Writers Jared and Jerusha Hess (“Napoleon Dynamite”) have successfully created a character whose imagination makes that of Max from “Where the Wild Things Are” look like nothing special. But is that a good thing? In the case of “Gentlemen Broncos,” the answer is no.
This is a movie where every character is living in his or her own fantasy, none of which is interesting enough to hold the audience’s attention for 90 minutes.
Michael Angarano (“Sky High”) stars as awkward young Benjamin, a 17-year-old home-schooled, socially delayed aspiring science fiction writer whose unpublished novel is stolen by none other than his idol, Chevalier, played by the subtly hilarious Jemaine Clement (“Flight of the Conchords”), who made a name for himself in the sci-fi world by writing about laser boobs.
Clement aces his character of a holier-than-thou hack who always wears turtlenecks and a Bluetooth earpiece, and he perfectly crafts his voice to sound like someone who always wears turtlenecks and a Bluetooth earpiece.
Benjamin has fewer lines than the rest of the cast but speaks plenty through his writings. Snippets of his story “Yeast Lords: The Bronco Years” are interjected throughout the movie spearheaded by Sam Rockwell, who takes on the role of fearless, rugged Bronco.
In the hands of Chevalier, Bronco turns into Brutus, who’s more sexually ambiguous than rugged. As far-fetched as the scenes from the novel are, they highlight Rockwell’s comical range.
Angarano, however, doesn’t ignite much sympathy. One of his character’s few redeeming qualities is his loyalty to his mom, whose dreams of designing evening wear produce outfits that would only be acceptable at one of Benjamin’s sci-fi events. So when he wears a nightgown to a book signing, he doesn’t look that out of place.
Benjamin’s infrequent human contact doesn’t yield the best results. Having probably spent his whole life cooped up in his dome home with his lovably tacky mom, played by the lovably tacky Jennifer Coolidge, it’s no wonder Benjamin confuses the attention he receives at Cletus Festival ““ “the best writers’ camp in the state” ““ with friendship.
His inability to say no to his new acquaintances from Cletus Fest make for some visually cringe-worthy scenes. Tabatha (Halley Feiffer) is most likely the first girl his age to speak to him, and they share an unfortunately memorable scene including a little bit of romance and a little bit of vomit ““ mostly vomit.
There are many other gratuitously gross scenes that add nothing to the movie’s message, which is unclear even in the end. It’s no mystery that stealing a story from a kid is a pretty low thing to do, and you wonder how or if this will be made right for half of the movie. Yet, once the resolution is attempted, it feels rather abrupt and unfinished.
“Gentlemen Broncos” is undoubtedly a Jared and Jerusha Hess vehicle. They’ve assembled yet another team of eccentrics. But in a town full of individuals, Coolidge and Clement’s characters are the only ones whose quirk is sustainable.
One of the few things you can take away from the movie is that, like in “Napoleon Dynamite,” there are small American towns where there is no such thing as the awkward teen years ““ people just get weirder as they age.
E-mail Mohtasham at smohtasham@media.ucla.edu.