Some Kind of Hero (1982)

A Vietnam vet returns home from a prisoner of war camp and is greeted as a hero, but is quickly forgotten and soon discovers how tough survival is in his own country.

Director:

Michael Pressman

Writers:

Robert Boris, James Kirkwood Jr. (novel),

Stars:

Richard Pryor, Margot Kidder, Ray Sharkey

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Richard Pryor	...	Eddie Keller
Margot Kidder	...	Toni
Ray Sharkey	...	Vinnie
Ronny Cox	...	Colonel Powers
Lynne Moody	...	Lisa
Olivia Cole	...	Jesse
Paul Benjamin	...	Leon
David Adams	...	The Kid
Martin Azarow	...	Tank
Shelly Batt	...	Olivia
Susan Berlin	...	Jeanette
Mary Betten	...	Lady Teller
Herbie Braha	...	Honcho #2 (as Herb Braha)
Anthony Charnota	...	Base Commander (as Anthony R. Charnota)
Matt Clark	...	Mickey

Storyline

A Vietnam vet returns home from a prisoner of war camp and is greeted as a hero, but is quickly forgotten and soon discovers how tough survival is in his own country.

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Plot Keywords:

hero | prisoner of war camp | prisoner of war | mother daughter relationship | vietnam veteran | 

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Taglines:

Richard Pryor is in a new kind of comedy...about some kind of hero...in some kind of mess. [USA theatrical]

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | War

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 April 1982 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ein besonderer Held

Filming Locations:

Indian Dunes, Ventura County, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$5,631,293 (USA) (2 April 1982)

Gross:

$5,631,293 (USA) (2 April 1982)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Richard Pryer is 2 years older than Olivia Cole, who played his Mother.

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Connections

Featured in 100 Years of Comedy (1997)

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Soundtracks

"Moon River"
Music by Henry Mancini
Lyrics by Johnny Mercer

User Reviews

Taking care of Business

**SPOILERS** Somewhat Average movie, with an above average performance by Richard Pryor, about a war veteran coming back home to find that his life turned upside down since he went away. Caught by the North Veitnamese with his pants down Cpl. Eddie Keller, Ricard Pryor, ends up in a communist Vietnamese POW camp for five years.

With nothing to eat but rice and roaches and having a pet rat as a cell-mate things pick up a bit for Eddie when he had another US POW Vinnie Diangelo, Ray Sharkey, as company but even that turned out to be a tragedy for Eddie with Vinnie dying, and without any medical care, he signed a statement saying that the US was committing war crimes in Vietnam in order to get Vinnie help. All that did for Eddie, Vinnie seemed to have died anyway, was brand him a traitor, Eddie was later cleared of that accusation, and indefinitely holds up his severance pay for spending five years behind bamboo bars for his country.

Back home things got even worse for Eddie by him first finding out that his wife Lisa, Lyne Moody,was living with another man, who together with Lisa blew all of Eddie's savings, and has a young six year old daughter who doesn't even know that he's her father and on top of all that his mom Jesse Keller, Olivia Cole, is in a nursing home that she's about to be thrown out of because there's no money to pay her bills.

With no money in his wallet and no money coming in from the US Army Eddie in an act of desperation tries to become a stick-up artiest only to fail miserably; at one point Eddie was so scared trying to rob a bank that he embarrassingly wet himself to the shock and outrage of the bank teller that he tried to rob.

Eddie finally hits it big by following two security men Tank and Mickey, Martin Azarow & Matt Clark, who work for the Fidelity Western Bank into an office building with two suitcases loaded with some $250,000.00 in cash and securities. Catching one of the security men, Tank, in the mens room with his, not Eddie's, pants down and robbing him at "toy gun" point then taking off with the suitcase loaded with the securities, not cash, Eddie now has to find someone to convert them for him and the only one's who can do that are those who work for the mob.

Richard Pryor in his second, the 1978 movie "Blue Collar" was his first, non all comedy role is both touching and courageous as Cpl.Eddie Keller who tries to make things better for himself and his mom but ends up being the real, not the made up, hero in the eyes of his friends in and out of the army.

Nice supporting roles in the movie by both Margot Kidder and Ronny Cox as high-priced hooker Toni Donovan and Eddie's fellow GI Col. Powers who tries to ease Eddie back into civilian life.Feel-good ending with Eddie chased by the mob who tried to rip off, not convert, his stolen government bonds and then attempted to murder him.

Eddie turns the tables on the mobsters and at the conclusion of the movie ends up, like the song says, taking care of business with everyone the bank the army and the nursing home that his mom is in, including himself and Toni, ending up much better off for it.