This is a sweet but slight urban fairy tale about the battle of hope and cynicism. Imagine a Walt Disney version of the movie Taxi Driver and you've got the general idea of Hero At Large.
Steve Nichols (John Ritter) is a struggling young actor trying to make it in New York City. He's a kind-hearted and generous soul, the sort who thinks nothing of telling another actor about a part in a commercial and then being happy for the other guy when he gets the role. His latest job is dressing up in a spandex costume and making appearances at movie theaters where the new super-hero film Captain Avenger is playing. One night, while on his way home from the theater, Steve stops by a corner store just as a robbery occurs. He whips off his trench coat and foils the crime as a real-life Captain Avenger. Steve's moment of costumed vigilantism is a thrill for him and becomes an overnight sensation in the New York media.
Steve's heroism may be personally rewarding, but it doesn't help him get much closer to the beautiful woman who lives across the hall from his apartment. J. Marsh (Anne Archer) is almost instantly amused by Steve, but she's one of these women who think that personal happiness must always take a back seat to professional success. After getting the cold shoulder from J. and suffering more disappointment in his acting career, Steve again dons his costume and seeks out crime in the city streets as a way of escaping from his own sadness. The continuing adventures of the real-life Captain Avenger eventually attracts the attention of public relations whiz Walter Reeves (Bert Convy), who wants to use the sensation and public enthusiasm for Steve's exploits to help the mayor of New York City get re-elected. However, that will require Steve to play along with a underhanded scheme.
Will Steve compromise his principles? Will J. Marsh admit to herself how much she cares for Steve? Will Captain Avenger's spandex shorts ride up the crack of his butt? Tune in and see.
This is a thoroughly pleasant film that is hard to categorize. It's funny, but not funny enough to be a comedy. It's serious, but not serious enough to be a drama. I t doesn't have enough romance to be a "date movie". There's not enough adventure to make it as an action flick. It is a pretty wholesome story, so it's probably more like a family film than anything else.
John Ritter is charming as the almost-too-good-to-be-true Steve Nichols. He also spends a decent amount of time on screen shirtless, so he gives you a gander at what Hollywood men looked like before the era of "manscaping" came to be. Anne Archer is lovely and appropriately frustrating as a New York girl who can't get out of her own way and accept the great guy who's fallen into her life.
Hero At Large is a nice movie. It doesn't have any depth to speak of, so you'll need to be in a fairly light-hearted mood to appreciate it. If you've got the right frame of mind, though, I think you'll enjoy it.
Steve Nichols (John Ritter) is a struggling young actor trying to make it in New York City. He's a kind-hearted and generous soul, the sort who thinks nothing of telling another actor about a part in a commercial and then being happy for the other guy when he gets the role. His latest job is dressing up in a spandex costume and making appearances at movie theaters where the new super-hero film Captain Avenger is playing. One night, while on his way home from the theater, Steve stops by a corner store just as a robbery occurs. He whips off his trench coat and foils the crime as a real-life Captain Avenger. Steve's moment of costumed vigilantism is a thrill for him and becomes an overnight sensation in the New York media.
Steve's heroism may be personally rewarding, but it doesn't help him get much closer to the beautiful woman who lives across the hall from his apartment. J. Marsh (Anne Archer) is almost instantly amused by Steve, but she's one of these women who think that personal happiness must always take a back seat to professional success. After getting the cold shoulder from J. and suffering more disappointment in his acting career, Steve again dons his costume and seeks out crime in the city streets as a way of escaping from his own sadness. The continuing adventures of the real-life Captain Avenger eventually attracts the attention of public relations whiz Walter Reeves (Bert Convy), who wants to use the sensation and public enthusiasm for Steve's exploits to help the mayor of New York City get re-elected. However, that will require Steve to play along with a underhanded scheme.
Will Steve compromise his principles? Will J. Marsh admit to herself how much she cares for Steve? Will Captain Avenger's spandex shorts ride up the crack of his butt? Tune in and see.
This is a thoroughly pleasant film that is hard to categorize. It's funny, but not funny enough to be a comedy. It's serious, but not serious enough to be a drama. I t doesn't have enough romance to be a "date movie". There's not enough adventure to make it as an action flick. It is a pretty wholesome story, so it's probably more like a family film than anything else.
John Ritter is charming as the almost-too-good-to-be-true Steve Nichols. He also spends a decent amount of time on screen shirtless, so he gives you a gander at what Hollywood men looked like before the era of "manscaping" came to be. Anne Archer is lovely and appropriately frustrating as a New York girl who can't get out of her own way and accept the great guy who's fallen into her life.
Hero At Large is a nice movie. It doesn't have any depth to speak of, so you'll need to be in a fairly light-hearted mood to appreciate it. If you've got the right frame of mind, though, I think you'll enjoy it.
