We all remember the feeling. December 1997. The news broke that Chris Farley was gone at 33, and suddenly, the comedy world felt a lot quieter. But five months after he passed, this weird, dusty, 1800s-set comedy called Almost Heroes landed in theaters. It didn’t have the lightning-in-a-bottle magic of Tommy Boy. It didn't have David Spade. Honestly, most critics at the time absolutely shredded it.
They saw a $30 million budget turn into a $6 million box office disaster. A 5% on Rotten Tomatoes.
But if you actually sit down and watch it today, away from the shadow of 1998’s grief, you find something different. You find Farley, alongside a peak-era Matthew Perry, basically carrying a broken movie on their backs through sheer force of will. It’s not just "the movie where Chris Farley dies." It’s a fascinating, messy, and surprisingly heartfelt look at what happens when the B-team tries to be legends.
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The "Other" Lewis and Clark
The premise of Almost Heroes is actually kinda brilliant in its simplicity. While Lewis and Clark are out there being historical icons, you’ve got Leslie Edwards (Matthew Perry) and Bartholomew Hunt (Chris Farley).
Edwards is an aristocrat who wants glory but has no idea how to survive a mosquito bite. Hunt is a "legendary" tracker who is mostly just a drunk with a good PR agent. They’re racing Lewis and Clark to the Pacific Ocean, backed by a crew of misfits including a very dry Eugene Levy.
It’s a classic "odd couple" setup, but because it’s Christopher Guest directing—the guy behind Spinal Tap and Best in Show—the humor is supposed to be drier and more character-driven. Except, well, it isn’t. Not exactly.
Why the movie feels "off" (and why that's okay)
You can feel the tension in the editing. On one hand, you have Guest’s instinct for subtle, improvised awkwardness. On the other, you have a studio that paid $6 million for Chris Farley and wanted him to fall through things. Often.
The result is a movie that oscillates between:
- Subtle, witty banter between Perry and the crew.
- Extreme, high-decibel Farley physical comedy (the eagle egg scene comes to mind).
- A surprisingly grim undercurrent because we know what happened to the lead actor shortly after filming.
Matthew Perry later admitted in his memoir that he was struggling with his own demons during the shoot. Knowing that both leads were fighting massive uphill battles in their personal lives makes the movie's theme—two guys failing their way toward greatness—feel incredibly heavy.
The Chris Farley Performance: A Final Act
A lot of people say Almost Heroes is Chris Farley's worst movie. I’d argue it’s actually one of his most "Farley" performances. Because there was no David Spade to play the straight man, Farley had to be the emotional core.
Bartholomew Hunt isn't just a clown. He’s a guy who knows he’s a fraud. There’s a scene where he admits he isn't the hero everyone thinks he is, and you see that flicker of real vulnerability that made Farley so special. He wasn't just a "fat guy who falls down." He was a guy who desperately wanted to be liked, and you see that in every frame of this film.
He was reportedly sober during much of the 1996 shoot, aided by a sobriety bodyguard. He looks healthier here than he did in his final SNL hosting gig. He’s sharp, his timing is actually quite good, and his chemistry with Perry—while different from the Spade dynamic—is genuinely fun.
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What Everyone Gets Wrong About the Failure
The narrative is usually: "Farley died, the movie was bad, so it bombed."
That’s a bit of a lazy take. The truth is Almost Heroes was caught in a corporate meat grinder. It was originally a Turner Pictures project. Then Time Warner bought Turner. The movie got shelved, moved around the calendar, and basically dumped in May 1998 with zero marketing momentum. Warner Bros. didn’t even screen it for most critics. They essentially gave up on it before it had a chance to breathe.
Also, audiences in 1998 weren't ready for a Christopher Guest movie that wasn't a mockumentary. The "anti-comedy" style Guest loves—where the joke is that there is no joke—flew right over the heads of people expecting Tommy Boy 2: The Frontier.
A Cult Classic in Disguise?
If you talk to people who grew up with this on Comedy Central or VHS, they don't see a failure. They see:
- The Strawberries Scene: Hunt’s increasingly unhinged rant about finding "the forbidden fruit."
- The Eagle Nest: A masterclass in Farley’s ability to take a 5-minute physical gag and make it feel like a 20-minute epic.
- The Ending: No spoilers, but the way the movie concludes is surprisingly sweet. It’s a "hero’s journey" where the heroes realize they’re better off just being themselves.
Why You Should Revisit It Now
Looking back from 2026, Almost Heroes feels like a time capsule. It’s the last time we got to see Chris Farley in a leading role, giving it his absolute all. It’s a reminder of a period in Hollywood when mid-budget comedies could take weird risks on period pieces.
It’s not a perfect film. The pacing is weird, and some of the side characters are basically cartoons. But it has a soul.
If you want to appreciate it properly, don't go in looking for Tommy Boy. Go in looking for a Christopher Guest experiment that went slightly off the rails but managed to capture the final, flickering light of a comedy legend.
Actionable Next Steps for Fans:
- Watch the "Edwards and Hunt" versions: Seek out some of the early production notes or fan-edits that try to restore the more character-focused tone Christopher Guest originally intended.
- Pair it with Waiting for Guffman: If you watch it back-to-back with Guest’s other 90s work, the "anti-humor" beats in Almost Heroes start to make way more sense.
- Check out the 2025 Retrospectives: Several film podcasts have recently done deep dives into the "cursed" 1998 summer season; these give great context on why movies like this struggled to find an audience.
- Appreciate the Craft: Watch Farley’s face during the quiet moments with Matthew Perry. The physical stuff is great, but the real magic is in the "almost" heroes trying to find a reason to keep going.