stunts
Gene Walker	....	stunts
Michael Weis	....	stunt rigger
Danny Weselis	....	stunts
Chris Farley	....	stunts (uncredited)
Shawn Kautz	....	stunts (uncredited)
Tim Weske	....	stunt double (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
James Babineaux	....	assistant chief lighting technician
John-Paul Beeghly	....	assistant camera: second unit
Josh Bleibtreu	....	camera operator: second unit
Alan Caso	....	director of photography: second unit
Don Devine	....	camera operator
Jack English	....	chief lighting technician
Michael A. FauntLeRoy	....	first assistant camera (as Michael A. Fauntleroy)
Jason C. Fitzgerald	....	electrician
Anthony Gaudioz	....	camera operator (as Tony Gaudioz)
Rusty Geller	....	Steadicam operator
Michael Genne	....	camera operator (as Michael A. Genne)
Scott Hillman	....	best boy grip (as Scott 'Scooter' Hillman)
Bobby Huber	....	key grip
Jeff Jur	....	director of photography: additional photography
Alex Klabukov	....	grip
Christopher Lyons	....	rigger gaffer
Steve McLean	....	additional first assistant camera
John Murphy	....	dolly grip (as John W. Murphy)
John Murphy	....	dolly grip
Deana Newcomb	....	still photographer
Noah Schuster	....	second assistant camera
Nick Shuster	....	second assistant camera: "a" camera
Brian Sullivan	....	director of photography: second unit
Donald E. Thorin Jr.	....	Steadicam operator (as Donald Thorin Jr.)
Stephen Thorp	....	electrician (as Steve Thorpe)
Dale White	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera
Bennie Zura	....	electrician (uncredited)

Animation Department
Jim Boulden	....	animatronics and puppets creator

Casting Department
Lynda Halligan	....	casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Augusta	....	additional set costumer
Mary Cheung	....	costumer
Luff Fischer	....	costumer
Suzanne Flores	....	costumer (as Suzanne M. Flores)
Marcy Grace Froehlich	....	assistant costume designer
Deborah Hall	....	key costumer
Christine Heinz	....	costumer
Susan Kistler	....	costumer
Amanda Blythe Linder	....	costume production assistant
Dennis McCarthy	....	costumer
David S. Powell	....	set costumer (as Dave Powell)
Eileen Sieff Stroup	....	wardrobe supervisor
Christine Wada	....	set costumer
Tyra Youland	....	set costumer

Editorial Department
Tanya Beilke	....	post-production coordinator
Daniel Candib	....	assistant editor
Gloria Kaiser	....	color timer
Sandra Montiel	....	first assistant editor
Steve New	....	negative cutter (as Steve New)
Eric Rigney	....	avid technician
Tina Wilson	....	second assistant editor
Bill Daly	....	post-production executive (uncredited)
Dale Jones	....	avid technician (uncredited)
Ryan Quigley	....	apprentice editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Pete Anthony	....	conductor (as Peter Anthony)
Shelly Berg	....	orchestrator
David Cole	....	music mixer
Bobby Fernandez-Hewitt	....	main score recordist (as Bobby Fernandez)
Bruce Fowler	....	orchestrator
Tom Halm	....	orchestrator
Christopher Kennedy	....	music editor
Richard Marx	....	orchestrator (as Dick Marx)
Marek Szpakiewicz	....	musician: cello
Jeffrey C.J. Vanston	....	orchestrator (as Jeffery CJ Vanston)

Transportation Department
Paul Korpal	....	driver: cast
Brian Maguire	....	transportation captain
Marty Radcliff	....	driver
Jonathan A. Rosenfeld	....	transportation coordinator (as Jonathan Rosenfeld)
Dwight Wood	....	transportation captain

Other crew
Cody Flynn Alexander	....	production assistant
Allen Alibudbud	....	set staff assistant
Alvin Alibudbud	....	set staff assistant
Kris Andersson	....	ballroom dancer
Tammy Apana	....	second assistant accountant
Tanya Beilke	....	assistant: Ms. DiNovi
Mauri Bernstein	....	puppeteer
Susan J. Bonno-Buckner	....	first assistant accountant
Mark Bronson	....	post-production accountant
Kelly Bryman	....	office staff assistant
Kellie Burbach	....	office staff assistant
Robert Burns	....	set medic
Sara Burton	....	unit location manager: reshoot
Robert C. Campion	....	production accountant: additional photography
Maria Cina	....	ballroom dancer
Gary Michael Clark	....	payroll accountant
Mark Coppola	....	set staff assistant
Anthony De Longis	....	sword master (as Anthony DeLongis)
Dennis Derengowski	....	set medic
Brian Dettor	....	office staff assistant
Ted Dondanville	....	assistant: Mr. Farley
Andrew Durham	....	production coordinator
Anne Fletcher	....	ballroom dancer
Michael T. Ford	....	office staff assistant (as Mike Ford)
David Fulton	....	unit publicist
Elise Ganz	....	studio teacher (as Elise Ganz Samuelson)
Jim Greenall	....	puppeteer
Gordon Hart	....	ballroom dancer
A. Ideth Hernandez	....	assistant: Mr. Kane
Andie Hicks	....	ballroom dancer
Scott Hislop	....	ballroom dancer
Erik Hyler	....	ballroom dancer
Heidi Johnson	....	assistant: Mr. Guest
Anushka Jones	....	ballroom dancer
Steve Jones	....	river coordinator
Matthew Kill Fawver	....	office staff assistant
Paul Korpal	....	production assistant
Andrew Loo	....	production associate
Lance MacDonald	....	ballroom dancer
Stacey L. McCormick	....	projectionist
Michael McKean	....	project consultant
Michael Neale	....	location manager (as Mike Neale)
Scott Nemes	....	office staff assistant
Tristan Oliver	....	production assistant
Dave Parker	....	office staff assistant (as David Parker)
Erica Pearce	....	key set staff assistant
Beverly Polcyn	....	ballroom dancer
Ryan Quigley	....	office staff assistant
Rachel Ramist	....	office staff assistant
Robin Reed	....	set staff assistant
Julene Renee	....	ballroom dancer
Paul 'Sled' Reynolds	....	animal wrangler (as Sled Reynolds)
Michael A. Schumacher	....	office staff assistant
Adam Shankman	....	choreographer
Deanna Stadler	....	set staff assistant
John Starr	....	key craft service
Janna Stern	....	script supervisor
Michelle Stone	....	assistant: Mr. Guest
Tony Swatton	....	armorer
Christopher W. Trott	....	location manager
Gwynn Turnbull	....	head wrangler
Christian Wadman	....	office staff assistant
Moira Walley	....	assistant: Mr. Perry
Tim Weske	....	sword master
Martin C. Wetherall	....	set staff assistant (as Martin Wetherall)
Karen White	....	location manager: second unit
Bennie Zura	....	set staff assistant
Ralph Berge	....	production executive (uncredited)
Tim Weske	....	fencing double (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Turner Pictures (I)
• DiNovi Pictures

