Do you wish all of your problems could just fly away? Well, maybe you could tie a bunch of Helium filled balloons to your deckchair and fly to a new city.
In the Australian import Danny Deckchair, Danny (Rhys Ifans) wishes to escape his mundane life in the suburbs of Sidney. His job is a bore and his girlfriend (Justine Clark) is growing apart from him. When his long awaited vacation does not turn out, he escapes his suburban prison by tying balloons to his deckchair and flying away.
His chair gets caught in a thunderstorm and lands him in the picturesque town of Clarence, giving him a new chance on life which he lives to the fullest, amassing a new job, girlfriend and, most important, happiness.
There is only one problem, no one in this new town knows his past, and Danny’s deckchair flight has become a media sensation, and has all of Sidney trying to find him. What will happen when his past catches up with him?
Is this every man’s fantasy, to escape from the responsibilities and depression of modern day life, to a new simpler life in a new town with a new woman? Is this every woman’s fantasy, to have a mysterious man drop from the sky, and bring excitement into her boring life?
Just the stuff of daydreams, or maybe, just maybe this film is a modern day fairy tale for adults.
What’s more is it is a fantastically fun film, which is perfectly acted, directed, and shot. It is far-fetched and, at times, down right silly, but it all works.
A big reason why, is that Ifans does an amazing job of portraying the reluctant hero, Danny.
With how much I loved this film it was hard to find flaws but I do wish the adult situations would have been bumped up a bit to make it less of a family-friendly film and more of an adult drama.
Nonetheless, it does play at what is still left of that kid inside of all of us, and if you are a kid at heart you will love this film.
