Danny Deckchair

Plot synopsis:
Danny Morgan (Ifans) works as a concrete maker driver and construction worker who lives in a big Australian city with his girlfriend but is unhappy with his life. Danny yearns for the simple life while girlfriend Trudy (Clarke) fantasizes about bright lights and fast times. While Danny plans for their annual camping trip, Trudy tells him she has to work, so the trip is off. In reality, Trudy is using her work connections at a local real estate agency to set up a meeting with a handsome local sports reporter, Sandy Upman (Muldoon). Danny sees them together while he's shopping for a weekend barbecue, leaving him even more disenchanted with their relationship.
During the barbecue in his backyard, Danny, being an inventive character, ties a bunch of helium-filled balloons to his deckchair as his friends hold him down. When they inadvertently let go, Danny is set on an airborne adventure across Australia, which causes him to become a national sensation. As he floats over idyllically beautiful rural landscapes, totally foreign to the concrete structures of his discontent, he appears on the verge of some enlightenment. After he's beaten up in a rugged ride through a thunderstorm, fireworks from a small town's macadamia festival burst his balloons. Danny lands in a tree in Glenda's front yard as the remnants of his chair float away.
Glenda (Otto), who was watching the fireworks from her front porch, sees Danny fall into the tree but doesn't see the deckchair. As firemen and townsfolk arrive to find out if the fireball caused any damage, they see Glenda helping a disheveled Danny. Glenda tells them that Danny is an old professor from college days and takes him into her house, which belonged to her parents. As he recovers from the harrowing end to his journey, the lonely Glenda, fascinated by the strapping Danny, doesn't press him about his past. Danny doesn't help matters by offering only vague explanations about his origins and unorthodox arrival in the town of Clarence.
As Danny explores the town, Glenda's friends wonder about their past relationship, but they are quickly won over by Danny's whimsical ways. This was easy to accomplish as Glenda's friends are just happy to see that the withdrawn, and sometimes depised, traffic officer is with someone special. Using his easy-going manner, Danny persuades Glenda to dress-up and go with him to the harvest ball. She gives him some nice clothes (formerly her father's) to wear to the ball. After Danny looks in the mirror, he shaves his beard and trims his hair. At the ball and around town, Danny's mysterious past, detached demeanour and off-the-wall ideas make him an instant hit with the townsfolk. His ideas that were considered hair-brained in the big city seem fresh in the small town of Clarence, and he is hired to become the manager of an aspiring politician's campaign. As they spend time together at Glenda's house, Danny finds her father's old motorcycle, which for sentimental reasons Glenda keeps in the shed. After she shows Danny pictures of her parents on the motorcycle exploring the country, Danny fixes up the old motorcycle when Glenda is at work.
All the while, the big city media can't get enough coverage of Danny's disappearance, constantly broadcasting interviews of his friends, family and co-workers. Trudy takes up with the sports reporter (Muldoon), who sees covering Danny's story and Trudy's suffering as a way to the top.
Back in Clarence, Danny is forging a deep connection with Glenda. But their budding relationship is not viewed by everyone in town as all peaches-and-cream. Their flirtations arouse jealousy and suspicion in Glenda's male co-worker, the town's police supervisor, who busts them for speeding when they take Glenda's motorcycle out for a ride. But nothing fazes Danny as he continues to immerse himself in his ideal world. He even goes so far as to give a stirring speech at a political rally, and he is asked by some of the townsfolk to run for office.
All caught up in the dizzying events surrounding the political rally, Glenda and Danny spend the night together. He wakes reveling in his new soul-mate, gets dressed in a haze of happiness and steps outside onto Glenda's porch to greet the dawn of his perfect new life. However, local kids have found and reported the deck chair causing Danny's past to come crashing down upon him in a torrent of media frenzy.
