Imaginary Heroes (2004)

Imaginary Heroes: Directed by Dan Harris. With Sigourney Weaver, Emile Hirsch, Jeff Daniels, Michelle Williams. The Travis family façade is destroyed by an event incomprehensible to them — an event which will open locked doors and finally reveal the secrets that have haunted them for decades.

“IMAGINARY HEROES (2004) **1/2 Sigourney Weaver, Emile Hirsch, Jeff Daniels, Michelle Williams, Kip Pardue, Deirdre Ou0026#39;Connell, Ryan Donowho, Suzanne Santo, Jay Paulson, Luke Robertson. (Dir : Dan Harris)u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026quot;Ordinary Peopleu0026quot; Meets u0026quot;American Beautyu0026quot; by way of u0026quot;The Ice Stormu0026quot;u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eJust what is it about the suburbs that have been portrayed as an American cousin to Norwayu0026#39;s fjords in which nothing but despair, suicidal tendencies and infidelities run rampant at the corner of Angst and Anomie? u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIn the latest endeavor by Harris, a screenwriter who shared credit for the first u0026quot;X-Menu0026quot; film and several other comic book hero adaptations down the pike, makes his directorial debut questioning just that: Why does a family fall completely apart when a serious crisis occurs? u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWell in the case of the Travis family it is the shocking, out-of-nowhere sudden horrific suicide by their eldest son Matt (Pardue), a star athlete with nothing but a bright, shiny future ahead who inexplicably offs himself sending his relatives into a whirlwind of emotions (and lack of to boot). Sharp tongued yet surprisingly loving mother Sandy (Weaver, the best thing about the film) resorts to smoking marijuana when sheu0026#39;s not dodging the next door neighbor (Ou0026#39;Connell) ; ineffectual father Ben (Daniels in the trickiest performance – making an asshole likable) whose undying love for his dead son sends him into the deepest depths of depression and lashes out at his remaining brood; college age sister Penny (Williams) who attempts to anchor her grief in brief return visits only to party with blinders on and namely middle son Tim (Hirsch) who just is trying to move on with the whole affair and not dwelling on it as best he can yet still getting himself into a series of situations leading to a fall he may not be able to recover from. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe black comic pitch Harris attempts to filter into the various stages of grief are a mixed bag but often leave their marks of ridiculous moments of suburban oddness with a few brief elements of genuine loss and heartbreak. Leavened with a good dose of humor the film none-the-less is a listless addition to the quasi -genre of suburban angst films.”