The Boondock Saints and Overnight
Everyone knows the recipe for an Instant Asshole: just add alcohol. Did you know that the recipe for a Fucking Disaster is almost as simple? Just add fame and fortune to a kid who grew up with nothing and thinks he know everything. Ask any number of pro football players or Troy "Kid Irony" Duffy, the subject of Cinemavenger's first ever movie-and-documentary-about-the-movie Titacular Twofer!
At 26 years old, Duffy hit the American Dream jackpot when a pre-#MeToo Harvey Weinstein stumbled into the dive bar where Duffy worked, took a shine to the brash bartender/bouncer, and bought the dude's first - and only - script, The Boondock Saints.
Try not to throw up too much when you hear how sweet a deal Duffy got.
- $500K-ish for the script
- Duffy, who's never directed traffic let alone a movie, gets to direct, with final cut.
- Duffy's band, that hasn't played a gig or recorded a demo, gets to do the soundtrack.
- Weinstein buys the dive bar and makes Duffy the co-owner
The gods must've been high, because they've never smiled on anyone that widely before. How did Duffy respond to his wildest dreams coming true? He acted like such a wicked Masshole that Weinstein killed the deal and blackballed him. The Boondock Saints, a post-Tarantino action/comedy about two Boston brothers who are divinely inspired to kill bad guys, only ever saw the inside of five theaters for one week, but it became a cult hit on video, and rightly so.
Overnight was supposed to be Duffy's victory lap, but it ended up a chronicle of his cuntishness. Recorded by onetime friends, this documentary of Duffy doing the Icarus thing is a rubbernecker's wet dream. It's a slo-mo clown car crash. Duffy's family and friends can all see the brick wall coming up at the end of Fuckhole Avenue, but Duffy keeps his pedal to the metal. To oblivion and beyond!
All of which leaves some Grand Canyon-sized questions. Would The Boondock Saints be anywhere near as outstanding a flick if it had been made on its original $15M budget with bigger-name actors by a top tier studio? Would it have ended up sucking instead? Has Duffy learned from his mistakes and become any less of a Cocky McDouchebag? If a train leaves New Orleans at 9AM traveling 65MPH . . .
August 30, 2019