Fantastic Fest 2009: ‘Gentlemen Broncos’ Review

Jared Hess is a genius, and its very obvious if you have seen ‘Napoleon Dynamite’ or ‘Nacho Libre’. Even if you arent crazy about either film there are flashes of brilliance that are just too strong to ignore. I went into ‘Gentlemen Broncos’ with my sights set so high I am not even sure Quentin Tarantino could have lived up to my expectations. That’s not to say that the movie is bad, but it is definitely a film that requires multiple viewings to take it all in.

The story (mostly) is about a loner home schooled kid named Benjamin(Michael Angarano) who is obsessed with writing Sci-Fi. He has written a “Science Fiction Novella’ entitled ‘Yeast Lords’ which he enters into a competition hosted by his favorite Sci-Fi author Dr. Ronald Chevalier(Jemaine Clement). When Chevalier is hard up for a new story he comes across Benjamin’s story and rewrites it himself only changing the the main character’s name and the title of the book.

That is the film in a nutshell, or that is the film the trailer leads you to believe it is but its much thicker than that. There is another intertwined story about Benjamin selling the book to a local indie “film maker” who creates his own version of the story. Also toss in a girl that Benjamin sort of crushes on, his psychotic mom(played beautifully by Jennifer Coolidge) who runs a modest nightgown clothing company, and his urge to act.

Probably the greatest parts of the film are during the book readings, we get actual scenes from what the movie would look like. The main character in Benjamin’s ‘Yeast Lords’ is named Bronco(Sam Rockwell). He is an alpha male who just kicks ass no matter where he goes or what situation he finds himself in. After having his testicle stolen to harvest his sperm and create a clan of Bronco kids he seeks out revenge against his evil nemesis.

In Chevalier’s version of ‘Yeast Lords’ entitled ‘Brutus and Balzaak’ Sam Rockwell plays the flamboyant Brutus who rocks a Hulk Hogan ‘stache and a ridiculous mullet. This character has so many one liners that you will be repeating it for days. Sam Rockwell really shows just how much range he can have and after talking to him about this role you realize that he is responsible for the personality as well. Rockwell’s abilities are absolutely endless and it shows why is one of the most respected actors in our geek community.

The movie is very weird, and some people will say that its a little too weird for their tastes but I can bet that after a few watches this movie will become an instant classic. The performances in the movie cant be beat and everyone plays their part with absolute brilliance.