Ten Inch Hero (2007)

I saw this first for Jensen Ackles – because he’s amazing – and it happened to fall into my top ten. Why? Read on.

Ten Inch Hero is about a group of young twenty-somethings who work at a beach-side Santa Cruz sandwich shop. There’s Piper (Elizabeth Harnois), an art student who transfered here to find her 6-year-old daughter that she put up for adoption at age 15, Tish (Danneel Harris), the popular and pretty girl who rates guys in bed and sleeps around trying to find “the perfect lay”, Jen (Clea DuVall), the geeky computer nerd who is in love with an online friend named fuzzy22 and Priestly (Jensen Ackles), the punk with more fake holes in his head than real ones and with a heart of gold. All of them have a story and help each other along the journey of love, life, and self discovery.

Now, if you think this sounds like the typical romantic movie, then yes, it is. Congratulations, you called it. As much as I hate the typical romance genre and rarely review them on here, Ten Inch Hero won the right to not only be reviewed, but also grace my top ten. Why? Because although the genre and characters and plot is cliched and overdone… it is a film that makes me feel genuinely happy to be alive after watching it. It’s also one of the few films in which I can relate to a character so much that one scene is almost a transcription of my feelings a few years ago.

As I said, I did see this film initially only for Jensen Ackles. I am a fangirl, I admit freely. For those of you who are rolling your eyes and scoffing, go right ahead. If you’ve ever seen the man act you can’t deny that he is an exceptional actor. He’s also exceptionally underrated. In my opinion, many of the “famous” actors today don’t have the skill that Jensen possesses in his acting. But that’s just me. Either way, yes, this film was found because of an obsession, but does it matter how a film is found if it’s a good film and one you eventually want to recommend others? I don’t think so.

Ten Inch Hero is a coming of age movie. It’s pretty much the stereotype of that genre. It’s about all the characters growing as people and discovering something for themselves. For Piper it’s discovering Noah through Julia, Tish discovers Priestly through (literal) trial and error, Jen discovers that appearances don’t matter, even when you’re friends are more beautiful than you physically, and Priestly… Priestly is the wise little center that the earth revolves around.

I mentioned earlier that there was a scene in this film that made me gape because it was a direct transcript of my feelings a few years back. This is one of the reasons that this film is such a favourite of mine, it’s one of the few gentle, nice, romantic, happy films that strikes a very painful nerve in me and makes me love a character so much that it honestly, physically hurt. I have grown up with a beautiful best friend, inside and out. And for most of my life, I have been in the background to her. I never blamed her, and I never will, because it’s not her fault in any way, but I cried very very personal and painful tears when Jen told Tish that until she knows what it’s like to live her life in the background, she can’t tell Jen her rationalization is bullshit. Anyone out there who feels the same way, just watch the film for this scene, if for nothing else.

The script is another thing I adore in this movie, it’s very cleverly done. It’s funny but in a very unconventional way. Many of the discussions are taken to ridiculous levels – usually by Priestly and Trucker (John Doe) – but they make so much sense that you spend a while after thinking about the fact that you share their opinion without even knowing that you did. I’m scared to call this film “hipster” because it’s become a negative derogatory term, but it is hipster in the way that it doesn’t want to follow convention, and it doesn’t fight tooth and nail to break away from it. The film is what it is, and it just happens to be eccentric, fun and a very enjoyable experience.

This film gets a solid 8.5/10 from me, which is a lot higher than the IMDB rating, and I don’t deny that this could very easily be due to the fact that I have a personal connection to the film. Either way, it’s a film that I would recommend to anyone. I know adults who adore this movie, as well as young teenagers. There are many issues addressed that are always relevant: issues like friendship and loyalty, honesty and love. These ideas and issues never get old and they never die. If you’re a fan of any of the actors (I will applaud you greatly if you know any of the actors) then most definitely watch this film. If you, like me, were searching for a Jensen Ackles film which isn’t B-grade horror, then this is your pit stop.

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