Overnight

What these two filmmakers have managed to accomplish is nothing short of heroic. Duffy's arrogance, insecurity, and fear are so evident in the way he abuses himself and everyone around him, yet he's blind to it himself. No wonder he wears sunglasses all the time. What also struck me was the apparent mindlessness with which everyone just went along with his global bullying. That Smith and Montana manage to evoke even a tiny bit of sympathy for Duffy from some audience members is a tribute to their vision. I was one of the privileged 300 or so to see this in preview at the UCI Extension/Regal screening, and I say privileged because we also were treated to an hour of the filmmakers' time for candid discussion after viewing the film. I am in awe of their endurance, of their perseverance, of their solid commitment to bringing the project to fruition, of staying true to the story no matter how bizarre. Life is, indeed, often stranger than fiction. If these two ever do another project together, I want to be part of it in some small way, even if it's paying their grocery bill.

I purchased The Boondock Saints on DVD back in the summer of 2002 solely on word-of-mouth buzz from a few friends without so much as seeing a trailer for it, one of only two times I've done so. Like most guys, I liked it immensely and I too passed on recommendations to other friends. I consider myself a pretty avid film buff, so I couldn't understand why I had never heard of the movie's writer/director Troy Duffy beforehand. After some research I finally found a copy of Overnight, and after watching it I now know the answer to that question. This documentary captures with stunning insight and clarity the story of a man who essentially wasted a once in a lifetime opportunity by way of his incredible arrogance and profanely abusive personality.

If you were to look up "karma" in the dictionary, you would probably find a picture of Duffy with the definition. The story sounds too good to be true, mostly because it is. Here's a guy who was handed quite possibly the most incredible opportunity for a first time movie-maker in the history of Hollywood, and it managed to come crashing down before it even took off. A script for The Boondock Saints personally purchased by none other than Harvey Weinstein, a recording deal for his band and the purchase of the bar he was working in at the time making him a co-owner: all of these things were placed at his feet. Such an overwhelming reversal of fortune seemingly out of nowhere would be hard to handle for anyone, but instead of meeting the deal with gratitude and humility Duffy instead used it as an excuse to further inflate an ego that was apparently immense even before his incredible run of luck. Friends and family were verbally assaulted, complete strangers were subjected to vulgar tirades and members of his band were denied any credit concerning the group's record deal. In one of Overnight's more memorable scenes, The bands co-managers are told by Duffy that they don't deserve any of the band's profits because they were only there by his good graces and hard work. Through an amusing if not catastrophic series of events, the film deal with Miramax fell through, the band's contract was terminated before they even set foot in a studio and no other studio in Hollywood would even consider making The Boondock Saints. The dream, for all intents and purposes, was over.

Duffy eventually made Boondock Saints on half the budget offered by Miramax with a 5 theater theatrical release and the band's album was a resounding flop with less than 700 copies sold. The band's co-managers, once good friends and the co-directors of this film, originally set out to make a documentary of Duffy's rise to stardom but changed their tone drastically once he revealed his true persona. The result is a scathing and often startling glimpse into the downward spiral of a modern day Narcissus undone by his own greed and hubris. Plans for a Boondock Saints II release sometime in 2009 generated mixed buzz on the internet with many people stating the time for a sequel has long passed to have any sort of success. If the sequel does indeed become a hit, it will would be hard to attribute its good fortune to Duffy and perhaps even harder to not harbor jealousy towards him. As Overnight convincingly shows, it wouldn't be well deserved.

I saw this film at the San Diego Film Festival and consider myself extremely lucky to have seen it. The film chronicles the rise and crumble of Troy Duffy, temporary wunderkind. The film managed to capture the process of instant success and provide such a thorough window into one man's descent into his own ego. Duffy manages to ruin every single wonderful opportunity he is blessed with. He becomes a pariah in the film industry, a dirty word that even the munificent Harvey Weinstein won't touch. It is an incredibly intense, cringe-inducing film as you see Duffy unravel in front of the directors ever-present camera. Duffy uses the camera as confessional and it in turn captures his self-inflicted demise. It is a testament to the filmmakers ability that they managed to infuse the film with a palpable sense of pity for their subject. This film must be compulsory viewing for any filmmaker as a cautionary tale into the heart of hype, ego, and the fleeting love affair Hollywood has with the next big thing. Bravo gentlemen, you've made a great film.

If Bernardo Bertolucci, the director of TRAGEDY OF A RIDICULOUS MAN, had directed OVERNIGHT, he might have titled it COMEUPPANCE OF AN EGOTISTICAL MAN. That egotistical man is Troy Duffy, a bartender and aspiring screenwriter/director/musician from New England who became the star of his own real-life Cinderella story. THE BOONDOCK SAINTS, Duffy's original Boston-set script about two Irish brothers-turned-vigilantes, was bought by Miramax's Harvey Weinstein, who sweetened the deal by letting Duffy direct and score the film as well as buying Duffy's tavern. Alas, Duffy's cockiness proved to be outright arrogance as he began making demands before production began on either the film or the album, and this Cinderella Man's coach turned back into a pumpkin. Even Duffy's brother Taylor and his longtime friends come in for harsh treatment from the not-so-wunderkind, as he keeps expecting them to work their butts off despite their funds dwindling to the point that some of them are on the verge of being evicted. By the end of the film, almost all of The Brood Syndicate, as they call themselves, have gone back to the kind of manual labor jobs they thought they'd left behind once Miramax came calling, and Duffy is a Hollywood pariah. In addition to Duffy's egotism, his naïveté contributed to his downward spiral. Surely he'd spent enough time in L.A. at that point to have heard about Weinstein's tendency to snap up movie properties and then either put them in turnaround or leave them gathering dust on the shelf (didn't he ever pick up issues of VARIETY, THE Hollywood REPORTER, etc.?). Moreover, Mr. I Know More Than the Guys Who've Been in the Film Business for Years neglected to include broadcast and home video rights in his William Morris contract, so despite THE BOONDOCK SAINTS eventually overcoming its pitiful 5-theater release to become a cult favorite on home video, Duffy doesn't make a penny off it. Don't miss the Albert Goldman quote at the end about how fame doesn't change a person, but instead acts as a "truth drug" that reveals the person's true character. Granted, the directors of OVERNIGHT are two of Duffy's former friends from The Brood Syndicate, but they swear they actually left out footage that would have made Duffy look even worse. I suppose Duffy is lucky there isn't a Director's Cut of OVERNIGHT -- angry mobs would be chasing him down with flaming torches! :-)

This is not just a fantastic story; the film is beautifully produced. You can't pull your eyes away from it, just like a burning building, simply because you cannot believe this is non-fiction. Tony and Mark endure so much more than normal humans should ever endure from a so-called friend for the duration of their story, and it is all captured on film. However it is they who get the last laugh. I was so amazed that I saw it twice. I look forward to seeing your next work. Be it another documentary or not, the editing and production of "Overnight" has turned me into a lifelong fan of its filmmakers, and a lifelong head-shaker in the direction of Troy Duffy.