We waited, and waited, and waited, and then it ended. It was slow, maudlin, and ultimately dull. A pointless waste of talent. Too bad. We still love you, Sam!

My wife and I watched this at home on DVD from our public library.This is a slow movie, not too long, and it all depends on the performance of the lead actor. We enjoyed it. The title is from the name of his hit movie some 40 years earlier.Sam Elliott in his early 70s is Lee Hayden, a veteran actor in his early 70s. We see that most of his work now is voice acting. We see him do take after take of a commercial for "Lone Star BBQ Sauce", even though each take is pretty much exactly like all the others. You can see his patience is thin but he also knows that it pays the bills. His most memorable movie role was some 40-odd years earlier and acting jobs for him now are very few and very far between.In an early scene we see Lee with his doctor discussing "tests". The news is not good, it is pancreatic cancer, he has only a very small chance of living another 5 years. It will likely be shorter than that.Lee is divorced but is friends with his ex, Katharine Ross as Valarie Hayden. He is mostly estranged from his 30-something daughter, Krysten Ritter as Lucy Hayden. Part of the story is Lee's recognizing that he has not been diligent about relationships and his desire to do something about that.In a chance meeting, both of them buying drugs from a mutual friend, Lee meets 30-something Laura Prepon as Charlotte Dylan who works as a stand-up comic. To his great surprise she expresses an interest in him, they start a relationship of sorts. But he drops in on her comic routine about having sex with a man "who could die at any moment" and that hit him hard.Part of Lee's issue is he couldn't bring himself to tell anyone close to him, Charlotte was the first to learn. So it really is all Lee's story, how does one deal with the hard truth of knowing that you are dying and it won't be long, and figuring out how to tell everyone goodbye.Elliott carries it well.

The Hero does not live up to where movies of the same genre do (the Wrestler, Crazy Heart) in that we're made well aware of the protagonist's past in order to advance the plot. Unfortunately, the Hero fails short in that it leaves Sam Elliot left to pick up a script devoid of virtually any background. Instead of using the past to build his future, this movie leaves his past and attempts to build a new character. Not at all what I hoped for.

How can anyone not like Sam Elliott? Looking back at the films he's done (forget about TV series there are too many to list) and remembering him in movies like FROGS, THE SHADOW RIDERS, MASK, ROADHOUSE, PRANCER, TOMBSTONE, THE BIG LEBOWSKI and more I kept thinking what an amazing career the man has had. In addition to that he's been with the love of his life, Katherine Ross, for 39 years now, ever since they met on the film THE LEGACY. Known for his good looks, wiry frame and classic moustache he's never won an Oscar but that's never stopped him from giving great performances.THE HERO may be his best yet and if it isn't nominated for an Oscar I'll be disappointed. Elliott stars as Lee Hayden, a character actor at the end of his game, hitting 70 years of age, relegated to voice overs in commercials and known mostly for a TV western he made decades ago called THE HERO. He now spends most of his time sitting and watching old movies with his friend and dealer Jeremy (Nick Offerman) while they get stoned. Divorced, distant from his daughter and beaten by Hollywood that's all about to change.To begin with Lee has just been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Bad news but then he meets Charlotte Dylan (Laura Prepon) at Jeremy's house and the two hit it off. When he learns he is being presented with a lifetime achievement award, he invites Charlotte to be his guest when his daughter turns him down. A little stoned at the award he gives his acceptance speech, stating that he is not the only hero there, that all of them are heroes in their own way. An online video of the speech makes him a viral sensation and suddenly offers come his way.But how does one deal with sudden fame thrust upon them at age 70? Lee has no clue what going viral means even but Charlotte helps him through it. A moment with Charlotte on stage makes him face the reality of where he is in life right now at this moment. With so many bridges burned in his past, will he be able to make up for lost time? And will he have the time to do so? The story may seem simple and in truth it is, but it's a center post on which to layer the meat of the movie. That is the performance by first off Elliott and then by his co-stars. This role was written with Elliott in mind and it's not a dissection of his own life as he grows older but gives a picture of what most actors reaching this age go through. No one hires you but people still remember your face, at least the older ones do.Offerman has been mostly associated with the comedy series PARKS AND RECREATION but he's displayed some acting chops in movies lately that will change that forever. Prepon has left behind the girl next door so many recall her as in the series THAT 70'S SHOW and grown into a mature actress with more depth than that series prepared us for. Why she's not getting more noticeable roles is beyond me. The May-December romance between her and Elliott allows her room to show what she can do and she does it well.The movie never received a wide release when it came to theaters and I think locally it played at a Cinema Center rather than the usual theater. That's sad. With so many bad movies hitting the screens (and more often than not several at the same time in a multiplex) you would think a public looking for options would have enjoyed discovering this one. Thankfully that will happen with its release on DVD.This movie will not only make you recall all of those wonderful Sam Elliott films of the past and have you running for your collection to watch them all again, it will make you think back to other stars who have gone the route of Lee in this film but in real life. Consider stars not too much from the distant past who seem to have disappeared, receive little credit or who are forgotten. Is it too much to take a moment and remember the enjoyment they provided for us all? Elliott is one of those, who fortunately never left us to retire. Would that more stars had that opportunity as well. Perhaps this movie will provide the impetus for that to happen.