Danny Deckchair
| Danny Deckchair | |
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| Directed by | Jeff Balsmeyer |
| Produced by | Andrew Mason |
| Written by | Jeff Balsmeyer |
| Starring |
Rhys Ifans Miranda Otto |
| Music by |
David Donaldson Steve Roche Janet Roddick |
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Production
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| Distributed by | Lions Gate Entertainment |
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Release date
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Running time
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100 minutes |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
Danny Deckchair is a 2003 Australian comedy film written and directed by Jeff Balsmeyer. The majority of Danny Deckchair was shot in Bellingen, a Mid North Coast town in New South Wales.
It was inspired by the story of "Lawnchair Larry" (Larry Walters).
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.
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