''Danny Deckchair'' is a 2003 Australian

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

written and directed by

Jeff Balsmeyer Jeff is a masculine name, often a short form (hypocorism) of the English given name Jefferson or Jeffrey, which comes from a medieval variant of Geoffrey. Music * DJ Jazzy Jeff, American DJ/turntablist record producer Jeffrey Allen Townes * ...

. The majority of Danny Deckchair was shot in Bellingen, a town on the Mid North Coast in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. It was inspired by the story of the

Lawnchair Larry flight On July 2, 1982, Larry Walters (April 19, 1949 – October 6, 1993) made a 45-minute flight in a homemade airship made of an ordinary patio chair and 45 helium-filled weather balloons. The aircraft rose to an altitude of about , drifted from the ...

Plot

Danny Morgan (Ifans) works as a

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...

maker driver and

construction worker A construction worker is a worker employed in the physical construction of the built environment and its infrastructure. Definition By some definitions, workers may be engaged in manual labour as unskilled or semi-skilled workers; they may be sk ...

who lives in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

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 is shopping for a weekend

barbecue Barbecue or barbeque (informally BBQ in the UK, US, and Canada, barbie in Australia and braai in South Africa) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that use live fire and smoke t ...

, leaving him even more disenchanted with their relationship. During the barbecue in his backyard, Danny, being an inventive character, ties a bunch of

helium Helium (from el, ἥλιος, helios, lit=sun) is a chemical element with the symbol He and atomic number 2. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas and the first in the noble gas group in the periodic table. ...

-filled

balloon A balloon is a flexible bag that can be inflated with a gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen, and air. For special tasks, balloons can be filled with smoke, liquid water, granular media (e.g. sand, flour or rice), or light so ...

s to his

deckchair A deckchair (or deck chair) is a folding chair, usually with a frame of treated wood or other material. The term now usually denotes a portable folding chair, with a single strip of fabric or vinyl forming the backrest and seat. It is meant f ...

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 is beaten up in a rugged ride through a thunderstorm,

fireworks Fireworks are a class of Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a l ...

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 does not 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, does not press him about his past. Danny does not 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 despised, 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 cannot 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 Sydney, 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 is 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 is 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. Sandy, now unemployed, storms into the real estate office and yells at Trudy for leaving him behind in Clarence. After ditching work, Danny confronts Trudy and tells her that it is 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 is starting to leave on her motorcycle. At first, Glenda appears excited to see Danny; but immediately she starts yelling that he cannot 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, 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.

Cast

Rhys Ifans Rhys Ifans (; born Rhys Owain Evans; 22 July 1967) is a Welsh actor and musician. He was the frontman of Welsh rock music bands the Peth and Super Furry Animals. As an actor, he is best known for his roles in ''Notting Hill'' (1999), ''Kevin & ...

as Danny Morgan *

Miranda Otto Miranda Otto (born 16 December 1967) is an Australian actress. She is the daughter of actors Barry and Lindsay Otto and the paternal half-sister of actress Gracie Otto. Otto began her acting career in 1986 at age 18 and appeared in a variety of ...

as Glenda Lake *

Justine Clarke Justine Clarke (born 16 November 1971) is an Australian actress, singer, musician, author and television host. She has been acting since the age of seven and has appeared in some of Australia's best-known TV shows. She is best known as a presen ...

as Trudy Dunphy *

Rhys Muldoon Rhys Muldoon (born 17 October 1965) is an Australian actor, writer and director who has worked extensively in film, television, music, theatre and radio. Since 2012 he has starred as Mark Oliver in ''House Husbands''. Career Television Muldoon ...

as Sandy Upman

Awards nominations

Film Critics Circle of Australia Award The Film Critics Circle of Australia (FCCA) is an association of cinema critics and reviewers. It includes journalists in "media, television, major national and state papers, radio, national and state, online and freelance writers, Australian ...

s - 2003 Best Supporting Actor (Justine Clarke) *

Paris Film Festival The Festival du Film de Paris, also known as Paris Film Festival, was a film festival held annually in Paris, France. It was launched in 1986 as a youth-oriented festival. In 2002, the municipal government withdrew funding and began Festival Paris ...

- Grand Prix 2004 (Jeff Balsmeyer)

Box office

''Danny Deckchair'' grossed $1,050,383 at the box office in Australia.

References

External links