The Hero: Elder Angst

Sam Elliott Excells in Lead Role

While I have railed against teen angst many times, I now find a new type of angst has been discovered by Hollywood. Let’s call it elder angst, and let’s be clear that I don’t find it any more appealing than teen angst. While teen angst is about the future and heightened emotions that teens feel, elder angst is about the regret for the roads taken or not taken or the promise not fulfilled.

In the The Hero, Sam Elliott, the quintessential hunk for those not young, plays Lee Hayden, an aging actor whose best roles are behind him. Even though he is making a living with recording voice overs for commercials, he, of course, longs for the fame and excitement of the one great role he’s remembered for, in a film called The Hero. Now, he drinks excessively and does too many drugs. He has a somewhat-friendly ex-wife, Valarie (Katharine Ross), and daughter Lucy (Krysten Ritter), who won’t speak to him. Then he gets the devastating news that he has liver cancer, and writer/director Brett Haley and screenwriter Marc Basch make that lonely moment one that plays to every adult’s worst fears.

Now, Lee wants to make amends and perhaps not seek treatment. While Lee visits to his buddy Jeremy (Nick Offerman), a former actor now drug dealer to the stars, Lee meets Charlotte (Laura Prepon), a standup comic. Will a new love be able to pull him through the emotional and physical struggles of preparing for death and fighting for his life?

Sam Elliott plays the moments with the emotiveness that proves he’s gifted actor, and this is one of the few leading film roles of his career. The fact that the film has a beautiful score and a stunning look doesn’t hurt Haley’s efforts to make each moment meaningful; however, in the end, it is just elder angst dressed up with the eye candy of Sam Elliott. The formula for teen angst is the same. The Hero is rate R for drug use, language, and some sexual content and runs 93 minutes. Release by The Orchard, The Hero is billed as a comedy and is in theaters now.

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