Danny Deckchair

Movie review by Nell Minow, Common Sense Media
Danny Deckchair Poster Image

Common Sense says

age 13+

Pleasant little diversion with some sweet moments.

PG-13 2004 100 minutes
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Parents say

age 12+

Based on 1 review

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A Lot or a Little?

The parents' guide to what's in this movie.

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that this movie has some strong language, implied sexual situations, mild sexual references, and drinking and smoking. There are some tense scenes and scuffles. Danny's escapade is, of course, extremely dangerous and children who see this movie should be warned not to try anything so foolish.

Community Reviews

letsgetreal
letsgetreal Adult
June 6, 2010
age 12+

Best family movie for teens I've seen lately

Best movie we have watched as a family for a long time. Funny, smart, really nothing offensive. Didn't stereotype, overly sexualize women. A couple of scenes in which sex implied, but it doesn't go too far - didn't make me cringe like so many others. Not violent, and not dumb! I didn't notice any bad language except one mild 7 letter word starting with b. You might not like that Danny is living with his girlfriend, and then cheats on her with another woman.
See all 1 parent review

What's the Story?

Danny (Rhys Ifans) is a sweet, unambitious man who is looking forward to taking his girlfriend (Justine Clark) on a camping trip for his vacation. But she cancels to spend some time with a glamorous newscaster. Danny mopes around the house, feeling unimportant and unappreciated. When all of his friends are over for a party, he decides to do something to impress everyone. So he ties a bunch of huge yellow helium balloons to a lawn chair and takes off into the sky. He floats through the night and like Dorothy landing in Oz, he comes down in a place that is completely strange to him. It's the town of Clarence. He lands in a tree owned by Glenda (Miranda Otto), a meter maid. Like Danny, she is feeling neglected and pigeonholed, so she impulsively introduces him as her professor and implies he is her boyfriend as well. Both Danny and Glenda enjoy the freedom they find in re-inventing themselves. The people in Clarence listen to Danny, at first because they are curious about him, then because they think he is a professor, and finally because they like what he has to say. He likes being listened to. He is asked to help with the campaign of a local politician. People listen to Danny -- and then he starts to listen to himself, to want to be all that the people of Clarence think he is and all that Glenda thinks he can be.

Is It Any Good?

DANNY DECKCHAIR is a quirky-characters-with-accents comedy; unlike its main character, it never quite achieves lift-off, but it is a pleasant little diversion with some very sweet moments. The slight story steals a lot of charm from its performers. Ifans and Otto are marvelously endearing and Clark is wonderfully funny as the girlfriend who enjoys the attention she gets when her boyfriend disappears into the sky. If it is lightweight and predictable, it is also undeniably a lot of fun.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about why Danny saw himself so differently in Clarence than he did at home. Why did Danny make Glenda see herself differently? Why was it hard for Danny and Glenda to know what they really wanted?

Movie Details

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