Gentlemen Broncos

I just love this movie. it makes me want to go out and try to make a movie with my friends. This movie is so amazingly weird with the weirdest script and the weirdest plot. If you gloried in the weirdness of Napoleon Dynamite or Nacho Libre then please watch this. Jemaine Clement is hilariously serious in this movie and I just figured out that that is what is so funny about Jared Hess's movies. Everyone takes themselves way too seriously. I absolutely love this movie. Sam Rockwell is brilliant (as flippin' ALWAYS, man I wish he made more movies), and so is Daisyus/Dennis (the bad guy in the movie within the movie, can't think of the actor's real name, but he is delightfully creepy with a great bad guy voice)

One of my personal cult classics. A lot of people either slept on this movie or have no idea it exists or even that it came from the Hess brothers who also did Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre, 2 of my favorite movies.This movie has all of the awkward hilarity of Napoleon dynamic and then some. The same actor who played nachos sidekick is also in this film and is maybe the funniest character. If you love nerdy dorky awkward humor and are a bit of a nerd you’ll love it.Also just like a the directors other films there’s no curse words besides what I call PG curse words which are even more hilarious 😆

Falling into different caps of viewers, you’ll either love this movie or smash your TV screen with anything handy. I’ll explain.Made by the married team that made Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre, they make films using real people, real locations and real events from their life experiences (somewhat). So, if you loved their first movies (more about that next) you most likely waited for the next film, Gentleman Broncos, and gave it every chance and tuned into the Hess’ style, enjoyed not the absurdity, but the reality and understanding of the real world in the movie — not the one portrayed in most all other media.If this is your first view of a Hess film, I bet you thought it absurd and cheesy — and ended up thinking how the heck this film got made. That’s a fair reaction as it doesn’t glamorize real America and it’s not filled with starlets and hunks. Well, it has Sam Rockwell, not that you’d recognize him.Okay, let me try to help. Their first film, Napoleon Dynamite, is very similar, but not as flamboyant in portraying the sparse horizons in small-ro-rural towns and low income lives. Napoleon is a small town high school student in a a dead end town with a life without much promise. His family is a mishmash, he only has another outcast as a kinda friend, and somehow he manages to value himself and has self worth. In the sad world he grows up in, he has hopes and is not defeated. That is both humorous, inspiring, and he speaks for all the disenfranchised people in America who shop at thrift and dollar stores. The movie does not make fun of him. It shows respect for him and his life. Napoleon is so much like many young men I’ve met. Unrealistic but hopeful. The film is rightly a classic now, and it’s a treasure.Nacho Libre takes that even further. It’s almost slapstick comedy, and with Jack Black pure over-the-top funny. But again, it’s a story of a sad case who dreams big, works to escape his limited world and like Napoleon, follows his dream of breaking free. He’s a Catholic brother, hot for a nun yet to take her vows (well, she IS worth going for,) and is not respected by the fellow brothers. He decides to live a secret life as an amateur wrestler and find fame and maybe a way to turn pro and make money for “the orphans.” He’s well intended, foolish, but a really sweet guy finding his way. Like Napoleon, an underdog. You root for him.A trademark of the Hess’ films is using real people in most roles rather than actors. They shoot in the sad towns in low-income areas and demonstrate an appreciation and respect for the neglected reality of how most people in America live. These are unique films that respect the reality of life, not ignore it.Gentlemen Broncos continues in that tradition, but pushes it past respect to exaggeration. The main character is a young author living with his mom and writes fanboy science fiction. They are barely surviving and they are hopeful in a world that could care less about them, their hopes, dreams or talents. The young man idolizes an arrogant, ruthless sci-fi writer and at a event for young writers, submits his book for the author to evaluate his work. The author is hitting the point where he’s lost for a new story, and steals the book almost word for word, and it becomes a smash. Anymore would be spoiling the movie.The references here are very true. I’m a successful, published author and have known many first time authors. The movie got that all perfect. Fan writers live in the fantasy worlds they write about, and take the fantasy quite seriously. This movie shows the world of comic book and fantasy paperback fandom pretty well. Things turn out fairly, like in the other movies, but this one has characters and plot lines pushed a bit past appreciation into satirizing the characters. The successful author is done perfectly, but many other characters are caricatures rather than real people who are dreamers stuck in a small town. The formula was pushed past its sweetness and honesty, and crosses over into absurdity many times.I think it’s a good story, and with a bit of restraint it would have been as good as their first two. That’s too bad. It just missed the mark, but as I used to say about girlfriends, two out of three ain’t bad. You can’t complain when you doin’ three and two are marvelous and the third just not as much.Filmed in rural Utah, full of locals and locales, it shows lives where a trip to the big box store or the thrift shop is a big deal. The cars are clunkers and the houses not approved by any HOA as there is none. It’s quirky life, real in a way not shown often in films and for that reason alone, it gets my five stars. I admire seeing truth and respect for people with hopes and dreams but not much chance of those happening, but who don’t give up.

