By snoadmin
The film “Gentlemen Broncos” is filled with side-splitting laughs, as well as heartwarming moments.
“Gentlemen Broncos” is a new film by writers Jared and Jerusha Hess, of Napoleon Dynamite fame. The movie will come out in theaters Friday.
The film centers around the life of Benjamin Purvis, a 17-year-old science fiction writer (Michael Angarano) who has a passion for writing stories about out-of-this-world adventures. Benjamin attends the Cletus Festival, a festival for writers all across Utah in hopes of getting his manuscript read and published. However, his hero, sci-fi legend and author Dr. Ronald Chevalier (Jemaine Clement), betrays Benjamin by stealing and changing Benjamin’s story to come up with an edgy, new novel.
Each of the actors give splendid performances. Benjamin, the underdog, is played brilliantly by Angarano, gives a performance accompanied by so many shrugs and blank faces that anyone would start to feel helpless for his character. Clement delivers an impeccable performance as Dr. Chevalier by adopting a Michael York accent and donning Native American jewelry and jackets. Jennifer Coolidge gives a hilarious performance as Benjamin’s fashion-loving mother.
Even Sam Rockwell, the star of the indie film “Moon,” plays an short, important part as Dusty, a character who re-enacts all the scenes in Benjamin’s book. The story takes several bizarre turns throughout the film as it is revised.
This film is preferable, compared to Jared and Jerusha Hess’ other films, “Napoleon Dynamite” and “Nacho Libre.” The characters portrayed seemed to have a lot more of a story to follow. The humorous parts weren’t just funny for the sake of being funny — they were there for a purpose. Although some of the scenes might seem a little over-the-top, people soon come to realize how they fit in with the film and how Benjamin’s story is being portrayed. The cinematography is visually brilliant, showing how Benjamin wrote his story and how Dr. Chevalier bastardizes it for his own novel.
The screening was immediately followed by a Q-and-A with some of the cast and writers. The panel was asked a number of questions, including how they went about creating characters, and the origin behind Dr. Chevalier’s bizarre accent was discussed.
The session was next handed to the audience, as their questions were answered. When asked why they seemed to use so many non-attractive people in their movies, producer Mike White said they didn’t seek out ugly people or unusual looking people for the film. According to White, most of them are relatives of others, or people that the writers think will fill the roles better. He was also quick to add that society’s perception of beauty is slightly deformed.
“Gentlemen Broncos” is truly a film that keeps people rooting for the underdog. It’s well-suited for family and friends. It salutes the oddball in everyone, all while weaving in stories of science fiction and fantasy.