As a shocked Glenda emerges from her house to see what all the noise is about, she spots Danny running down the street with a crowd in hot pursuit. Just then, Trudy and Upman drop down in a news helicopter and land in the street in front of Glenda's yard, stopping Danny dead in his tracks. Trudy reclaims Danny amidst an explosion of camera flashes to take him back to the big city, where she can bask in his new-found fame. As his half-truths become uncovered in the stark light of media exposure, Glenda rails against Danny as he's whisked away.
Although she is angry at being deceived by Danny, his departure brings Glenda to the stark realization that she has been deceiving herself as well. She finally admits to herself that her life is at a dead end and she decides it's time for a change.
Meanwhile, unhappily plugged back into his old job and with Trudy trying to capitalize on his fame, the deep changes within Danny that happened in Clarence make city life all the more unbearable. Danny confronts Trudy, tells her it's over and uses the connections his media storm have forged to get on a military plane to win Glenda back.
Back in Clarence, Glenda has finished packing up her motorcycle and is saying goodbye to her friends. Just then, Danny parachutes out of the plane over Clarence and crash-lands in the tree in front of Glenda's house as she's starting to leave on her motorcycle.
At first, Glenda appears excited to see Danny; but immediately she starts yelling that he can't just drop in and everything will be all right. Glenda resolutely drives off before Danny can convince her how much he needs her and his new life in the town of Clarence. Dragging his parachute, Danny runs after her, shouting that he'll do whatever it takes to get back together. As she drives away, Danny's parachute cord gets caught on the back of the motorcycle and he is lifted into the air. As Glenda glances into her mirror for one last look at her old life, she notices Danny flying behind her and stops the bike. As he comes down, Danny and Glenda get entangled in the parachute, wordlessly embrace and kiss.
As the movie ends, Danny and Glenda, in their bathrobes, symbolically float upward in deck chairs as they talk about their future plans.

Tags: romantic, fantasy, comedy, prank

Review:
I think this will be one of the first comments for Danny Deckchair, so let me start this section off by saying straight away that I really, awfully enjoyed this film!
I was sorry to see the finish of it, and thats something that you cant always say about movies.Starring Rhys Ifans (fantastic actor!), and Miranda Otto (impresses me whenever I see her), this fun romp never once left me bored.
Be it the numerous moments of hilarity as Danny lights up the screen or the quieter, more touching personal moments when Glenda and Danny are getting to know each other, this film was interesting and entertaining to the last.
Also interesting is the unsaid statements about what a bit of fame does to some people, as Trudy (Justine Clark) shows her true colours once Danny flies away on his Deckchair.When it all boils down to it, this is an entertaining and ultimately heartwarming film that isn't afraid to be Australian.
Miranda Otto (Glenda) also did a wonderful job playing the shy parking officer who fell in love with the "alien" from the sky.I would definitely (and have done so) recommend to anyone just trying to chill out with a movie for an evening and walk away refreshed..
This little movie was very refreshing from the usual romantic comedy machine that Hollywood cranks out just to make a few bucks from romance novel loving ladies.Here's the point: it was a little funny, it was a little romantic, it was a little dramatic, and it was fun to watch.
I took a few points off for the editing, sometimes it jumps around a little too much, but for me it wasn't too distracting since everything else made up for it.Following the romance story of a guy that falls from the sky in a woman's backyard - doesn't it sound intriguing?If you like the genre, definitely a different, refreshing pick - and one that guys can watch without regret.
By the end of the film, you really feel like you have a new friend in a strange way.
If you like sweet, romantic comedies or you're looking for the perfect date movie Danny Deckchair is for you.
Rhys Ifans, maybe best known as the slovenly roommate in Notting Hill, is unexpectedly charming as the title character, Danny.
Danny is a goofy, hard-working everyman who doesn't know what he's missing until he literally falls into the backyard of the beautiful, but lonely Glenda, a small town parking cop.
Like a Jimmy Stewart character in a Frank Capra film, Danny finds a passion and integrity that he didn't now he had and he's able to inspire goodwill in everyone around him - including this film's audience..
In this charming little comedy from down under, Writer/Director Jeff Balsmeyer takes us inside the lives of 2 people we really like and one ...
