Reception
Critical reception of Almost Heroes has been overwhelmingly negative. The film currently has a 14% "rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 21 reviews. However, it was rather well regarded by the audience, receiving a "fresh" score of 61%.
James Berardinelli of ReelViews gave the film one out of four stars and wrote: "This is a dreadful motion picture - a lowbrow example of period piece comedy with terrible production values and an exceptionally poor laughs-to-jokes ratio. There's a kind of desperation in the movie's approach to humor that reveals the film makers' uncertainty about how entertaining the material is; the manic style betrays itself as a last-ditch attempt to hide the flaws of a failed script. ... Farley fans who see this film as a way to say goodbye should be commended for their loyalty, since it takes real stamina to stay seated for the full running length of this cinematic torture session."
Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly wrote: "Almost Heroes gives off the discomfiting reek of desperation. ... How could director Christopher Guest have reduced himself to staging gags such as Farley's slap-fest with hostile Injuns, Eugene Levy (as a nasty pirate) speaking in a zany French accent, or Farley stealing an egg from an eagle's nest, punching out the bird, and then falling to the ground with an epic thud? Almost Heroes goes thud too. Despite his compulsion to trash everything in his midst, including himself, Chris Farley deserved better."
John R. McEwen of Film Quips Online wrote: "It's clear, his death notwithstanding, that Farley is the funniest thing about this silly piece of celluloid. ... As expected, there is little here but sight gags and low humor, but if you're in the mood (and I must have been), it has its laugh-out-loud moments. ... Perry also has a few good bits, but he is obviously a distant second banana. Additional appearances by people like Eugene Levy and Kevin Dunn, and others, add to the hilarity, although many of the jokes fall flat. Even Farley has a few misfires, but not many. ... I doubt if anyone ever expected Chris Farley to win an Academy Award. But it is a fitting tribute to him that his last outing, while not a great work of American cinema, can provide a good dose of chuckles, and more than a few belly laughs."
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