Friday, May 19, 2006

Danny Deckchair

Sometimes I just really get the urge to watch a sweet-hearted movie. Give me a-b-c formula, give me a happy ending, give me a little comedy and a little romance. Danny Deckchair (2003) is such a pleasing little movie from Australia that warms my heart from start to finish.

Danny is a dreamer. Danny thinks up oddball ideas that infuriate his social climbing girlfriend who has grown ashamed of Danny’s blue-collar ways. One day, Danny gets the bright notion to attach giant helium balloons to a lawn chair and see if he can take flight. Take flight he does, all the way into a small town, and a woman's back yard, that will change his life forever.

Danny (Rhys Ifans, who is a favorite of mine) gets to reinvent himself in this town and has a major impact on a variety of people who live there—including a cynical traffic cop whose yard he lands in (Miranda Otto). People assume Danny is something he isn’t and he never sees the point of informing them otherwise. Why should he? This "new" Danny is free and improved of the things that held the "old" Danny down.

Danny Deckchair isn’t a great film. It’s got some serious issues with its story and is as predictable as tornadoes in Oklahoma during the month of May. But, it is a sweet little movie with a great big heart, full of charming performances and, sometimes, I just love seeing something like this.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

ah!!! i love this movie. i loved it when i first saw it...and the second time. i plan to watch it with my friend janet as she has it recorded on her dvr and in cue for watching! i have been telling her about it for awhile now. ah! and rhys is one of my top 5s~~~!!! i would love to fall asleep tonight, dream i took a balloon ride to that place in australia and live the rest of my days....of course with top 5er along for the stay as well. i sound like a nut...i don't care.

Joshua Blevins Peck said...

someone is indeed into this film and rhys maybe too much?

nah. it's good to have an active fantasy life.