Archive for November 4th, 2009

Short Take: Delightfully absurd, but probably not for everyone

Director: Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite, Nacho Libre)

Screenwriters: Jared Hess and Jerusha Hess (Napoleon Dynamite, Nacho Libre)

Cast: Michael Angarano (Sky High), Jennifer Coolidge (A Mighty Wind), Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Concords)

Length: 1h 30m

Synopsis: A teenage boy attends a creative writing camp and submits his sci-fi story in a contest only to have it stolen by one of the judges. Surprisingly, that story is then published and becomes a best-seller, and the boy must try to expose the judge for his plagiarism.

Analysis: Knowing that this film was written by the Hesses, and directed by Jared Hess, should give you a good idea about what to expect. The two’s absurdist brand of humor went far to make Napoleon Dynamite one of the more successful independent films of this decade, but the flopping of Nacho Libre suggested to some critics that many had grown tired with this particular style. Whether through optimistic determination or plain stubbornness, Gentlemen Broncos continues in this same silly fashion. Fans of the Hess duo’s work will probably be pleased, and detractors will probably continue being unenthused. Read the rest of this entry »