Gentlemen Broncos mixes sci-fi, Kansas and plagiarism on a comedic platform

What do a flesh pocket, a defecating snake, and rocket equipped stags have in common? They are all contained in the hilariously campy, science fiction infused, teenage angst film Gentlemen Broncos.

Gentlemen Broncos is the most recent comedic endeavor from couple and creative duo Jared and Jerusha Hess. The Hess's co-wrote Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre. Jared directed both Napoleon Dynamite and Gentlemen Broncos, with the latter taking on an even more exaggerated, middle-America quirky feel that is indicative of his Utah roots.

The movie is centered on an odd and reserved budding sci-fi writer, Benjamin Purvis (Michael Angarano, Lords of Dogtown), who attends Cletus Festival to hone his craft. The camp's key-note, and only, speaker is the renowned Dr. Ronald Chevalier (Jemaine Clement, Flight of the Conchords). Chevalier is a highly celebrated fantasy author who happens to be experiencing writer's block, which leads him to plagiarize Purvis' story "Yeast Lords: The Bronco Years." Chevalier's plagiarism coincides with Purvis' story's success at home when a local hack director buys and then begins to film an out-of-control adaptation of "Yeast Lords…" careening Purvis' once simple, nightgown peddling, geodesic dome dwelling life into a whirlwind of revelation and camp.

The film is presented in a uniquely triangular format of Purvis' vision of his story containing the Kansas-esque, hickish, bearded tough guy Bronco (Sam Rockwell, Moon). Juxtaposed with Chevalier's effeminate version, which he aptly renamed "The Chronicles of Brutus and Balzaak." Brutus (also played by Rockwell) in Chevalier's version has also raided one of Kansas' singer's closets and talks with a lisp, all while doing battle with cyclopes. The real life drama to complete the triumvirate is Purvis' wrangling with the slaughtering of his story by the hometown director Lonnie (Hector Jimenez).

The film is hilarious. Testicles have never been so fascinating. Rockwell's dual performance is unforgettable and producer Mike White's (co-writer of School of Rock) performance as Lonnie's sleazy producer, Dusty, is a telling addition.

Following its Sept. 24 Fantastic Fest premiere, the Accent sat down with Rockwell and White to talk about Brutus/Balzaak, the director and salty gnats.

According to White, Mr. Hess originally wanted both Brutus and Balzaak to be played by two separate actors, but when Rockwell agreed to come on board that changed.

Rockwell: "I think I kind of talked him into it. I think I pitched the idea?"

With Gentlemen Broncos Rockwell showcased the juxtaposition of a slightly homosexual, and hilarious individual, versus a redneckish and caustic character. Before that in Moon he played an egotistical mislead hero in tangent with a dying and skeptical proletariat.

The actor has an affinity for the dichotomy. "I get comedy…and there seems to always be a little comedy in the drama and drama in the comedy." Rockwell states that his heroes were Robert DeNiro and Bill Murray, Robert Duvall and Richard Pryor.

Rockwell: "It is very liberating to just go over the top…not worry about being realistic or anything, in both worlds. Bronco was kind of maybe a little bit of the character in The Green Mile that I did...the looks were modeled from guys in the band Kansas, both looks."

"I actually did this right after Moon, and I was really excited… I thought I was going to do Brutus with an English accent, so I was tapping people who were in London ‘cause I was trying to get a posh British accent. I was going to do like Brando in "Dry White Season;" I was trying that voice for a while. I actually thought this was going to be really easy, and when we were in front of the camera, it was easy, it was just effortless ‘cause Jared was easy to work with. But I didn't realize all the makeup and the gnats…the conditions were crazy, we were out in the Salt Lake…you're itching, and you got this crazy suit…I couldn't …take a piss you know…there was no fly on this thing. I had no idea…schedule F for three weeks."

According to White filming in the Salt Lake was more than a vicarious experience, it forced an exodus of sorts. "I had never really dealt with bugs like that before. It smelled like eggs, sulfur in the air. So I went the first day, I was like ‘I got to go. I have a lot of stuff going on back in L.A., Jared? I'll see you guys.' And I literally didn't come back until the last day."

Rockwell exclaimed, "We had those like bee-hive masks so bugs can't get in your face. It was insane. We had like zipper suits on."

Rockwell: "If it wasn't for Jared, it would have been a nightmare, but Jared is such a lovely guy." According to the actor, shooting the movie was unlike anything he had ever done before.

Bronco versus Balzaak is genius camp. Both were way over the top. White put it best as he said "It was cool. I mean, I love how they're on the two poles of the masculinity spectrum." With a sheepish laugh he looked down, his face covered by an oversized red truckers hat with the words YEAST LORDS emblazoned across it.

Rockwell's attraction to sci-fi camp could stem from his character in Galaxy Quest or his love for the genre. He has worked with, arguably, the most prolific sci-fi director in American history in Ridley Scott (Blade Runner), but the film Rockwell did with Scott was about present day hustlers instead of deadly androids or aliens.

"I almost did "G.I. Jane" with Ridley, and then I didn't. I sort of dropped out of it, so I thought he was never going to hire me again. But then he did, and I was really excited. Matchstick Men was really fun ‘cause it was just a couple of actors. There was no special effects or broadswords or gladiators. So, I think Ridley was in a good mood, you know, he didn't really have to deal with a lot. It was just like an acting piece. So that was a small movie for him, but it was a big movie for me. A lot of the set design on Moon was an homage to Ridley's stuff in Blade Runner [and Alien]."