Review of Overnight (2003) by V H — 23 Nov 2004

[color=black][font=Tahoma]In 1997, struggling musician Troy Duffy was working as a bartender in [/font][/color][color=black][font=Tahoma]Los Angeles[/font][/color][color=black][font=Tahoma] when a screenplay he wrote in his spare time caught the attention of Miramax head honcho Harvey Weinstein. Weinstein paid $300,000 for the script, entitled "The Boondock Saints", made Duffy the director with a budget of $15 million, and agreed that Duffy's band, "The Brood", could provide the soundtrack. To top it all off, Weinstein said he'd buy the bar where Duffy worked and the two of them would be co-owners. Pretty sweet deal.[/font][/color].

[color=black][font=Tahoma]Here's the part of the story where you would typically say, "it couldn't happen to a nicer guy". But Troy Duffy is not a nice guy. From the time we meet him, holding up a copy of USA Today with his own photo gracing the cover, he's nothing but a blustery, bullying, egomaniacal, blowhard. He claims his joint movie/music deal is something "nobody in the history of the world" has ever achieved. He brags about his "deep cesspool of creativity". He makes it clear to his fellow band members that he's singularly responsible for their success and even after Maverick Records signs The Brood sight unseen, he claims that he alone deserves the money.[/font][/color].

[color=black][font=Tahoma]But Duffy isn't the sort of obnoxious genius whose arrogance you can excuse because he's just so damn brilliant; his hubris is totally unfounded. Although he's completely unproven, having never actually created anything movie- or music-wise, he declares himself "[/font][/color][color=black][font=Tahoma]Hollywood[/font][/color][color=black][font=Tahoma]'s new hard-on", and as if to illustrate this point, he regularly behaves like a total dick. Duffy is so bereft of redeeming qualities that you can't help but root against him and hope that he eventually gets his comeuppance. And, yay, I'm happy to report that he does. And then some.[/font][/color].

[color=black][font=Tahoma]Though it's not clear exactly what triggered this turn of events, several months after Duffy is anointed the new filmmaking wunderkind, Weinstein stops taking his calls. Eventually, Miramax pulls out of the deal completely. This does nothing to deflate Duffy, who reacts with a loud, delusional, "they'll be back and I'll make them pay" tirade. But now, though there'd initially been a bidding war for the script, none of the other major studios are interested in making the movie either. And with the movie deal off and no more soundtrack to record, the Maverick record deal collapses also. [/font][/color].

[color=black][font=Tahoma]The movie finally gets made for a much smaller budget a couple of years later and eventually screens in Cannes, but no studio is interested in buying it. With Duffy's financing, it finally opens in three theatres, surviving only one week. And Duffy's band, now known as The Boondock Saints, eventually do release their CD. That too fizzles, selling only 690 measly copies in six months. [/font][/color].

[color=black][font=Tahoma]This documentary was made by two of the guys in Duffy's inner circle who were frequent targets of his abuse over the years. When filming began, they had no idea Duffy would eventually crash and burn, but after years of being his unpaid lackeys, the release of "Overnight" must be sweet revenge. This also explains why the portrayal of Duffy is completely without nuance. [/font][/color].

[color=black][font=Tahoma]I?m a big fan of people getting their just deserts, so watching the swaggering Duffy blow the opportunity of a lifetime does have a certain appeal. But as satisfying as this might be on some level, listening to Duffy grows old pretty fast. I?m giving this film a mild recommendation, because while it?s certainly interesting, it?s not particularly enjoyable.[/font][/color].