So, I can't stand Napolean Dynamite. I believe the same people did this movie. My husband and I ran across this one day a few years back and for some reason it was just so weird and strangely funny that we couldn't keep our eyes from the screen. I am almost ashamed to say that I love this movie. We decided we had to have it. If you like weird strange funny humor then this will be your movie. Give it a few minutes and remember your mom put a hot water bottle on the seat for you!

Its hard to imagine a worse movie than this- even if a filmmaker was high on crack or meth a movie that they made would be more entertaining.This movie is so bad- it really defies words to describe how truly awful it is.I keep wondering " who thought it was a good idea to invest millions of dollars in producing this"?And how did director Jared Hess - who had so much success with Napoleon Dynamite make such a crappy film? Was he just cashing in on the $$ and hype from Dynamite- because it looks like this film could have been written by 3 13 year old boys in 4 hours...really- and its about that entertaining...Running jokes "anious" as a suffix and constantly referring to mammary glands, really isnt funny to anyone over 12.Run as fast as you can from this waste of film ..Hess should be bannned for life from ever producing another film after this dumpster fire...

This movie seems to be universally despised by critics (Rotten Tomatoes gives it a squelchy 19%), but it made over $110m on a production budget of just $10m, so somebody liked it.I don't love it, but do like it a great deal and have watched it a number of times now. I think part of the attraction is its 'homage' to the pulp science-fiction novels of the 70s and 80s. If you remember them with affection, I think you'll like this.The DVD comes with a digital copy that you can download to your computer or tablet.(Despite repeated viewings, I still have no idea where the title comes from.)

I have enjoyed other films by Jared Hess, the director, including Napoleon Dynamite - they are unusual and sometimes odd, but in an entertaining and often witty way.The star of Gentlemen Broncos is very definitely Jemaine Clement of Flight of the Concords fame who I initally did not recognise, and the supporting cast are well chosen.It is in some ways a very odd film and it is unlikely you will see another film quite like it: amusing, witty, entertaining and it will transport you to a land of wild fantasy writing and 'unusual' visual effects.Not a 'must have' film, but well worth watching.

Being a huge fan of both the Hess' previous offerings: Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre, I was initially discouraged by the overwhelmingly negative response to this film, and didn't bother tracking a copy down until recently.Although it's arguably not as well written as Napoleon or Nacho, it is actually a very witty, warm-hearted poke at dreadful genre authors. All the characters are well acted and likeable enough, and there are a few laugh out loud moments (one of which involves a snake cr*pping on a guys neck). My only real complaint is that Sam Rockwell doesn't get enough screen time.Since I bought my copy I've watched it with 4 people, one of which thought it was total garbage, the other 3 thought it was hilarious, go figure?!

Don't make the mistake of expectng this to be another napoleon dynamite. It's a whole new bag of crazy. Definitely funny and kind of sick. I felt a bit like i was having some strange dream and laughed very hard at a few points.

If you like the style of Napoleon Dynamite then this is the film for you!