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Some Kind of Hero
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Directed by Michael Pressman
Richard Pryor gives a compelling performance in Some Kind of Hero, playing a Vietnam veteran who tries to readjust to civilian life. Pryor plays Eddie Keller, who has just spent five years in a North Vietnamese prisoner-of-war camp. Most of the time there, Eddie was able to hold his own against his captors, but he eventually was forced to sign a statement denouncing United States involvement in the Vietnam War. Eddie decided to sign the document in order to insure that his friend Vinnie (Ray Sharkey) would be given proper medical treatment. Because of this denunciation, when Eddie returns home from the war he is denied his back pay. He also discovers that his wife has left him for another man, his business has fallen apart, and his mother has been sent to an asylum. Eddie falls into a deep depression and hits rock bottom. But he meets a friendly prostitute, Toni (Margot Kidder), who helps him straighten out his life. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
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Review by All Movie Guide
All Movie Guide
lost interest.
Trying to mix comedy and dead-serious drama is a tricky business, and something that Some Kind of Hero just isn't able to do as effectively as it would like. It doesn't totally fail at it by any means, but this is the kind of trick that has to succeed 100 percent; anything less, and it just doesn't work. Hero is further hampered by a structure that by necessity divides it into what seem like two separate films, with a first act that is at odds with its second act. Adding to its problems is a finale that just doesn't work, coming across as an unconvincing "Hollywood" kind of ending. These flaws in the screenplay are too much for director Michael Pressman, who is unable to find the right tone for Hero, with the result that it ends up a jumbled mess -- this despite some very good dialogue and a lead character that is complexly drawn. The screenplay also provides the fine cast with parts they can sink their teeth into, and no one's teeth are sunk deeper than lead Richard Pryor's. His performance is arguably the best of his career -- compelling, enticing, powerful, screamingly funny, poignant and sympathetic. In a better film, it's the kind of work that leads to awards; here, the showcase around it is too tarnished to allow it to shine, but it's truly impressive nonetheless. Margot Kidder and the rest of the actors also turn in sterling work, but they pale next to Pryor. Hero is a muddled, unsatisfying film, but it's worth catching for its star. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
 

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