QUERY: the incompetent hero--multiple responses

From: Darryl Wiggers <[email protected]>

Peter Seller's Inspector Clouseau is definitely the crown jewel. Then there
are comedies like Dumb and Dumber, where are heroes similarly bumble there
way through the story, unwittingly foiling the villains every step of the
way. Cheech and Chong's Up in Smoke is another. Many write the film off as
a series as comic sketches but it has a very specific story -- they're
looking to score some weed, and win a music contest. Along the way they too
foil the villains (in this case the police) every step of the way, and
achieve both their goals, though they are largely oblivious to their
accomplishments.
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From: Dan Hassoun <[email protected]>

Pretty much any Pink Panther film.
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From: Robert Lindsey <[email protected]>

Are you talking about something like Kevin James in Mall Cop?

Robert M. Lindsey Pittsburg State University, KS
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From: Nils Bothmann <[email protected]>

some comedic detectiv heroes come to mind:

Frank Drebbin from the NAKED GUN series
Inspector Closeau from the PINK PANTHER series
Ace Venture from the ACE VENTURA movies

Some of the ZAZ and ZAZ-style spoofs (the above mentioned NAKED GUN series,
the HOT SHOTS movies etc.) feature heroes that I would deem incompetent.

Best, Nils
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From: Patrick Kinsman <[email protected]>

Broadly and randomly, re:  incompetent heroes, I tend to think of these as
comedic roles, which makes me think of actors.  For example:

Do The Three Stooges count, or is more narrative necessary?

Ben Stiller? (see for example _The Zero Effect_, where Bill Pullman might,
on a certain level, also apply?  Or see _Zoolander_ maybe?)

Charlie Chaplin and/or Jacques Tati?

Sacha Baron Cohen?

Much of the _Toy Story_ franchise?

Questions arise about ironic heroes, and on a certain level, the definition
of the word "hero."  Frodo and Sam, for example, in LOTR, grow out of a
certain level of incompetence, and that's a common theme in many films,
such as (to make an odd comparison) the way Sarah Connor develops in the
first _Terminator_ is something of the same trajectory.

Could Leonard from _Memento_ be considered an incompetent hero?  This is
problematic both in the definition of "hero" and in the sense of
incompetence.  For example, is incompetence just funny, "bad at things but
lucky" or something else?

Also, highly ironic filmmaking, such as that taken up by Jeff Sconce in his
piece on the "American smart film," raises questions about heroes.  For
example, is Steve Buscemi an incompetent hero?  Or, differently, is Harvey
Keitel and incompetent hero in roles like those in _Reservoir Dogs_ or _Bad
Lieutenant_ or is that something totally different from heroism at all?

More brainstorming than answers,
Patrick
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From:  Ken Nolley
Several of Dustin Hoffman's characters might arguably fit, but perhaps
especially Ben in *The Graduate*.
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More suggestions of Jerry Lewis from:
*Adrian Garvey  *<[email protected] <[email protected]>>
Joel Weide <[email protected]>


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