From the people who brought us Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre, comes another silly comedy with similar style and approach and that could be a either a potential or a problem, depending on the audience. GENTLEMEN BRONCOS is not necessarily a laugh riot, I even think… it would take a second viewing to really appreciate the humor that lies in Jemaine Clement’s character’s obsession with the word anus, Sam Rockwell’s hilarious tranny performance and Michael Angarano’s character embracing his ordinary life and the dream he thinks he’ll never reach.
Benjamin (Michael Angarano), home-schooled by his eccentric mother (Jennifer Coolidge), is a loveable loner whose passion for writing leads him on an offbeat and hilarious journey as his story first gets ripped off by the legendary fantasy novelist, Ronald Chevalier (Jemaine Clement) and then is adapted into a disastrous movie by the small town’s most prolific homespun filmmaker.
I don’t know what terrible nightmare writer/director Jared Hess went through when he was growing up, if kids back then used to mock him every time he said he wanted to be a filmmaker but he seems to be comfortable at making movies at the cost of misfits who find struggle and face humiliation on the road to realizing their dreams (Napoleon, Nacho). I guess you could say GENTLEMEN BRONCOS is the third installment in the Napoleon Trilogy. This time, it’s Benjamin, played by Michael Angarano who I must say does a decent job in giving us someone who constantly gives into every roadblock and obstacle that gets in the way, he expresses his anger but he quickly surrenders to the situation without any hope of fighting back and changing the scenario at hand to go the way he wants it to go. Angarano is a rising star, a force to be reckon with if he keeps this kind of noteworthy performance.
GENTLEMEN BRONCOS is not going to get you laughing til your side hurts, there’s one too many sophomoric confusing jokes that miss the target but screenwriting team Jared and his wife Jerusha Hess balance it by creating Ronald Chevalier, the self-absorbed sci-fi author played by Flight Of The Cochords star Jemaine Clement who looks like a long lost brother of Benicio Del Toro. Chevalier is probably going to be the highlight of GENTLEMEN BRONCOS. Clement’s slow pace speech and his expressive reaction when he’s confronted by Benjamin, his way of justifying his own opinion on Sci-fi names and the excuses he uses to get out of a difficult spot will make up for the rest of the weaknesses that this movie is suffering from. Even Hector Jimenez who plays the skinny side kick with a thick accent in Nacho Libre seems to have lost his funny mojo. Sam Rockwell is only at his best when he’’s depicted in the story-within-story as Clement’s creation, not Benjamin’s.
After watching this movie, I kept thinking.. are jokes about gonads funny? are jokes about ugly lookin’ fashion funny? What kind of audience would laugh at Hess’ comedy? I think if the Hess make another movie like this, then it might lose its appeal. GENTLEMEN BRONCOS is already standing on the edge, any further might result in people not caring to watch Hess movies anymore.
But I do appreciate how the story puts heavy emphasis on the writer. A writer is often the guy getting the sour end of the deal because either the publisher demands changes, the director makes changes in the movie version, or simply another author would plagiarize his work without him knowing it. GENTLEMEN BRONCOS depicts any worse scenario that could happen to an aspiring writer who can’t seem to catch a break. But there is a certain kindness to it because Benjamin’s patience for his mother’s quirky love finally pays off big time. Before you get sucked into money and fame and all the purposes that weren’t with you when you first fell in love with writing.., always, always, always protect your story.
* Place the cursor on the image below to check my grade for this film
