What I watched last night

Film 4

Gentlemen Broncos (directed by Jared Hess)

When you watch a film by Jared Hess, you either embrace the oddball universe he creates or you don’t, if you are the type of person who avoids a signpost marked ‘Quirky Town’, then its best to keep on driving. Like fellow director Wes Anderson he surrounds his films with kooky characters and whimsical plot devices, though his world is less bourgeoisie and a little more lovably yokel. Hess’ debut film Napoleon Dynamite was a cult phenomenon, its central character became a left field icon, it was an eccentric yet charming creation with its own unique humour.

Hess’ third feature film Gentlemen Broncos, which premiered on Film 4 last night, did not follow in Napoleons footsteps, it was intended for release in October 2009 but due to poor reviews, it limped straight onto DVD and quietly disappeared into the rental wilderness.

The film follows the malaise adventures of introverted teenager Benjamin Purvis (Michael Angarano) who writes science fiction novels and lives with his mother (Jennifer Coolidge on sweetly dippy duties) who designs odd clothes and makes hard popcorn balls. Benjamin attends a writing camp for aspiring fantasy novelists, where his idol Ronald Chevalier is lecturing and who announces a competition for the writers where their story will be published nationally. Chevalier (Jermaine Clement sounding like a egotistical Michael York) is a narcissistic writer who has run out of ideas and is on the verge of being dropped by his publishing company. When Benjamin submits his fantasy novel Yeast Lords, centred on a hero called Bronco, Chevalier steals his idea, changing the novel slightly by turning the central character into a transsexual, and the book becomes a hit. When Benjamin discovers that his idea has been plagiarised, he must prove that Yeast Lords was his original story whilst also battling the perils of adaptation as he had previously sold the rights to his book to a couple of amateur filmmakers.

That’s the gist of the plot but does not encompass the whole host of fanciful ticks that Gentlemen Broncos throws at the screen. Each character is peculiar in different ways, the style phases are set to 80s twist and the soundtrack ranges from Black Sabbath to Cher. When any of the characters are reading the story Yeast Lords, the book comes to life in suitably retro fantasy sequences, starring Sam Rockwell as the hero Broncos. This is a film where Rockwell rides a fake deer, has his testicle stolen and dresses in a yellow wig and lipstick, so like I said not for everyone, though Rockwell proves he can do anything and looks like one of the most fun actors to be around. Michael Angarano meanwhile, looking like Colin Farrell’s younger nerdier brother, gives a puzzled film some heart and someone to root for.

Whilst the film is confused, often going too far into the realms of nonsense, there is some grin-inducing appealing moments, sci fi geeks will enjoy the pastiches on the genre and the literature satire provided by the disillusioned Chevalier. It should also be applauded that in a time of bland studio movies, something so gleefully original ever got the green light and saw the light of day, though confidence in the film was not in abundance and its poor reception was inevitable. On first viewing, Gentlemen Broncos does not have the enduring quality of Napoleon Dynamite but is the type of film that could, and should find its natural home on DVD, a future cult hit waiting to happen, one for Conchord fans, Sam Rockwell lovers and those who like to take a walk on the weird side. Happily I am all three of those things.