Almost Heroes

Almost Heroes (1998) is a comedy western you can watch online on iFILM. Director Christopher Guest — the man behind This Is Spinal Tap — turned his eye to historical parody: it's 1804, and a ragged band of incompetents is racing to reach the Pacific before Lewis and Clark.

Chris Farley plays Bartholomew Hunt, a half-wild frontiersman whose approach to every problem is louder and bigger until something catches fire. Matthew Perry plays his exasperated partner Edwards, who has aspirations and plans and watches both get destroyed at regular intervals. Eugene Levy and Harry Shearer round out a cast that clearly understood the assignment. The film doesn't aim for satire so much as pure physical chaos, and Farley delivers that with full commitment.

This was the last film Farley completed before his death in 1997. It flopped on release and got forgotten, but for fans of his particular brand of unhinged physical comedy, it's the kind of thing that holds up better than its reputation suggests. Stream Almost Heroes (1998) on iFILM.