Hesher (film)

Hesher is a 2010 American comedy drama film co-edited, written, and directed by Spencer Susser in his feature directorial debut, from a screenplay by Susser and David Michôd, and based on a story by Brian Charles Frank. Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Rainn Wilson, Natalie Portman, Piper Laurie, and Devin Brochu, the film follows the titular rebellious metalhead (Gordon-Levitt) and his chaotic misadventures with T. J. Forney (Brochu), a depressed high school freshman coming to terms with the death of his mother in a car crash.

Several songs by heavy metal bands like Metallica and Motörhead are featured in the film, as well as on the soundtrack. Principal photography began in Los Angeles on May 2, 2009, and concluded on June 15.

Hesher premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 22, 2010, where it was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize. The film was theatrically released in the United States on May 13, 2011, to mixed reviews from critics and was a box office failure. This is the only feature film written and directed by Susser to date.

Following the loss of his mother in a car crash, high school freshman T.J. and his father fall into depression. T.J. becomes obsessed with the car his mother died in and follows it when it is towed away. He and his passive, pill-taking father Paul live with T.J.'s grandmother Madeleine, where they are soon joined by a squatter, Hesher, a vulgar, foul-mouthed heavy metal-loving lout with no concern for social conventions.

Dustin, a bully from the towing service, finds his car vandalized and blames T.J., who is saved by Nicole, a grocery store clerk. Hesher witnesses Dustin attacking T.J. at school, but does nothing. Later, Hesher sets Dustin's car on fire, leading to police questioning T.J. T.J. spies on Nicole at the grocery store, as he likes her. When she causes a fender-bender, Hesher comes to her rescue.

That night, T.J. and Paul get into an argument. Hesher bonds with Madeleine and says he will join her on her morning walk, but the next morning, he finds her dead. The death affects all three men in the house and Hesher storms out. T.J. takes money to buy his parents' car back, but it is gone. He decides to give the money to Nicole for her financial troubles, but finds her in her apartment, having sex with Hesher. He damages Hesher's van in response and yells that he does not want to see either of them again.

T.J. sneaks into Dustin's house and threatens him, asking where the car went. He finds out the car was taken to be crushed. Dustin attacks T.J. until Hesher arrives and injures Dustin in defense. Upset that Hesher hurt Dustin, T.J. flees and goes to the junkyard. He climbs into the wrecked car and dreams of his mother's death, waking when the car is moved to be crushed. While getting ready for his grandmother's funeral, Nicole comes and apologizes to T.J. for hurting his feelings.

At the funeral, Hesher walks in drunk and monologues about how when he was younger he blew up the gas tank of a car and shrapnel destroyed one of his testicles. He got caught up in the loss of his testicle, focusing on it so much he forgot he still had a right testicle and working penis. He draws the parallel to T.J.'s situation, implying that even though they lost their wife and mother, the father and son still have each other. He then announces that he promised Grandma he would go on a walk with her and pushes the casket down the road. Shocked at first, T.J. and Paul eventually join Hesher on the walk.

The next day, Paul shaves for the first time in weeks and tells T.J. that Hesher is gone. He then shows T.J. the compacted remains of his mother's car, which Hesher has left in the driveway. On the roof of the house, Hesher has spray painted in huge white letters, "Hesher was here".

Hesher received mixed reviews upon its release. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 55% of 78 film critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 5.8 out of 10, and a consensus stating "It has a dark sense of humor and a refreshing lack of sentimentality, but like its title character, Hesher isn't really interested in going anywhere."^[2] Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, gives the film a score of 45 based on 26 reviews.^[3]

Peter Travers of Rolling Stone praised the film and Gordon-Levitt's performance, stating "So what if Hesher flies off its wobbly handles — it keeps springing funny and touching surprises. The performances are aces. Wilson makes Dad's emergence a subtle marvel. And even when the script edges Gordon-Levitt into Hallmark sentiment, you can't take your eyes off him."^[4] However, other critics, such as Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film more indifferent reviews. Ebert said, "Hesher assembles a group of characters who aren't sure why they're in the same movie together. One by one, they have an attraction, but brought together, they're all elbows and angles."^[5]

• Hesher at IMDb
• Hesher at Box Office Mojo
• Hesher at Rotten Tomatoes