The Hero

Lee Hayden is an aging star of Western films whose days in the spotlight are behind him. He now earns a living lending his distinctive voice to commercials, spends much of his time smoking marijuana with Jeremy, a former colleague who has become his dealer, and remains estranged from his daughter Lucy. A lifetime achievement award and an unexpected medical diagnosis push him to take stock of his life, while a meeting with Charlotte, a much younger comedian, opens the possibility of something new. He tries to repair the relationship with his daughter and to consider what he will leave behind.

Brett Haley directed and co-wrote the film with Marc Basch, following his 2015 feature I'll See You in My Dreams and preceding Hearts Beat Loud, All the Bright Places, All Together Now and People We Meet on Vacation. Sam Elliott plays Lee, with Laura Prepon as Charlotte, Nick Offerman as Jeremy, Krysten Ritter as Lucy, Katharine Ross as Valarie and Doug Cox as the doctor. Twenty actors are credited.

The film runs 97 minutes and was released in June 2017. It is an American drama produced by Northern Lights Films, Park Pictures Features and Houston King Productions, and it took about 4 million dollars worldwide. On IMDb it holds 6.5 out of 10 from roughly 11,000 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 6.1 out of 10 from 266 votes. Critics gave it 6.7 out of 10 from 115 reviews, a slightly warmer response than that of the wider audience.