The plot line is relatively simple, which arguably detracts from the film, but it has it's moments, such as the moment Danny launches into the air on his deckchair.
Overall, I would recommend this Aussie film to all people looking for a good laugh.
"Danny Deckchair" tells of the adventures of a young concrete truck driver who decides to tie a bunch of helium filled balloons to his deck chair to soar aloft.
With lots of heart and unpredictable predictability, "Danny Deckchair" should be an enjoyable watch for those who don't mind a little schmaltz with their romantic comedy fare.
Its a light, full-hearted film meant to make you feel good about life and love and all that stuff.
Rhys Ifans (Danny) and Miranda Otto (Glenda) are fantastic together and their performances keep the viewer captivated throughout the entire picture.
Meanwhile, back in Sydney, the other prisoners are trying to determine what happened to the escapee when a local policeman in the Northern town, jealous of how happy these two are, decides to let said Sydney prisoners know where their man is.As I said earlier, the film relies very heavily upon the performances of the actors to stay afloat.
Rhys Ifans, best known as one of the emaciated, lunatic twins of Twin Town, makes it incredibly easy to sympathise with his character, the titular Danny Deckchair.
Miranda Otto, now infamous as Éowyn, the only woman who actually goes into battle during the Lord Of The Rings saga (at least the way Tolkien wrote it), is equally convincing as the parking cop whose life is forever changed by a man falling out of the sky and into her front yard.
This is particularly clear at the end when Danny finds himself back in Sydney and, disgusted with the way of life there, decides he is far better off in a town where everyone seems to know his name, and not just because it has been broadcast to death on the news.
Without the supporting characters who represent Danny's former workmates and significant others, the story would probably fall flat.All in all, I gave the film a nine out of ten.
It does have a few moments when the pace slows too far for its own good, but this is one of the best films to come out of Australia since The Pirate Movie.
The changing emotions visible on the faces of the two main characters required attention, so I couldn't just listen and glance over while doing other things like I usually can.One thing that I always ask myself in reading a book or watching a movie is, "Do I care about these characters?" If there's no reason to care what happens to someone, why spend the time?
The relationship of Danny and Glenda felt plausible, handled with sensitivity and realism with neither of them starting out "looking for love" which really means "wanting sex with someone, anyone" that most Hollywood romances think we want..
Danny Deckchair is a great little comedy.
While appearing unskilled in the ways of love, Danny will win your heart as he takes you with him on his journey that all starts with an accidental balloon ride - when his deckchair takes off with him.
Perhaps it's just an early midlife crisis talking, but I find that this sweet little oddity from Australia has the ability to make you sit up and say, "By George, I could change my life!" Of course, plenty of people hate Frank Capra movies.
Just as he made moviegoers ponder, "What would things be like if I had never been born?" Jeff Balsmeyer leads us (or at least some of us!) to the question "What would I do if I could start fresh, and completely reinvent myself among strangers?" Balsmeyer's Danny is a creative, adventurous soul whose humdrum, habitual city existence has hemmed him in and shrunk his world.
Apart from Danny's cringeworthy accent and the implausible motivations of the main characters, the plot was full of holes.How is it that a bearded man arrives in a small country town, has his photo plastered all over the media as the 'balloon man', and yet not one single person recognises him?
While the movie starte a bit slow for me, I was drawn into Danny's character within a short time.
However, the plight of feeling trapped in urban life and mundane routine, while wanting to somehow experience a little bit of contact with nature and people in a more intimate manner; does speak to almost anyone stuck in a job they don't especially enjoy, whether they do them well or whether they pay well or not.
This movie speaks to our inner desire to experience life in a more meaningful manner beyond merely getting things done good enough.
Danny Deckchair is an Australian film, although I don't think it really focuses on that very much in the movie, it concentrates on the good things in life, being original (or at least creative), having fun, finding your soul-mate and falling in love, these are the IMPORTANT things and I think that's what this movie is really trying to tell us.
