The boondock saints is bad, but the scathing documentary...
September 1, 2017 12:40 PM   Subscribe

 
> There is no crime, moral or otherwise, that Hollywood can’t forgive if they think there’s a big payday in it for them.

To be fair to Hollywood, that's every business.
posted by The Card Cheat at 12:45 PM on September 1, 2017 [5 favorites]


Oh man, I saw Overnight years ago, and I remember Duffy being like the distillation of every bro asshole bully I'd ever met. I'm sure he'll find a way to screw up his next movie by sheer force of arrogance.
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 12:56 PM on September 1, 2017 [6 favorites]


is he building a pub for the new movie?
posted by Artw at 12:57 PM on September 1, 2017 [1 favorite]


Unrelated, but I think now we can put one old debate to rest.
posted by Pyrogenesis at 12:59 PM on September 1, 2017 [11 favorites]


And yes, up until the Trump presidency became a thing this would have been my model for the absolute worst incompetent assholes to work with.
posted by Artw at 1:00 PM on September 1, 2017 [1 favorite]


Well I've def watched Overnight more times than I've watched The Boondock Saints, that's for sure.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 1:09 PM on September 1, 2017 [2 favorites]


... He seems to think the documentary chronicling the making of his debut film will portray him like Francis Ford Coppola in Hearts of Darkness, the essential behind-the-scenes documentary on the making of Apocalypse Now, or Werner Herzog in the equally essential The Burden of Dreams. He labors under the delusion that he will come across as a fiery and passionate anti-hero, a larger-than-life genius willing to go through hell — and to subject others to torment — to realize his uncompromising vision.

...

Duffy bullies, taunts, and insults a whole lot of people over the course of Overnight, including the co-managers of his band, both of whom he financially screws over once his band finally lands a recording contract. In another example of Duffy’s poor judgment, the fired co-managers also happen to be the directors he hired to chronicle the making of The Boondock Saints — and that film eventually became Overnight. What Duffy clearly thought would be a celebratory demonstration of his genius instead became a delicious form of revenge exacted by two dudes who had even more reason to hate Duffy than most. Overnight is a fitting title, but Schadenfreude: The Movie or Screw Troy Duffy! would have been equally perfect.

...

The entertainment industry’s apparent willingness to welcome Duffy back despite his horrific and very public failings as an artist and human being in hopes of cashing in on more Boondock Saints-style cult success is equally show-biz.


Isn't the reason that Hollywood wants to "welcome him back" is because people actually know who he is because of the documentary ? It depicted such an obnoxious asshole that I can well remember him, despite not having heard of him since I saw the documentary.

Hoolywood thinks people will only go and see something they recognise either in form or in actual characters - e.g. the Emoji Movie; it doesn't have to be good, just recognisable. This documentary made the asshole a recognisable asshole, hence granting him the opportunity to make more movies.
posted by devious truculent and unreliable at 1:11 PM on September 1, 2017


I've never seen Boondock Saints and never will, but I did very much enjoy this documentary.

As much as this dude obviously saw himself as the next Scorsese or Tarantino, talent and personality-wise he struck me as more of a Kevin Smith without a sense of irony.
posted by Atom Eyes at 2:52 PM on September 1, 2017


I'm torn between two viewpoints:

1) Duffy is a kind of Roger Stone-esque character who's gone from Peak to Valley back to Peak without growing other than to double down on his most damaging behaviors.

2) Overnight was a hit piece (albeit well deserved) assembled by two of the folks he'd wronged. Turn a lens focused by dislike on almost any director of almost any movie and you could assemble an Overnight-Equivalent documentary on them.
posted by CheapB at 3:11 PM on September 1, 2017 [1 favorite]


Did the makers of Overnight make their own miniature bar out of a mini fridge then?
posted by Artw at 3:21 PM on September 1, 2017


Any way to watch this documentary without buying a physical DVD? open to all options.
posted by capnsue at 7:46 PM on September 1, 2017


Oh man. I've mentioned this on MeFi before, but the first time I watched Overnight, I'd never heard of Boondocks Saints, and so I assumed this was a Spinal Tap style mockumentary. Duffy is so over the top, I would never have dreamed he was a real person.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 8:18 PM on September 1, 2017 [4 favorites]


I watched _Boondock Saints_ ages ago, probably 2000 or so, what I mainly remember is that I quite enjoyed the first half, and then the brothers ran into their father it and it turned into the stupidest kind of male fantasy. I grant you that the first half probably was too, but they seemed surprised about getting away with stuff and there was a certain fun playing around with whether they were just extremely lucky or had actualy been designated as agents of heaven.

From this post, I am guessing the entertainment value of the first half was mostly accidental.
posted by tavella at 8:56 PM on September 1, 2017


I liked and still like Boodock Saints, even though all the criticisms here are spot on and now I look at it with some serious side-eye. But it was weird, quirky and unexpected in spite of its macho fantasy fueled story line.

Sadly, this often does happen- sometimes someone can be an asshole, but also have an interesting creative style. I don't know which is worse, and I do worry that movies like Boondock Saints encouraged far too many white men to embrace gun violence as their ticket to validation.

But the movie itself, pretty good.
posted by [insert clever name here] at 10:23 AM on September 2, 2017 [3 favorites]


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