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Fantasy Fiction Meets Napoleon Dynamite

By Dustin Rowles | Posted Under Trailers | Comments (15)

ronaldchevalier.jpg

Maybe I’m not the appropriate person to offer an opinion on the trailer for Jared Hess’ upcoming Gentlemen Broncos on account of the fact that I’m not really into fantasy fiction. But I can still recognize awesomeness when I see it.

I don’t see it in the Gentlemen Broncos trailer. In fact, I see something more akin to the flat, lame comedy of Hess’ last film, Nacho Libre. I mean: When the running gag in your film revolves around an anus homophone, how much comedy can you actually expect? Gentlemen Broncos may further demonstrate just how much of a fluke Jared Hess’ debut, Napoleon Dynamite, was, unless you hated Dynamite, in which case: This is more of the same.

That said, Sam Rockwell is in this movie, and he’s nearly unrecognizable. I didn’t realize that Rockwell could play a character that wasn’t awesome. Clearly, I was wrong, though it does demonstrate how great an actor Rockwell is when a guy that cool can play a character as uncool as the one in this movie.










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Comments

I actually liked Nacho Libre better than Napoleon Dynamite. Yeah, Nacho Libre was a shitty movie, but so was Napoleon Dynamite, and at least it wasn't quoted into oblivion.

Posted by: George at August 13, 2009 6:08 PM

Is that Jemaine Clement?

Posted by: John Darc at August 13, 2009 6:10 PM

Rockwell seems to be playing two characters in the story within the story, one of them a crude gay stereotype.

Posted by: csb at August 13, 2009 6:11 PM

I want this so hard.

Posted by: Sarz at August 13, 2009 7:16 PM

I actually snickered through most of the trailer. But then, I haven't been sleeping much lately, so I'm finding a lot of things disproportionately funny right now. Hee hee. Anus.

Posted by: Shay at August 13, 2009 7:16 PM

Um, I didn't catch which one Rockwell was. And I'm not looking again. But I am kind of loving the plagiarist, just because I luuuuuurve Jemaine's speaking voice, accent or no accent.

Posted by: Anne (in Reno) at August 13, 2009 8:07 PM

There ain't no party

Posted by: bradm at August 13, 2009 10:02 PM

Oh god. That's so sad. So painfully unfunny... And I usually love Rockwell, but(-anous) damn.

Posted by: Zeebedida at August 14, 2009 5:30 AM

This movie is based on a premise that really peeves me. You know, every genre has shitty books. Every single one. And far more shittiness than greatness--which is pretty much the tagline for the human race. Ok. Fine.

But why is the fantasy genre an eternal fucking punchline? I don't write it, so I'm not speaking from some personal rejection here. But I have read great, masterful peaces of fantasy literature. Social commentary at its best. I took more away from the last Scott Lynch book I read than any of the misogynistic whiney crap that Richard Ford puts out. George RR Martin, Joe Abercrombie, Robin Hobb. These people are talented, and yet, when someone discovers you reading their work, they instantly brand you Queen Dorko-anous. Nevermind the fact that the books are brilliant, nevermind the amount of creativity and forethought it takes to create a believable storyline that actually reflects on humanity even though it's taking place in a world that sometimes doesn't even include humans. No, no, it's all orcs and kidnapped princesses and rings of power. You're right. And I live in my mother's basement because I read it, so true. Kill yourself.

I hope this movie fails so miserably it causes the movie screens it airs on to implode.

Posted by: Lindsay at August 14, 2009 10:54 AM

HA!

DORK!

Posted by: BarbadoSlim at August 14, 2009 1:37 PM

Well, at least you left off the -anous.

Posted by: Lindsay at August 14, 2009 3:38 PM

The viral videos for this movie went up months ago and they were brilliant. The trailer seems lame but the character of Ronald Chevalier seems to be so specific and silly that I have high hopes for this movie.

Posted by: summa at August 14, 2009 4:05 PM

I too have no idea which one Rockwell was. The IMDB page doesn't have a name listed for his character, either, although I suppose that wouldn't have helped, anyway.

Jemaine Clement is great though. I'll probably see this just because of him.

Posted by: Ana at August 15, 2009 3:37 AM

Oh! He's fuckin' Bronco! Wow, nearly unrecognizable is right. If you hadn't mentioned his name, I never ever would have guessed.

Posted by: Ana at August 15, 2009 3:41 AM

I just saw this last night at FantasticFest, and I'd say you were being kind. The jokes, such as they were, had nothing to do with the film or the story. They could have been lifted from this movie and dropped into any other, it didn't matter. But that doesn't matter because the jokes were slow, contrived eyesores worthy of Telemundo circa 1980.

Jared Hess seems to have played out all of his ideas:
1: Funny-looking people are funny
2: Ugly people are funnier
3: Let's make fun of people's dreams and aspirations
4: Let's add some phony morality so we don't come off mean.\

Ugh.

Posted by: shedude at September 25, 2009 4:49 PM