The only thing I think this movie should have more of is moments of bonding between Glenda and Danny, you didn't see much of them getting to know each other.
Danny Deckchair was a really good movie illustrating the Real Life..
the film's director turns out to be an American who exported the'true story' of American urban legend Larry Walters (aka 'Larry Lawnchair'), and then changed the title to "Danny Deckchair," (which just sounds stupid), in order to make it more 'Australian.' then they cast a Welsh actor, Rhys Ifans, to play an Australian, because, well, i don't know why.
Danny Deckchair is based on a true story of a guy who actually did tie a bunch of balloons to a chair and took off.
Watch Danny Deckchair and enjoy life!.
While there are some special effects, this film is a good old fashioned romantic comedy which works and is proof that good old fashioned story telling never goes out of fashion.Hollywood saturates the globe with depictions of American life despite the fact that Americans only make up 6pc of the worlds population.
Rhys Ifans and Miranda Otto sold this for me, and I also tend to at least look at pretty much anything shipped from Australia; their films aren't consistently spellbinding (The Dish?) but are often of a quality missing in the studio flicks.
It's good to see the good guys win for a change, and Danny Deckchair is a love story that gives you the warm fuzzies.
And the whole concept of him tying helium balloons onto his lawn chair to see if it will make him fly, as unrealistic as it sounds, just emphasizes the surreal adventure he is about to embark on to find his calling in life.If you like romantic comedies and Australian people, or the happy and fantastical towns from such movies as Edward Scissorhands and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, you're bound to be won over by DannyDeckchair..
He sort of came across as a person that I would be friends with, and as such, I wanted to know what would happen to him.His adventures are fun, if perhaps a bit formulaic, and the outcome is never in doubt, but I never minded because to me, the movie was meant to be about the everyday life of an ordinary guy who made an unusual decision and in this regard the movie excelled.The acting is understated and convincing.
The main and secondary characters are well written, perhaps a bit clichéd (I think this adds to the movie by keeping you focused on Danny).If you are looking for a fun lighthearted movie, give this one a chance.
"Danny Deckchair" is a film inspired by a strange guy in the States who rigged up a chair with helium-filled balloons--and he took a trip that ended up getting him publicity AND in trouble with the authorities for unauthorized use of the airspace!
See this cute film."Danny Deckchair" is a lovely romantic film.
Danny's got a pretty boring life in suburban Australia when he decides to take to the skies in a chair tied with helium balloons.
Of course Rhys Ifans (Danny), and Miranda Otto (Glenda) are sensational, but so too is the impossibly adorable revelation Justine Clarke (Trudy).
Well, that is just about what happened for Danny (Rhys Ifans) as he was facing a world where his ordinary life was starting to come undone in his relationship with Trudy (Justine Clark).
Escaping suburban life in Australia, Danny departs to the skies on a deck chair tied with helium balloons.
He disembarks his air-journey by landing in a tree in Glenda's (Miranda Otto) yard and he and Glenda start to form a bond that could lead to a lasting relationship but alas, as he hides his past and how he got there, this relationship has it's twists and turns.Come on men, we've all pretty much dreamt of doing this - strapping balloons to a chair and just floating away to a new life.Cast includes Ifans, Clark, Otto, Rhys Muldoon (Sandy Upman), John Batchelor (Pete), and Alan Flower (Ray Vitali).
It's the first film from this American pleasant guy who married an Australian woman...Look for the similarities between his life and the movie !!!
Nobody is judging Australia, but keep making films like this and you'll do fine.I wished it had been less of a vehicle for Rhys Ifans and focused more on Miranda Otto's character.
With less focus on the actors and more on the reason for watching movies, lots of long build up to emotional effects and a great use of set and place, I had a really good time seeing the movie.
If you sit there like an idiot each Christmas and watch "It's A Wonderful Life", stop while cruising cable channels when you come upon "It Happened One Night" or still get a lump in your throat when you see Jimmy Stewart give his desperate speech in "Mr. Smith Goes To Washington", then, by God, you're gonna LOVE this movie!
