The hero. A driving force in our dreams and of our aspirations. The hero motivates us to be better, to re-examine our lives and morality. A hero is held up in front of us -- a mirror to the best of what's inside of us. A hero is the antithesis of the villain, of evil. Sometimes, however, the hero saves the day by complete accident. Sometimes the hero is forced to save the day in order to avert the wave of destruction he accidentally set into motion. And sometimes the hero fails, only to be bailed out by the egotistical nature of the villain. Heroes aren't perfect and often it's the imperfect heroes who leave the most indelible impression on us. We can't forget them because it's easier for us to see our own flaws reflected, and this leads to a deeper connection. It's amazing, once you begin your dig through film history, to see just how many of our most iconic film heroes became such by complete accident. We're going to count down ten of the most iconic accidental heroes in honor of their imperfections and the oncoming summer movie season. This was a tough list to whittle down to ten so once again, let us know in the comments who you think we forgot.
10. Inspector Clouseau - The Pink Panther Series
Has Inspector Clouseau ever actually solved a crime? This is a SERIES of films (and by the way, we are NOT talking about the Steve Martin films) and Clouseau has somehow bungled his way through them all. For the purpose of this piece, we'll focus on the first of the Peter Sellers' films, A Shot In The Dark. Clouseau is sent to a country home to investigate the murder of a chauffeur. All the evidence points toward the maid as the killer but Clouseau has instantly fallen in love with her and thus, refuses to admit her guilt (of course he's actually right). The real murderers have to commit more murders in order to cover their tracks and the maid continues to get arrested with Clouseau setting her free each time. The more Clouseau bungles the case, the angrier his commissioner becomes. This ends with his commissioner actually being driven insane and becoming hell bent on murdering Clouseau himself. The commissioner makes several attempts at Clouseau's life throughout the film, all resulting in someone else's death. By the end of the film, the commissioner has rigged Clouseau's car to explode and after one more blunder by Clouseau, the real murderers escape in his car. The car of course explodes, killing the real murderers in the process and providing Clouseau with hero status. We would be treated to Sellers' genius take on this accidental hero four more times.