MOVIE REVIEW: ‘Gentlemen Broncos’

Comparisons will be drawn between “Gentlemen Broncos,” the latest feature from Jared Hess, and his debut feature, “Napoleon Dynamite.” To an extent, this is fair: Both are tales of a young man growing up in a world he doesn’t quite understand, surrounded by extremely odd characters whose sole purpose in life seems to be making his life more difficult.

But that’s where the similarities end.

Whereas Napoleon (Jon Heder) was proactively awkward, seeking out the world and insinuating himself into all of its oddities, the lead character in “Gentlemen Broncos” is far more passive. Benjamin (Michael Angarano) simply accepts the indignities heaped upon him — from peers stealing his money to his mother dressing him in awful homemade clothes.

This is an important distinction. While the audience might feel comfortable laughing at Napoleon, it feels almost mean-spirited to laugh at Benjamin’s travails. He has done nothing to provoke them and seems incapable of fending for himself.

This is not to say there aren’t funny touches or tender moments in Mr. Hess’ film or that he dislikes the characters he has created (an unfair charge often lobbed at him in the wake of “Napoleon Dynamite”). But the audience surely will wince at some of the tribulations Benjamin must endure.

A home-schooled would-be science-fiction writer, Benjamin travels to a literary conference for teenagers in the hopes of meeting his hero, science-fiction writer Dr. Ronald Chevalier (Jemaine Clement) and having him critique the manuscript Benjamin has been working on, “Yeast Lords: The Bronco Years.”

While at the writers workshop, Benjamin meets Tabatha (Halley Feiffer) and Lonnie (Hector Jimenez), amateur filmmakers who decide to turn “Yeast Lords” into a sci-fi film. At the same time, Chevalier steals Benjamin’s manuscript and plagiarizes it.

Intersecting this limited plot are action sequences from “Yeast Lords” as envisioned by the various creative forces: Benjamin’s original version, Chevalier’s rip-off and Lonnie’s repackaged movie. These sci-fi vignettes are done in an intentionally low-budget, so-bad-it’s-good aesthetic that calls to mind “Plan 9 From Outer Space” and “Mystery Science Theater 3000.”

These sequences — integrated into the film delicately enough to feel organic, not tacked on — are either a highlight or a lowlight, depending on your tolerance for ironic detachment, intentionally awful special effects and gross-out body humor.

If you’ve enjoyed Mr. Hess’ previous work, you’ll likely get a hoot out of this film, but those looking for any development as a storyteller from the talented young filmmaker will, in all likelihood, be mildly disappointed.

★★
TITLE: “Gentlemen Broncos”
RATING: PG-13 (crude humor)
CREDITS: Directed by Jared Hess, written by Jerusha Hess and Jared Hess
RUNNING TIME: 90 minutes
WEB SITE: www.foxsearchlight.com/gentlemenbroncos/
MAXIMUM RATING: FOR STARS