Almost Heroes (1998) on Netflix
PG-1319981h 30mAdventureComedyWestern
In 1804, Leslie Edwards hires Bartholomew Hunt to guide a crew west, hoping to reach the Pacific before Lewis and Clark. The aristocrat has funding but knows little of the wilderness.
- Netflix3.4/5
- IMDb5.8/1019,114 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes5%
Trailer
Plot summary
Leslie Edwards, a foppish aristocrat with the funding and ambition to mount an expedition, wants to be the first to chart a route across the United States to the Pacific Ocean, ahead of the renowned Lewis and Clark. Sheltered his whole life, Edwards knows little of the wilderness he means to cross, so he hires Bartholomew Hunt, a loud, low-brow frontiersman supposedly knowledgeable about the land, as his tracker and guide. A crew of rugged backwoodsmen joins the expedition, among them Shaquinna, a young Indian woman who guides them and helps them find their way across dangerous and unknown terrain.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Almost Heroes (1998)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Chris Farley died of a drug overdose on December 18, 1997, and Almost Heroes was not released until May 29, 1998, meaning it reached theaters with Farley already dead for nearly six months.
- The writers originally wanted to offer the role of Leslie Edwards to Hugh Laurie, but Turner executives wanted a more recognizable actor because he was then a star only in the United Kingdom; Hugh Grant and Bill Murray turned the part down before Matthew Perry accepted it.
- Producer Denise Di Novi said the script was brilliant and that they even hired Christopher Guest to direct it, adding that she has the distinction of making the only unsuccessful Christopher Guest movie.
- Almost Heroes was the final film from Turner Pictures, which folded into Warner Bros. on November 14, 1996 following the Turner-Time Warner merger of October 10, 1996.
- Filming the frontier comedy in the summer meant the cast had to wear heavy furs in temperatures of over one hundred degrees.
