Hero (1992 film)

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Hero
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Stephen Frears
Produced by	Laura Ziskin
Written by	Laura Ziskin Alvin Sargent David Webb Peoples
Starring	Dustin Hoffman Geena Davis Andy Garcia Joan Cusack Kevin J. O'Connor Maury Chaykin Stephen Tobolowsky
Music by	George Fenton
Cinematography	Oliver Stapleton
Editing by	Mick Audsley
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date(s)	October 2, 1992
Running time	117 min
Country	USA
Language	English
Budget	$42,000,000 (estimated)^[1]
Gross revenue	$66,500,000 (Worldwide)^[1]
IMDb profile

Hero (also known as Accidental Hero) is a comedy and drama movie directed by Stephen Frears and starring Dustin Hoffman, Geena Davis, Andy Garcia, Chevy Chase, and Joan Cusack. It was released in the United States on October 2, 1992.

1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Influences
4 Song
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Plot

Hero is about Bernard "Bernie" LaPlante, a thief (played by Hoffman) who anonymously helps rescue survivors of a plane crash. Homeless Vietnam veteran John Bubber (Garcia) whom Bernie had briefly met earlier in the film, takes credit for the rescue when Bernie turns out to be too involved in his criminal activities and troubled life to realize that the media has worked up a frenzy trying to find the identity of the hero. Meanwhile, Gail (Davis), a TV reporter (and one of the crash survivors), has been hoping for an investigation that's not about exposing human weakness but one that discovers layer after layer of human goodness. She soon grooms Bubber's public image as a hero, and even falls in love with him, all the while under the impression that Bubber is the hero. The irony that constantly feeds the film is that Bernie, who is a real sleaze, has done an uncharacteristically noble thing and suffers greatly for it, while John Bubber, who is truly noble and virtuous, has been living a terrible life until he does an uncharacteristically sleazy thing.

[edit] Cast

Actor	Role
Dustin Hoffman	Bernard 'Bernie' Laplante
Geena Davis	Gale Gayley
Andy Garcia	John Bubber
Joan Cusack	Evelyn Laplante
Kevin J. O'Connor	Chucky
Maury Chaykin	Winston
Stephen Tobolowsky	James Wallace

[edit] Influences

Hail the Conquering Hero (1944) is a movie on a similar theme by Preston Sturges. Many reviewers referred to the obvious similarities between Hero and Sturges' screwball comedy works.

[edit] Song

Mariah Carey originally recorded her #1 hit single, "Hero (Mariah Carey song)", for the film but the filmmakers did not think the power ballad was a good fit. Instead, Luther Vandross sang the theme, "Heart of a Hero".