The Australians are so fond of charming and whimsical comedies that it sometimes seems a computer program is putting these things together. Case in point: “Danny Deckchair,” a new one that is indeed charming and whimsical and just a little too eager to show off its dimples.
Three delightful actors help keep it aloft. Rhys Ifans plays Danny, a construction worker in Sydney, a regular galoot who enjoys the simple life and has been known to swim in wet concrete just for a laugh.
His girlfriend Trudy (Justine Clarke) has loftier goals, and instills in Danny the desire to do something, you know, big. This leads to an impromptu and beer-fueled idea one sunny afternoon at a backyard “barbie” at their home.
Danny fills some oversized heavy-duty balloons with helium, ties them to his deck chair, and promptly goes sailing up into the sky. He’d meant to lower himself back to earth after a few minutes, but forgot the garden shears.
As Danny vanishes into cloud cover, and moves across the Australian landscape below, he’s carried away to a new life. Crashing down in a small town hundreds of miles away, he’s an anonymous newcomer and an immediate hit.
Meanwhile, Danny’s story has hit the media, and he’s a folk hero – but nobody knows where he is. Trudy finds the newfound attention much to her liking, especially the sympathy of a vain local newsman.
Writer-director Jeff Balsmeyer based his fictional story on real cases of people who experimented with helium balloons. Yes, people have tried this, and beer is often involved.
Balsmeyer, who is American but lives in Australia, clearly is in tune with the customary Aussie vibe for this kind of movie: nice plus quirky. The problem with “Danny Deckchair” is, the quirky tends to dominate. You might say this movie floats off into unreality and doesn’t touch down again.
Justine Clarke is a delight as the girlfriend; appetite and ambition gleam in her kittenish eyes. Miranda Otto, who played Eowyn in the “Lord of the Rings,” is amusing as a small-town cop (or glorified meter maid) whose frosty exterior is warmed by Danny’s arrival.
That looming, mooselike Welshman, Rhys Ifans, is perfectly cast as Danny. Ifans often plays dorky comic relief (as in “Notting Hill” and “Human Nature”), and it’s good to see him be the hero for a change. He makes you forget about the film’s familiar outline, at least for a while.
Rhys Ifans stars in “Danny Deckchair.”
“Danny Deckchair” HH
Over the top: An Australian comedy that, like many of that ilk, is a little too quirky for its own good. Rhys Ifans is perfectly cast as a Sydney goofball who ties helium-filled balloons to his deck chair and floats away to a new life.
Rated: PG-13 rating is for subject matter.
Now showing: tk
“Danny Deckchair” HH
Over the top: An Australian comedy that, like many of that ilk, is a little too quirky for its own good. Rhys Ifans is perfectly cast as a Sydney goofball who ties helium-filled balloons to his deck chair and floats away to a new life.
Rated: PG-13 rating is for subject matter.
Now showing: Metro, Seattle.
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