View the Hero At Large trailer here.
Steve Nichols is a down-on-his-luck working actor. One day, Steve takes method acting a tad too far.
Steve Nichols was struggling to make his own way in New York City, until she “J” moved in next door. Now he is thinking that he may not need to do it alone.
The Mayor of New York is up for reelection, but isn’t so popular with his constituents. He will stop at nothing to win the election including using an idealistic young actor, and possibly ruining the man’s life.
If you read those paragraphs and thought, “That’s three different movies.” you would be… right. But not in this case. Hero At Large is a movie that doesn’t know what it wants to be. Part of the time it is a story of an idealistic man who finds himself in a situation where he can play the hero for real, and he likes it. But then the story is a romantic comedy. But there is also a money hungry ad-exec working with a political power hungry mayor.
Imagine if Kick-Ass was made in 1980, with an adult as the protagonist, no Hit-Girl side story, no set antagonist, and normal pain thresholds. It’s an early every-man does good deeds dressed as a fictional superhero but is also trying to make a living, date, and generally live a normal life movie. And.. there is also an appearance by Kevin Bacon.
I honestly had always thought that this was a made-for-TV movie. That is how it feels. It is very middle-of-the-road. When he stakes are high, they don’t seem terribly high (except during the climax). And while John Ritter was an enjoyable actor to watch, I don’t feel that he had quite hit his stride with this movie. I did find it interesting, though, that this is the second film I have seen where Ritter plays someone who has an interest in fencing.
While I enjoyed watching this movie for nostalgic reasons, it is terribly vanilla. There isn’t anything to praise really, and my biggest issue with it is the film’s identity crisis. Seeing this movie through a blue tinted visor, I give Hero At Large (1980) a RAPIER (3/5) that is in desperate need of sharpening.
Review from the Edge 