Review of Hello Herman (2012) by Iven Stark I — 15 Feb 2013

Hello Herman is set in the not so distant future where 16 year-old Herman Howards goes to his high school and commits the most extraordinary act. Just before he is caught, he sends an email to his idol journalist, Lax Morales, to have an exclusive interview with him to show his side of the story.

The first meeting between Herman and Lax is cold, as Herman doesn't have much to say. Lax questions if he even wants to do the interview. However, during more meetings, Herman opens up and the audience learns how Herman became the way he did leading up to his action at school.

In the meantime, Lax is haunted by his past of what happened in Georgia. Hello Herman raises awareness regarding bullying and violence. The story was written 13 years ago but these topics are still relevant today with past shootings at Connecticut, Colorado, Texas, and California.

This film examines one perspective of how troubled children perform horrendous acts and the prevention that is needed to protect future schools. Besides showing Herman's side, the film shows the media's side.

As in non-fiction circumstances, the media gets involved in the shooting by blowing the story out of proportion and making Herman more recognizable than he should be. Herman tells Lax during one interview that everyone will know him even twenty years after the shooting.

Lax argues that Herman will just be a footnote in a long list of forgotten footnotes. Hello Herman is a film for parents and teens to see the effects of bullying and ways to prevent future school shootings.