Gentlemen Broncos

What happened to writer-director Jared Hess? His first film, Napoleon Dynamite, was such a huge cult hit and a perfectly pitched work of comic originality. And now here we are, five years later, and his third feature film, Gentlemen Broncos, gets such poor reviews that it bypasses the cinemas and gets released directly onto DVD like some stinky Steven Seagal movie. It's a damn shame because Gentlemen Broncos is such a weird and obscurely-aimed film that I found it hard not to like. It doesn't exactly live up to it's premise (waning sci-fi author steals idea off young fan) but there's something loveable about the homage it pays to pulp sci-fi literature, and I love how Hess resolutely refuses to change his style to be more mainstream.

Michael Angarano (The Forbidden Kingdom) plays Benjamin, an awkward home-schooled sap whose naivete and shyness means he is quite easily exploited by others. Ronald Chevalier (Jemaine Clement) is at the top of the list of people who use Benjamin, shamefully stealing Benjamin's story when his publisher threatens to drop him. Next in line is Tabatha (Halley Feiffer), the home-schooled girl of Benjamin's dreams who frequently manipulates him, and Lonnie (Hector Jimenez, previously seen as Jack Black's skinny sidekick in Nacho Libre), a low-budget filmmaker who wants to make Benjamin's story into a movie. We see three versions of Benjamin's sci-fi story throughout the film - the one envisioned in his head, the version that Chevalier envisions when he steals it, and the ultra no-budget movie made by Lonnie. All three are equally hilarious and easily the highlight of the film.

Hess' characters live ina twilight world of ridiculous ambitions linked to an apparent lack of talent. It was funny in Napoleon Dynamite but I have to admit that the joke is getting a little old now. It's a world populated by social outcasts who are easily impressed, filtered through the eyes of somebody's nanna: a palette of skivvies, cardigans and brown decor. It's a place where things like the internet exist but they aren't really a part of the world. Hess should a least be commended for sticking to his style rather than adhering to more accessible comedic stylings, though I question his newfound vigour for vomiting and other gross-out bits (to be fair though, you haven't really live until you've see Sam Rockwell spedw pink projectile vomit at a flying deer equipped with missiles).

Some of Gentlemen Broncos comes across as intentionally juvenile (Benjamin's version o fhis story is fairly disgusting and concerns itself a lot with testicles... perhaps a reflection of his age and schooling). If there's one thing I really like about this film it's that it puts the kind of hardcore pulp sci-fi on the screen that never usually makes it off the page... we're talking big cats with Lynx ears, pink skies, one-eyed aliens, robotic deer, all that high concept stuff in all it's ridiculously outdated glory. Clement's characterisation of Chevalier is entertaining too, he plays the oddball author with a stately James Mason accent, and it's good to see displaying a bit of range when it comes to comedy. Sam Rockwell is great too as Bronco, the Alan Moore-ish hero of Benjamin's story, and Jennifer Coolidge steals all her scenes as Benjamin's delicate mother.

HIGHLIGHTS: The best bit, without a doubt, would have to be the montage set to the song Wind of Change. Such a great song, and it's used so effectively.

DIRECTOR: Jared Hess
WRITER/SOURCE: Script by Jared and Jerusha Hess.
KEY ACTORS: Michael Angarano, Jemaine Clement, Jennifer Coolidge, Halley Feiffer, Hector Jimenez, Sam Rockwell, Mike White

RELATED TEXTS:
- The obvious ones are Hess' previous two films, Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre, both of which have that same peculiar tone.
- Lonnie's low-budget version of the Bronco story put me in mind of the 'sweded' films from Be Kind Rewind.
- The character of Chevalier is apparently partially based on Dave Wolverton (AKA David Farland), who wrote the Runelords series.

AWARDS
Independent Spirit - nomination Best Supporting Actor (Jemaine Clement)