Imaginary Heroes (2004)

Director:

Dan Harris

Writer (WGA):

Dan Harris (written by)

Release Date:

25 February 2005 (Denmark)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

People are never who they seem to be

Plot:

The Travis family façade is destroyed by an event incomprehensible to them -- an event which will open...

Plot Keywords:

Mother Son Relationship | Bisexual | Ecstasy | Bullying | Swimmer

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Sigourney Weaver	...	Sandy Travis
Emile Hirsch	...	Tim Travis
Jeff Daniels	...	Ben Travis
Michelle Williams	...	Penny Travis
Kip Pardue	...	Matt Travis
Deirdre O'Connell	...	Marge Dwyer
Ryan Donowho	...	Kyle Dwyer
Suzanne Santo	...	Steph Connors
Jay Paulson	...	Vern
Luke Robertson	...	Jack Johnson
Lee Wilkof	...	Mitchell Goldstein
Terry Beaver	...	Dr. Montey
Sara Tanaka	...	Shelly Chan
Ned Benson	...	Undercover Hippie
Larry Fessenden	...	Store Clerk

MPAA:

Rated R for substance abuse, sexual content, language and some violence.

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

USA | Germany | Belgium

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Brazil:16 | Germany:12 | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Netherlands:12 | Iceland:12 | UK:15 (re-rating) (2005) | UK:18 (original rating) | Australia:MA | Canada:G (Quebec) | Finland:K-15 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:NC-16 (cut) | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Chatham, New Jersey, USA

Company:

Imaginary Heroes

Trivia:

The song playing in the smoke shop is "Drug Day Afternoon", written and performed by Emile Hirsch and Ryan Donowho. Hirsch also sings the song when he is going up his stairs on crutches.

Goofs:

When Sandy hands the $50 bill to the undercover cop, we see its back from her point of view. When the view shifts to the other direction, we still see the back, but we should see the face.

Quotes:

Shelly Chan: These were the best years of our life. At least that's what they told us. Personally, I hated high school. I hated all of you and I hope you all rot in hell.

Movie Connections:

Spoofs Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

Soundtrack:

Tainted Love

Perhaps the audience that would find this film the most useful won't see it.

It's a shame that by garnering a restricted rating, perhaps the audience that would find this film the most useful won't likely see it.

Imaginary Heroes follows the life of a teenager after his brothers' suicide. Not, of course, the most original story in the world, however it does spend a great deal of time humanizing their parents, the 'imaginary heroes' that failed in their sons' eyes.

For teenagers, who tend to put responsibility for their failures on their parents but yet refuse to accept any real responsibility on their own, the movie sends a powerful message, that in the end we all have our own troubles we need to deal with, and that we all make our own paths.

But, unlike other movies that tend to urge youth independence, this one resolves the issues between parents and child, and they become a stronger unit for it. That the eldest child committed suicide is regrettable, but not overlooked later in the film, and the responsibility by all parties for the tragedy is thoroughly explained.

Although the subject matter has been covered before, it hasn't been covered quite this way -- the film pulls very little punches. Now, why this earned it an R rating is confusing -- you're unlikely to get across to a teenager in this era without being realistic, but yet providing realism restricts that very audience.

Were my junior high-school class have been shown this film, two suicides may have been prevented. In this case, the censors seem to have exercised extremely poor judgment.

8/10