Wednesday, July 30, 2003
Flying Away with Danny Deckchair
I've got to admit, there aren't that many romantic comedies out there that really appeal to me. My inherent cynicism is just too developed to enjoy this particular genre. However, after seeing the new Australian film Danny Deckchair, I've got to admit, I walked out of this one with a grin plastered across my face. Danny Deckchair tells the tale of Danny Morgan (Rhys Ifans) who is a bored blue collar worker in inner Sydney. His girlfriend Trudy (Justine Clarke) is an overly ambitious real estate agent who considers Danny sweet, but ultimately "one of the little people". When she cancels their holiday together, Danny decides to attach a huge number of helium balloons to a deckchair and, against all odds, gets airborne and travels all the way to a small country town where he crash-lands into the backyard of the jaded local traffic cop Glenda, played by the heart-melting Miranda Otto. Hilarity ensues, and Danny takes on a new identity and find happiness in both the small community and in the arms of Glenda. Of course, his 'real' life catches up eventually, and Danny's real struggle between two lives, and two women, begins. Surprisingly (for me, at least), all the leads in this film are fantastic. I expected Otto to shine, but Ifans I last saw as the underwear-clad lazy housemate in Notting Hill and, well, he didn't leave a brilliant impression. However, get him in a suit and a new accent, and he scrubs up just fine. The supporting case are also fantastic (Rhys Muldoon is featured as a reporter audiences will love to hate). Pretty much unknown writer/director Jeff Balsmeyer does a great job, and ultimately manages to play the romance angle with precision, avoiding the bigger cliches, and ending with a warmth which most filmgoers will enjoy immensely.
I've got to admit, there aren't that many romantic comedies out there that really appeal to me. My inherent cynicism is just too developed to enjoy this particular genre. However, after seeing the new Australian film Danny Deckchair, I've got to admit, I walked out of this one with a grin plastered across my face. Danny Deckchair tells the tale of Danny Morgan (Rhys Ifans) who is a bored blue collar worker in inner Sydney. His girlfriend Trudy (Justine Clarke) is an overly ambitious real estate agent who considers Danny sweet, but ultimately "one of the little people". When she cancels their holiday together, Danny decides to attach a huge number of helium balloons to a deckchair and, against all odds, gets airborne and travels all the way to a small country town where he crash-lands into the backyard of the jaded local traffic cop Glenda, played by the heart-melting Miranda Otto. Hilarity ensues, and Danny takes on a new identity and find happiness in both the small community and in the arms of Glenda. Of course, his 'real' life catches up eventually, and Danny's real struggle between two lives, and two women, begins. Surprisingly (for me, at least), all the leads in this film are fantastic. I expected Otto to shine, but Ifans I last saw as the underwear-clad lazy housemate in Notting Hill and, well, he didn't leave a brilliant impression. However, get him in a suit and a new accent, and he scrubs up just fine. The supporting case are also fantastic (Rhys Muldoon is featured as a reporter audiences will love to hate). Pretty much unknown writer/director Jeff Balsmeyer does a great job, and ultimately manages to play the romance angle with precision, avoiding the bigger cliches, and ending with a warmth which most filmgoers will enjoy immensely.
[Posted by Unknown] [8:50 am]
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