Jack Dunne, an amnesiac Vietnam veteran most likely suffering from a severe case of PTSD, escapes a mental ward in New York City intent on starting a business as a worm farmer in Eureka, California. At the bus station, he accidentally meets Carol Bell, a woman unsure of her engagement to a man towards whom she has confused feelings. Initially annoyed by Jack, Carol gradually warms to him as they set off on a trip through middle America towards Northern California: during the journey she has time to reflect on her impending nuptials as Jack tries to locate his three war buddies hoping to enlist them in his dream to start a worm farm. It becomes clear that the first two friends Jack and Carol locate are in too poor condition to do much work of any kind. When a visit to the parents of the third results in the disclosure that the friend had died in the war, Jack, who knew as much but was in denial, relives the battlefield trauma of his buddy's death. Finally, Carol's compassion and caring enable Jack to come to terms with reality.
The film was based on an original autobiographical script by James Carabastos. He sent it to the agent of Henry Winkler, then hugely popular because of Happy Days. Winkler loved the script and showed it to two producers, Lawrence Turman and David Foster, who wanted to work with him. They presented it as a package to Ned Tanen at Universal who agreed to finance the movie. David Freeman did a rewrite of the film which was shot over 35 days.
Reception
The film was difficult to sell owing to its subject matter and the fact Winkler was playing a character so different from the Fonz.
Critical response
The movie received a mixed reception. Roger Ebert gave the movie 3 stars out of a possible 4. Vincent Canby was far more negative, calling it "excruciatingly obvious" and "frighteningly bad", with "all of the magic of commercial television except canned laughter." Paul Mavis, reviewing Mill Creek's Blu-ray release of Heroes for Movies & Drinks, wrote, "Heroes isn't funny enough to be a comedy, nor emotional enough to be a romance, nor consequential enough to be a straight drama." When the movie was released on VHS/DVD, the ending song, "Carry On Wayward Son" by Kansas - their first Top 20 hit - was replaced by an instrumental song, as the rights to the song had not been obtained. This greatly diminished the emotional impact of the final scene. However, most TV airings still contain the original soundtrack, and, in fact, the inclusion of the Kansas song has allowed "Carry On Wayward Son" to remain popular since its release, being certified Gold in 1990, and frequently still heard on the radio.
Box office
The movie was a box office success, grossing $33.5 million on a $3.1 million budget, and opened at number 1 at the U.S. box office.
Accolades
received a Golden Globe award nomination for Best Actor in a Drama film. He also received the corresponding BAFTA nomination. It received another BAFTA nomination, for Best Musical Score.
