Movie Review: Hesher

I just kind of happened on this movie almost by accident. I do not recall having heard of this movie in any way before, but something made me do a double take. My suspicion was that the movie title was made to resemble the old Metallica logo from their vintage days of the eighties and early nineties.

Indeed fittingly, old Metallica music (nothing from the band's body of work after the eighties) is featured throughout, albeit in generally small does. And it felt like this movie was supposed to take place around the late 80's or very early 90's, although I am not entirely sure about that.

Anyway, again, this was a bizarre movie. Just the premise: a troubled young teen accidentally runs into this strange guy, Hesher, who then unexpectedly moves in with him. It is not exactly voluntary, the teenaged kid has no choice. And his bereaved family, trying to overcome the loss of the kid's mom, simply allows Hesher to move in with them, no questions asked. So it did not exactly feel realistic in that regard.

Nor does the strangeness end there. It remains strange throughout. Hate to repeat the theme that this movie is weird, but it really is.

Yet, it is also the first movie that I can remember making me laugh out loud in years. Really! There are moments where it is almost impossible not to laugh, and these moments come almost unexpectedly. Somehow, these moments come in as awkward a manner as the movie itself.

Perhaps even more unexpectedly, this movie can also be quite touching in deep. Granted, it goes about it in a rather unconventional manner. But almost every character in this movie - save perhaps for Hesher himself, quite possibly - clearly feels like a victim of life. They all seem to act and think like life is some cruel series of tricks happening to them. Hesher, for all of his faults, definitely takes a much more active approach towards life, for better or for worse. Some of his actions are shocking, and some are just funny. Yet they all are, at the end, authored by him, and clearly what he wants to do, and when he wants to do them. 

And again, this goes right to the end. Rarely does a movie keep you in the dark about where it is going, or if there even is a point to the movie, for as long as this one does. Yet in the end, it all ties together, even while remaining frankly delightfully and refreshingly bizarre and unpredictable throughout.

What amazed me about this movie as well, is that it features as impressive cast. It stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the title role, as well as Rainn Wilson and Natalie Portman. Those are some seriously big acting names. And they each deliver wonderfully.

Now, I do recommend this movie, although that is with this caveat: it is not for all audiences. Kids, for one, probably would not be a suitable audience. Nor would many people who do not understand or much want anything to do with heavy metal music and/or the excesses of the so-called "rock lifestyle." Yet even this maybe could be taken with a grain of salt, because I suspect that anyone who has a good sense of humor, and who can accept a character who they might not entirely be able to relate to, should be able to appreciate this movie.