Danny Deckchair
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Movie Reviews of Danny Deckchair
Movie Review: What a great little movie!!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
Get this movie before someone in Hollywood tries to remake it with Adam Sandler!
Danny Deckchair is an Australian import, with entirely too much charm and gentle humor to miss. Danny Morgan has little ambition, but lots of ideas - like a human slingshot, and pancake breakfasts as the answer to any advertising or PR question for another). His latest brainstorm involves using a number of large balloons to lift him up for a view of the neighborhood. With the aid of his friends, and a few pints of beer, the balloons are filled with helium and tied to his lawn chair. Thanks to a miscalculation - or more correctly, no calculation at all - his ascent is much higher and considerably faster than anticipated. Within seconds he's at the mercy of the northerly winds that transport him from the suburbs of Sydney to the small town of Clarence, where the fireworks of the local Macadamia Nut Festival ultimately bring him down to earth with all of the speed and trauma of his take-off.
He lands in the back yard of the local parking cop - think small town meter maid - and from there the movie splits into two parallel story lines as Danny finds new opportunity and love, while his girlfriend back in Sydney milks his disappearance into her own 15 minutes of fame and fortune. There is little surprise to the way this movie ends, but there is nothing wrong with that.
Rhys Ifans makes Danny believable, both as a clueless construction worker with a penchant for falling into wet cement, and as the "stranger from out of town" that wins the hearts of Clarence. But it's the two female leads that make the film soar! Miranda Otto is radiant as the parking cop, becoming more beautiful by the minute as she warms to Danny's offbeat charm. And Justine Clark as Trudy, Danny's girlfriend back in Sydney must have studied every episode of the Batchelor/Batchelorette and Apprentice series to nail her fame-pursuing character.
My only fear is that someone, somewhere is going to try to remake this little gem into a bigger budget movie with more "star" power. But it ain't broke! So don't fix it!
Movie Review: Five Stars for the "Oz" of It - A Heartwarming Experience
Summary: 5 Stars
DANNY DECKCHAIR (based on a real event in which one 'Larry Walters tied some 40 weather balloons to his chair hoping to float into the sky, armed with a six pack of beer and a pellet gun to pop the balloons one by one to come back down slowly') is a rare film that celebrates the common man and his access to fantasy.
Rhys Ifans plays the title role of Danny, a cement worker aligned with a secretary-on-the-way-up (Justine Clark), whose simple pleasures in a grungy routine life are squelched by his girlfriend's self-centered ambitions. Danny makes the most of a ridiculous balloon imprinting error in deciding to attempt to do something extraordinary - make a deck chair that can fly - and he succeeds, only to be caught in a storm and eventually falling into the backyard in a town far removed from his home in Sydney, Australia. The owner of the home is a like soul, Glenda (Mirando Otto) who is the sole meter maid in a tiny town filled with folk who are warm, gullible, honest, and simply sensitive.
The pair, Danny and Glenda, set out to make things different for themselves, with the use of a few prevarications, and both 'clean up real good', and alter the little town in a most positive way. And that is enough of the story to share.
The cast is strongly lead by Rhys Ifans' performance: he offers one of the best gentle comedy character creations in memory, absorbing the Aussie accent to a T! He is ably supported by not only Miranda Otto and Justine Clark, but also a 'whole town full' of memorable simple people. DANNY DECKCHAIR is a breath of fresh air that will likely lift your spirits - even without the help of helium balloons! Grady Harp, January 2005
Movie Review: A Fun Filled Time of Feel Good Escapism
Summary: 5 Stars
"Danny Deckchair" is perhaps the most widely appealing, mainstream fare Lions Gate has ever released. The folks in my audience absolutely loved this movie. And it sure did put a smile on my face as well.
This Australian import is an absolute gem. It's well written, well directed, well acted and well paced. Never a dull or dragging moment. It's like a tonic for those sick and tired of the time worn retreads Hollywood keeps throwing at us. It's clever, romantic, whimsical and very very funny.
It borrows a little from "Wizard of Oz," "Mr. Smith Goes To Washington" and "Working Girl," but never so obvious as to not retain its freshness and originality. It's a little movie with a big heart and HUGE HUGE potential.
In my opinion, this movie could be exactly what America is looking for. In a way, it's the movie "Majestic" wishes it would have been.
Danny's journey is a magical, delightful romp, yet has time to be reflective and convincing. Some will think it's too sugary, too Hollywood. I say it's just what the doctor ordered.
If "Open Water" disappoints, forget about it. We have a real "heavy hitter" on deck. No shaky camera, no artificial buzz, just a down to earth, feel good comedy that puts a bounce in your step and a gleam in your eye.
Movie Review: Off beat comedy for those who don't "do" comedy
Summary: 5 Stars
I admit that comedy isn't my preferred movie of choice (I prefer period dramas). However, I absolutely adore indies, especially foreign indies, as they usually avoid the vapid American comedic cliches I detest.
Danny Deckchair is an indie comedy with alot of heart, alot of soul, and a heck of alot of laughs - all due to the brilliantly cast leads of Miranda Otto and Rhys Ifins, as well as Justine Clarke. I've enjoyed watching Otto since LotR. In Danny Deckchair, she's so luminous it almost hurts to watch her. Ifans was an unknown to me, and at first it was hard to get a handle on him, but his transformation from likable yet pathetic loser to shining "everyman" was a sheer delight. Clarke plays a character that could be a shrew in the wrong actor's hands, but with her acting makes the character sympathetic and not hateful.
The cinematography was wonderful, and really captured the "dreamtime" quality that so many Americans imagine belongs to that vast country of Australia. I wanted to jump on the next Quantas flight after the end credits rolled!
Danny is a delight to the senses, and a joy to the heart, and should be appreciated by even those people who normally eschew comedy. Take a ride with Danny and see for yourself!
Movie Review: A truly magical and refreshing film
Summary: 5 Stars
"Danny Deckchair" is about a fellow who lifts off from Sydney, Australia--yes, in a deckchair with balloons attached--and embarks on an odyssey that changes his life and the lives of others. The Welsh actor, Rhys Ifans, is perfectly cast as "Danny," and the lovely Miranda Otto is equally perfect as his ultimate love interest, "Glenda."
The chemistry between the two of them makes the film superb, as well as the scenery in and around Bellingen, New South Wales. The odyssey and the love affair are the makings of a truly magical and refreshing film, which will be enjoyed by all, and it is well worth buying or renting. You will not be disappointed. Director Jeff Balsmeyer and his actors and team are to be congratulated on a job well done.