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1998) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (1999) (Germany) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (????) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar (Brazil) (VHS)
• LK-TEL (1999) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Turner Home Entertainment (2001) (USA) (VHS)
• Turner Home Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Veronica (2004) (Netherlands) (TV) (first national airing)
• Warner Home Video (1998) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)

Special Effects

• Animal Makers (animatronics)
• POP Film

Other Companies

• Axium Casting Agency  casting
• Big Bear Lake Film Office  special thanks (as Big Bear Lake Film Commission)
• Bureau of Land Management  special thanks
• California Film Commission  special thanks
• California State Park System  special thanks
• Cybermotion  title animation
• D' Caterers  catering
• Deborah Ross Film Design  main and end title design
• Foam-Tec Inc.  construction at Snow Camp
• Humboldt Lagoons State Park  special thanks
• Pacific Title  titles and optics
• Todd-AO Studios  sound post-production

Also Known As:

Almost History (USA) (working title)
Edwards and Hunt (USA) (working title)
Edwards and Hunt: The First American Road Trip (USA) (working title)
From Here to There (USA) (working title)
Westward Ho (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for crude humor and nudity.

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Australia:PG | Argentina:13 | Germany:12 | Iceland:L | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #35442)

Filming Locations:

Big Bear Lake, California, USA

Company:

Turner Pictures (I)

Trivia:

This film marks the last leading role for Chris Farley who died five months before the film released. However it is not his last film appearance as he had a cameo for the film Dirty Work released later that same year.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: When Leslie Edwards is watching Guy's wife bathing, she has a thong tan line.

Quotes:

Guy Fontenot: Any man who look at my woman will die!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Comedy Central Presents: Frank Caliendo (#8.4)" (2004)

Soundtrack:

Opus 71 Second Movement, String Quartet in D Major, 'Finale, Allegretto - Allegro'

very funny

In 1804, President Thomas Jefferson commissioned Lewis and Clark to explore the newly acquired Louisiana Territory and find a route to the Pacific. Other explorers followed Lewis and Clark but didn't become famous--if you believe this movie.

Among these less well-known explorers was Leslie Edwards, who seemed too much of a spoiled rich kid to spend time in the untamed wilderness--which is why he tried at first to take all the comforts of home with him, including a slave. He needed an expert tracker, but for some reason he had to settle for a man who was in the process of being hanged for drunk and disorderly conduct that included forcing a military officer to waltz. Supposedly, President Jefferson had commuted that sentence, but the signature could have been forged.

The rest of the crew was nothing to brag about. In fact, a number of them, after hearing they would have to travel upstream, wanted to take the easy way out and go to New Orleans instead. One old geezer simply wanted to see the Pacific but got out of doing any work because he was ... well, old. Guy Fontenot claimed to know all the languages of the Indian tribes the group would encounter. But the first time he was called on to translate, he explained that the language was one he didn't know. He brought along the Indian maiden Shaquinna and was insanely jealous whenever anyone would even look at her.

Along the way to the Pacific, our heroes encountered a number of strange Indians and even stranger villains such as Hidalgo. They also visited a full-fledged community established by whites--highly unlikely, but then, this wasn't supposed to be historically accurate.

This was a very funny movie, but whether it was quality depends on one's interpretation. For me, this was quite entertaining. Some examples: Bidwell loses an ear, and Pratt picks it up and speaks into it--for the rest of the movie--believing Bidwell will be able to hear him. And Hunt climbed a tree to get an eagle's egg--three times. I won't say why it had to be three times, or why he really regretted the second and third trips. But it was the highlight of the whole movie. There was also a scene where an Indian kept slapping the white men because they did not respect his customs. Or was that the real reason? And the entire movie was filled with physical comedy such as falling off cliffs.

One criticism--if Matthew Perry was supposed to have a British accent, or at least the accent of New England aristocracy, he seemed to forget in the more strenuous scenes.

The objective was to get to the Pacific before Lewis and Clark. Did they? Of course I can't say. I can say that from a distance in several scenes, we could see what appeared to be two men and an Indian woman, and a dog. Whether they made it or not, the effort was certainly one to be enjoyed.