For those of us who enjoy Rhys Ifans, this little film will not disappoint.
He lifts off by accident and gets blown far to the town of Clarence where he crash lands in Glenda Lake (Miranda Otto)'s tree.The deckchair trip is actually a small part of the movie.
Danny Deckchair is one of those extremely cute movies that attempts at every level to be more than just this "cute" movie about a man, but more instead a more soul wrenching story about life.
He reminded me of Hugh Grant and that aura that seems to surround him in many of his films.1) The contrast between Danny's old life and the one that he creates with Glenda borders fantasy.
I never felt that I was watching a "real" town in the film, but instead a "cute" situation that Danny was accepted into.2) There was little to no explanation of what Danny had done.
Again, no explanation was needed, no sub-story needed to be developed, there was this aura of familiarity with Danny that soared to new levels of "cute"-ness.Perhaps I have overburdened you too much with this "cute" factor issue, but I really walked thinking that it was just this really "cute" film that was flimsily defined, but left you with this amazing sense of goodness in your heart.
Danny Deckchair proves that everyone can find their place in life and that sometimes it takes a great feat to accomplish this, but in the end you will find your happiness.
Lalalala I liked the movie and I am in love with Trudy.
Rhys Ifans brings Danny Morgan to life and no one could have done it better.
His third film is good but his previous two are probably in the sewers.Based on a true story, the tale of a cement truck driver named Danny, whose long awaited vacation is cancelled thanks to his scheming girlfriend, Trudy.
Danny escapes his grim life in suburban Australia and blasts into the skies in a chair tied with helium balloons.
While the media back home becomes obsessed with the story of his disappearance, Danny gets to reinvent himself in this new town, and in his great adventure, he discovers a true soulmate in Glenda.
Wonderful romantic little film shows that change is possible.
It is what I call a quirky Australian film because it has an almost absurd premise, or plot, yet it is believable because the characters are real caricatures of the sort of people you would meet in the suburbs of the cities and the small country towns.For example Danny as a bricklayer has that earthy look on life which appeals to the girl he mets in Clarence and the impact he has on the town.This is uniquely Australian type film that they could not make in the USA.It is well worth a watch although the ending was a bit flat..
The title suggests a mediocre film where the viewer might be led to think the only high point (pun intended) is Danny's launch into the air on a balloon laden deckchair.
With a good cast set you would think that the actors in "Danny Deckchair" could easily make something memorable and enjoyable.
It is a story of Danny re-discovering himself, and what he wants out of life.
Danny is eventually 'found', and returns to his home, but unhappy with his old life, parachutes into Glenda's yard, and as the movie ends we thing they will live happily ever after..
Witness the 2004 Australian film Danny Deckchair, which is an off the rack romantic comedy without a whit of inspiration, and as predictable as they come.
The premise for the film comes from the spate of real life nuts who tied balloons to chairs and other devices, and took off into the skies.
what a gem this movie is.i had seen it advertised several times,and thought it would be boring.however,it happened to be on today,and there was nothing else on,so i thought i'd take a chance.boy,am i glad i did.this movie has a very original premise,great characters,good writing,and good acting.the movie basically tells the story of Danny Morgan(Rhys Ifans) a cement worker who finds out his girlfriend thinks very lowly of him and may have cheated on him.anyway,long story short,Danny ends up floating away in a deck chair to a new life.i won't say any more because i don't want to spoil it.let's just say Danny meets some new people and learns some life altering lessons.this is a romantic comedy of sorts,but 1 that most guys would appreciate and enjoy.the beautiful Miranda Otto plays the romantic interest.
the romance isn't the heart of the movie,though.the movie is concerned more with the life of Danny(Ifans)and those who he meets on his travel.this is a small Australian movie,and it proves you don't need a huge budget or big name stars to make a movie work.but you do need an original story with likable characters,which this one has.if you have a chance to see this movie,i urge you to do so.